Sweet trends

New textures, novelty flavours and reduced sugar are some of the trends to watch in the APAC confectionery sector this year, according to GlobalData.

Rising concerns related to high sugar, artificial ingredients and boredom with regular sweet indulgences are driving consumers to move away from traditional confectionery products, thereby forcing the manufacturers to develop exciting and healthy products, said data and analytics firm GlobalData.

Dharma Teja, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, highlights the major innovation trends that are going to impact the consumption, marketing and sales of confectionery products in Asia–Pacific (APAC) for the remainder of 2019:

Indulge in new flavours

According to the GlobalData 2018 Q4 Consumer Survey, 24% of APAC consumers are willing to experiment with new flavours of confectionery products. Accordingly, confectionery manufacturers are putting efforts to introduce new flavours. For example, Mars launched Skittles-Flower Fruit in China.

Less sugar

Due to widespread availability of information especially over the internet, consumers are becoming more aware of avoiding excess sugar consumption. GlobalData 2017 Q4 Consumer Survey reveals that 43% of APAC consumers feel that healthy products are often associated with a ‘low in sugar’ claim. Against this backdrop, Mondelez International Inc launched a 30% less sugar variant of ‘Silk’ in India in June 2019.

Try out new look

APAC consumers are excited to try new and unique confectionery products. The GlobalData 2018 Q4 Consumer Survey divulges that 24% of APAC consumers tend to buy a product if it is unique in style, such as texture and packaging. In line with this, Taiwan Kaiser Foods launched Kaiser Boba Chocolate, which has a unique style of chocolate presentation. It comes with a gummy tapioca ball inside a milk tea flavouring chocolate ball, which is uncommon in chocolate confectionery.

Clean label

APAC consumers are becoming more conscious regarding ingredient content while purchasing. As per the GlobalData 2017 Q1 Consumer survey, 45% of APAC consumers perceive ‘Clean Label’ is often associated with ‘free from artificial ingredients’. The claims such as gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free are acting as anchor themes to attract this particular target group. For instance, Fantte Chocolate launched hazelnut and pumpkin seed chocolate in India in 2018 with gluten-free and diet-friendly claims.

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