Craving for something sweet
‘Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.’ John Tullius
We all love sweet - period. Sweet, tasty, comforting products that give a sense of satisfaction and pleasure. But unfortunately, it has been found that sugars endanger our health and cause obesity and serious diseases, so it is recommended by the health authorities, around the world, to limit their consumption to the entire population. All of us, especially those who are forced, for health reasons, to avoid sugar and carbohydrates in order not to raise the sugar levels in the blood, still looking for a taste of something comforting and sweet. This is a large population group that is expanding and includes the pre-diabetic, the diabetic, those advocating carbohydrate-free diets (keto-genic and paleo) and all those who for health reasons avoid sugar of its various types. The global war on obesity also poses many challenges for Candy lovers, so actually, for all of us. It is recommended to reduce our sugar consumption.
Studies show that diabetes has become a global epidemic so that 1 in 11 adults suffer from it. The American CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) claims that 1 out of 3 Americans suffers from a sugar problem and 80% of them are not even aware of it. We are seeing, in all markets, a shift to consuming food with reduced sugar or no sugar at all, both out of health awareness and legislation by governments. Likewise in chocolate, all over the world, there is awareness and a shift to consuming sugar-free or reduced sugar chocolate. The growing awareness of the harms of sugar And health awareness is growing, and non-diabetic populations are also adopting a sugar-free lifestyle. Today's consumer is smarter than before and knows how to look for the food products that meet their criteria for health. In many cases, those who have decided or were required to reduce their sugar consumption feel that their world has fallen on them and they look for chocolate as something sweet and comforting. We believe that the process is only at its beginning, and the trend will only continue to expand, since there is an increase in the population seeking to minimize sugar even at young ages, as well as an increase in the pre-diabetic and diabetic population. At the same time, there is growth in the market for healthy products in general and reduced sugar in particular. The young population in particular does not compromise on quality and taste and is ready to invest money to win quality products.
There are 2 types of solutions in the world: without sugar and reduced sugar. Most manufacturers in the world choose the easy solution of reduced sugar, mainly by replacing it with different types of dietary fiber. It is acceptable to replace up to 30% of the sugar with dietary fiber and thereby reduce the amount of sugar while maintaining the good taste of the product with reduced sweetness. More advanced solutions use a variety of sugar substitutes to produce products without sugar and with minimal carbohydrates. Most of these products are not tasty because they have aftertastes or other unhealthy ones - usually based on maltitol which is high in carbohydrates.