Alternative Sweetener Demand to Reach $1.4 Billion in 2015

US demand for alternative sweeteners is expected to advance 3.3 percent annually through 2015 to $1.4 billion.  Gains will be led by continuing market penetration of relatively new entrants to the industry, including the stevia extract rebaudioside-A (reb-A).  The more mature segments of the market -- high intensity sweeteners (such as aspartame) and polyols (including sorbitol) -- will see more restrained, though still healthy, increases in demand.  Market trends favoring less processed ingredients will drive well-publicized usage of sweeteners that can be marketed as being “natural.”  However, continuing consumer preference for reduced-calorie foods and beverages will ensure the ongoing use of ubiquitous sweeteners such as aspartame. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in Alternative Sweeteners, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.  

Despite the drag of a declining soft drink market, high intensity sweeteners will remain the largest product category among alternative sweeteners, a leadership position rooted in their continuing domination of the large diet soft drink and tabletop sweetener markets.  Aspartame will remain the leader in diet soft drinks, while the tabletop market will continue to be dominated by sucralose.  Growth in other markets will be healthy, although high intensity sweeteners are used in much lower quantities outside of their two mainstay applications.  

Though expected to remain a fairly small share of the overall market, newer alternative sweeteners will register by far the fastest growth and generate the most interest among food and beverage processors, as well as among consumers.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of reb-A in late 2008 led to high-profile introductions of stevia-based products, such as tabletop sweeteners (e.g., Cargill’s TRUVIA), juice beverages, fruit drinks, flavored waters and soft drinks, many of which have met with consumer favor.  In 2010, the FDA approved luo han guo (monk fruit) for use as a sweetener in the US; while this product’s potential remains to be seen, its natural profile is on trend with current consumer purchasing decisions.  Furthermore, full-calorie agave nectar is gaining traction due to its natural positioning as an alternative to high fructose corn syrup.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.