High-intensity Sweeteners Market Expected to Reach $2.9 Billion by 2031

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “High-intensity Sweeteners Market," The high-intensity sweeteners market was valued at $1,897.30 million in 2020, and is estimated to reach $2,920.10 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2022 to 2031. 

High-intensity sweeteners are widely used as an alternative to sugar to enhance and sweeten various food & beverages. Moreover, these compounds are several times sweeter than regular sugar; and hence, are required in lower concentration for sweetening the products. These are used as replacements to sucrose (sugar) due to their overall sweeter taste and low-calorie content.

The global high-intensity sweeteners market witness’s significant growth, owing to ongoing developments and new applications in the food industry including, dairy products & baked goods. In addition, concerns about health and nutrition among the population are the key drivers of the market. Moreover, stevia extract, a sweetener derived from the leaves of stevia shrub, is widely used by consumers apart from the monk fruit extract. Furthermore, surge in the number of health-conscious consumers, especially in the developing economies and rise in incidences of diabetes and obesity have led to change in dietary habits of consumers. Thus, high-intensity sweeteners have replaced sugar as a food additive to prevent these conditions. However, decline in soft drink consumption in North America and Europe regions is expected to hamper the high-intensity sweeteners market growth.

The beverage segment accounted for one-third of the global high-intensity sweeteners market share, in terms of volume, in 2020. The consumption of diet carbonated soft drinks and low-calorie food creates the demand for high-intensity sweeteners in the beverage industry. Moreover, recent government initiatives in countries such as UK, which has imposed sugar tax on sugar-based soft drinks are some of the key factors that drive the market. Furthermore, the use of cyclamate sweetener has increased in diet beverages and food, especially in the developing regions, such as Asia-Pacific and Africa, owing to increase in health awareness among the population.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the growth of the global high-intensity sweeteners market in 2020 was quite negative. This was due to the supply chain disruption, halt in production and manufacturing of high-intensity sweeteners, and lockdown restrictions.

The global high-intensity sweeteners market is driven by production & consumption of diet carbonated soft drinks and low-calorie foods. Moreover, these sweeteners are added to diet soft drinks, low-calorie yogurts, and sugar-free jams, so that they taste as their conventional counterparts. In addition, growing health concern, such as obesity and rise in incidences of diabetes and cardiac arrest, have motivated consumers to improve their lifestyles and adapt healthier and low-calorie diet pattern. Thus, rise in adoption of stevia extracts high-intensity sweeteners in food & beverage health products fuels the market growth.

The implementation of stringent regulations and taxation regarding the use of high-calorie foods in Europe and North America is expected to hamper the market. At present, the Mexican Government enacted a law to collect tax on high-calorie processed foods, including carbonated soft drink. However, increase in challenges for food producers to develop sweeteners that cater to consumer expectations of good taste and reduce the cost of the final product restrain the market growth. In addition, ambiguity about health-related issues due to consumption of high-intensity sweeteners could hamper their adoption; thereby, hampering the market growth.

The adoption of high-intensity sweeteners relies largely on specific requirement of end users, which further facilitates the entry of new competitors. In addition, moderate capital investment is required to establish sweeteners manufacturing units, as the sweeteners market is majorly governed by sophisticated technology. Furthermore, products are differentiated in nature, which leads to high entry barriers for new entrants. Therefore, the threat of new entrants in the global market is low to moderate. End users prefer efficient and cost-effective sweeteners; however, the products available in the market has certain limitations related to their level of concentration and different environmental regulations. At present, high-intensity sweeteners are seldom being replaced by sugar. Therefore, the threat from substitutes is moderate to high in the high-intensity sweeteners market.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• In terms of value, the sucralose segment is anticipated to exhibit the growth rate of 3.7% during the high-intensity sweeteners market forecast.
• Asia-Pacific is projected to dominate the global market by 2031, registering a CAGR of 4.1%, in terms of value.
• The dietary products segment occupied nearly one-ninth of the global market in 2020.
• India occupied around two-fifths of the Asia-Pacific high-intensity sweeteners market in 2020.
• In terms of value, Brazil is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% from 2022 to 2031.

In 2020, Asia-Pacific accounted for more than half of the global high-intensity sweeteners market size, and is expected to continue this trend in the near future, owing to rapid growth of the food & beverage industry and growing health concerns among the population of China, India, Japan, and other developing countries.

The major companies profiled for high-intensity sweeteners industry include Hyet Sweet, Tate and Lyle, Plc., Celanese Corporation, Cumberland Packing Corporation, Merisant, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Hermes Sweeteners Ltd., JK Sucralose, Inc., Heartland Food Products Group, and Stevia First Corporation. These market players are adopting various marketing strategies such as product launch, partnership, joint venture, merger, and acquisition.