Continuing rise of health-conscious consumers revealed, says Cargill study
A study of Asian consumers found indulgent products with natural ingredients were most accepted. Pic: Adobestock
Health and wellbeing awareness among consumers in Asia now stands at an all-time high, including for confectionery, with over 70% of people checking labels, according to Cargill’s latest studies, writes Neill Barston.
Notably, the company’s latest APAC IngredienTracker 2025 examined a wide range of categories, including sweet treats, dairy, chocolate, sweeteners and texturisers as well as bakery ranges, to explore shopper perceptions.
From its results, exploring the views of 2,000 respondents, the business examined 91 ingredients, identifying that concerns over immune systems rose 101%, between 2017-2024 coinciding with the global Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
As the company’s study noted, its intelligence aims to help manufacturers delve deeper into consumer preference in devising latest product ranges, with people proactively seeking healthier, natural and more familiar ingredients in their dietary intake.
Significantly, unfamiliar or scientific-sounding ingredients are often seen as ‘bad for you’ in the minds of many shoppers, perhaps sounding a note of concern for industries that have explored alternative ingredients that have an element of lab-production to them, which has been the case in many sweeteners and texturisers.
Moreover, some 58% of consumers are willing to pay 10% more for premium ingredients like dark chocolate, higher quality, more sustainable ingredients, and foods fortified with essential nutrients. Purchase decisions and health perceptions are closely linked, and more than half of the consumers like to share their knowledge of ingredients with friends or online.
According to the studies, chocolate and cocoa-related ingredients dominate indulgent product categories like Confectionery, Bakery, Desserts, and Ice-cream, where sweet flavour is prevalent, and indulgence is highly valued. Chocolate is also highly associated with the Dairy category, given its flavour popularity.
As the company noted, the study also highlights that consumers are doubling down on products with a stamp of authenticity through local production and ingredient sourcing, often linked to local cultures and traditions.
Furthermore, as Confectionery Production has continued to highlight, ethical consumption is on the rise with a growing focus on sustainable farming and production.
Dark chocolate preference
Organic and dark chocolates are perceived as the healthiest (though concerns over potential cadmium and heavy metal content within dark chocolate has been raised in other regions) , with ‘high fat’ cocoa powder being seen as consistently the least healthy. Chocolate brands in APAC continue to diversify textures and flavours based on these trends and consumer desire for novel sensory experiences.
Consumers most commonly associate sweeteners with Beverage categories, especially when it comes to non-alcoholic and bottled drinks, and the preference is for reduced sugar content and products with functional claims, such as immune support and slimming effects.
As within Europe, sugar-free and low-sugar claims are rising in product launches across Asian markets, especially in beverages. Use of additive sweeteners is rising, while traditional sugars declining. The percentage of drink launches across APAC containing additive sweeteners has increased from 18% to 29%. Consumers are more inclined to purchase ‘natural’ sounding ingredients – like brown sugar, monk fruit, cane sugar, vs sweeteners with artificial or scientific names.
“Consumer choices today are increasingly shaped not just by taste, but by how ingredients are perceived across categories. Understanding ingredient perceptions across markets is critical to help food manufacturers better optimise product formulations. This means prioritising ingredients that Asian consumers demand and labeling to help them choose ingredients and health benefits they desire. This study helps understand reveal what the future of ingredients and aims to support our customers in their product innovation and strategic decision-making”, said Yuchu Zhang, Vice President, R&D Cargill Food APAC.
“Responding to the consumer preferences uncovered in this study, we have already launched some innovative offerings for customers in the region.”
