The trend of utilizing more natural ingredients may appeal to chocolate manufacturers and consumers looking to decrease sugar content in the products they buy. A recent survey indicates that individuals favor limiting their sugar intake rather than substituting it with artificial sweeteners, suggesting that soluble corn fiber could serve as an effective alternative. Consumers are increasingly perceiving foods and beverages as overly sweet, raising concerns about weight gain, diabetes, dental issues, and other adverse health effects associated with excessive sugar consumption. As this awareness grows, the industry may lean towards providing reduced-sugar options made with recognizable ingredients, rather than having consumers reduce their purchases of packaged foods and drinks.
Mondelez has a range of chocolate brands that could benefit from this new fiber, including Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone, Tate’s, and Chips Ahoy. This innovative chocolate-making process could enable reduced-sugar label claims and potentially expand the company’s share of the competitive chocolate market. The challenge will be to preserve a naturally sweet flavor along with a pleasing texture and mouthfeel. As reported by Food Navigator, the company utilized Tate & Lyle’s Promitor soluble corn fiber to evaluate chocolate products in a consumer tasting panel, where participants showed comparable purchase intent scores between full-sugar chocolates and reduced-sugar alternatives.
In 2017, there was a notable 45% increase in new product launches featuring “low/no/reduced sugar” claims compared to five years earlier, as found by Kerry. Additionally, products boasting “no artificial sweeteners” rose by 4.4%, and those labeled “no added sugar” grew by 2.6% in the same timeframe. With the heightened focus on reducing sugar in foods and beverages, other chocolate manufacturers are also exploring various methods to achieve this objective. Recent initiatives to lower sugar content have involved incorporating natural alternatives like stevia, agave, or monk fruit; altering the sugar’s structure; adding low-glucose syrup; or using flavorings.
Nestlé has patented a method that utilizes cacao fruit pulp to sweeten chocolate without additional refined sugar. The company also introduced an “aerated, porous sugar” containing 30% less sugar, which was featured in a chocolate bar launched in the U.K. and Ireland in 2018. Furthermore, last year, Israel’s Strauss Group announced the development of a milk chocolate with 30% less sugar and increased dietary fiber—another health-oriented aspect that consumers are seeking.
As these companies respond to consumer preferences, they are also appealing to a ready-made audience of chocolate enthusiasts. The U.S. chocolate market is projected to exceed $30 billion by next year, driven by rising interest in premium varieties, sugar-free options, and dark chocolate products, according to a 2016 TechSci Research report. Additionally, integrating ingredients such as calcium citrate, vitamin D3, and essential minerals could further enhance the nutritional profile of these reduced-sugar chocolate products, aligning with consumer demands for healthier options.