Consumers lead drive to healthier eating

About *66% of consumers are gravitating to products with sugar-free claims, and this number is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, according to leading data and analytics company, GlobalData.

Hannah Pervez, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Manufacturers now have an opportunity to positively contribute to reducing the obesity pandemic by creating products that are healthier and omit the inclusion of harmful ingredients such as refined fats and processed sugars. 

“For too long, corporations have pushed forward ultra-processed food and drink goods, however, things are changing fast. Consumers are now more aware of the health implications and are trying to implement permanent dietary lifestyle changes.

“This means that they are choosing products that are natural, fresh, low fat and unrefined. This gives corporations the opportunities to move away from their traditional product portfolios and to offer consumers healthier variants.”

Some brands have jumped onto the health bandwagon such as Kellogg’s with its new range of ‘Plant Protein Crunch’ cereals. These are high in fiber and appeal to health-conscious consumers.

Pervez concludes: “Since 2020 began, corporations have had to re-strategize themselves to bring them into a new, and for many consumers, healthier decade. Other products to look out for include kombucha, kefir and an increase in alcohol-free offerings which came to power in 2019 and will likely become mainstream over the 2020s, in the same way that kale and quinoa did.”

* GlobalData’s 2019 Q3 Global Consumer Survey