Consumers care
Almost one-third of British consumers reject artificial additives, according to a pan-European survey conducted by the market research institute Innofact AG on behalf of the GNT Group. It also found that even the calorie content is less important.
According to the study, sweet lovers not only pay attention to taste and flavour; many consumers specifically care about the ingredients in their confectionery products. Overall, 37 per cent of Europeans look for sweets that are free from artificial additives. Italian consumers are the most critical; more than half pay attention to non-artificial ingredients (53 per cent), followed by the French (36 per cent), Germans (34 per cent), Spanish (34 per cent) and the British (27 per cent).
At the same time even the most critical candy lover seeks appealing sweets in vibrant colours. Here, naturalness is a key factor to influence the purchase decision. Most Europeans (58 per cent) – among them 70 per cent of Italians – state that they are prepared to pay more for products that do not contain any artificial additives, especially colourings (47 per cent). Fair trade, organic or vegetarian product qualities have less impact on the willingness to accept a higher price.
