Salt & Sugar

Consumers will continue to focus on sugar in 2024

Reducing sugar, particularly added sugar, remains a focus for many health-conscious consumers. 30% of consumers seek low sugar when buying food, and 29% of consumers look for no added sugar. As a result, successful innovations in this space are tackling sugar reduction by formulating with cleaner zero-low calorie sugar alternatives such as agave, stevia, and erythritol, which are seeing double digit growth. That said, it's important to note that while sugar reduction remains relevant, the data doesn't show a significant decline in sales at higher sugar levels. This indicates the need for a nuanced approach, catering to diverse consumer preferences while offering products that address the growing demand for healthier options.

Source: NIQ, Retail Measurement Services – NIQ Product Insight, powered by Label Insight; Total US xAOC; Total Food & Beverage; $ % Change vs year ago; 52 weeks ending November 4, 2023 (Added Sugar) and 52 weeks ending 12/30/23 and "NIQ Label Insight Trending Attributes search data; All Channels; 12 Months, October 2022 – September 2023“, FMI Health and Wellbeing report 2023

And sodium may become more of a hot button

While consistent growth is observed across most sodium content levels in the data, it's important to consider the context of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent call to action. The FDA urged food manufacturers to help Americans reduce their daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams a day – a recommendation aligned with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. This aligns with the observation that the category with the slowest growth is products with the highest sodium content (over 500mg per serving). This suggests a potential shift in consumer preferences towards lower sodium options, and this trend could gain further momentum in the future, especially with the FDA's backing.