Sweeteners are found in virtually every food and beverage—from soft drinks to baked foods. While the leading revenue region for the overall sweeteners market is North America, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region comes in a close second with approximately 26 percent global market share.
Evolving consumer preferences (primarily health consciousness) are a key factor in the product diversification of the global sweeteners market. Manufacturers are looking toward newer solutions that deliver greater sweetness, fewer calories, and an overall better taste. Sustainability is also a growing trend and has played a part in this quest to develop new sweeteners. Natural sweeteners (i.e., monk fruit and stevia) have gained momentum in the past few years due to their desired properties.
Monk Fruit (Han Guo) & Stevia Meeting The Natural Market Demand
Natural sweeteners, such as stevia and monk fruit, are obtained naturally with no synthesis or artificial production processes involved. They are often known as zero-calorie sweeteners with positive benefits such as enhancing digestibility, increased antioxidant activity, and more balanced blood sugar levels; monk fruit also has anti-carcinogenic effects and helps prevent infection, fatigue, and diabetes.
Structurally, natural sweeteners are more resilient than artificial sweeteners, making them more versatile in their applications within the food and beverage (F&B) industry. Certain artificial sweeteners disintegrate into unwanted by-products when used in hot drinks and baking, limiting their applications.
Future Outlook
Although COVID-19 negatively impacted the process flow and value chain for sweeteners in 2020 and early 2021, the market is expected to make a full recovery and grow in the foreseeable future. The industry for natural sweeteners is growing due to rapidly evolving consumer preferences and competition as it becomes a consolidated industry. Such factors certainly make it an industry to watch.
