Nestlé hopes to make waves with no added sugar KitKat variety
This week saw a particularly notable development within the chocolate segment of the market as Nestlé confirms its plans to create a chocolate with no added sugar, purely from the cocoa beans and pulp, which represents a key move for the business.
While there may well have been others out there with their own take on added sugar free chocolates including the likes of British manufacturer Plamil, this could potentially be a landmark moment for the confectionery sector.
But these are indeed bold claims from Nestlé, which asserts that consumers are unlikely to be able to taste the difference with its latest ‘healthier’ series, which will be launched initially with a KitKat variety in Japan later this year, before being rolled out across the remainder of its extensive portfolio around the world – if indeed it does take off as the company hopes. However, as some observers have already commented, is taking out all added sugar from confectionery really what consumers are actually looking for? It’s certainly likely to frame a fair deal of debate over the coming months and years, as industry continues to grapple with means of delivering confectionery to an increasingly health-conscious buying public.
As far as Nestlé is concerned, the move to an entirely no-added sugar model for its KitKat range is quite a leap forward from its much-publicised previous efforts in developing its Wowsome bars, which offered 30% reduction in sugar, through what the company claimed was a radical restructuring of sugar composition. The jury is still out on whether that particular product range will prove a success in the long-term, though it has perhaps paved the way for its even more ambitious drive to cut out sugar to the maximum possible. It will be especially intriguing to see how its efforts are greeted when its latest products hit shelves in Asia later this year.
