THERE’S A NEW CONVERSATION ABOUT SWEETENERS.CHANGING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CONSUMER PURCHASING DECISIONS.

CONSUMERS ARE TALKING ABOUT SWEETENERS IN A NEW WAY.

HAVE YOU HEARD?

IS THE MEDIA COLORING YOUR PERCEPTION OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES?

THE FACTS TELL A DIFFERENT STORY.

CNN: “FRUCTOSE CHANGES BRAIN TO CAUSE OVEREATING, SCIENTISTS SAY.”

60 MINUTES: “IS SUGAR TOXIC?”

LA TIMES: “SOUNDING THE ALARMS AGAINST SUGAR.”

WALL STREET JOURNAL: “SUGAR BAN STIRS UP NEW YORK.”

Q: HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO CREATE FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCTS THAT CONSUMERS WILL WANT TO BUY?

A: BY TAPPING IN TO CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS THROUGH THIRD-PARTY RESEARCH.

AND HERE’S WHAT WE FOUND …

IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE SAY AND WHAT PEOPLE DO. AIDED VS. UNAIDED QUESTIONS

Mintel research methodology uses unaided questions, which represent

unprompted, top-of-mind opinions or statements.

Because they don’t suggest “correct” answers to respondents, unaided

questions are widely recognized as most effective in revealing the top-

of-mind concerns, true attitudes and likely behaviors of respondents.

GET A TASTE OF THE FACTS …LEARN MORE HERE

OF CONSUMERS AVOID HFCS SPECIFICALLY (UNAIDED)

OF CONSUMERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT TOTAL SUGARS (AIDED)

79.7%

2.9%

CONSUMERS AND SWEETENERS: IT’S A NEW ATTITUDE

Source: Mintel Research Consultancy, October 2012

FACT:CONSUMERS AVOID ADDED SUGAR MORE THAN ANY OTHER INGREDIENT.Source: Mintel, October 2012

MINTEL: 7X AS MANY CONSUMERS AVOID ADDED SUGARS THAN HFCS

22%

21%

17%

13%

8%

5%

4%

3%

3%

3%

Not avoiding or purposefully consuming less

Sugar, added sugar

Fats/oils, hydrogenated fats

Salt/sodium

Soda/carbonated beverages

Carbohydrates/white foods

Fast food

High fructose corn syrup*

Processed/packaged foods

Red meat

Source: Mintel 2012; N = 2,400Q3. In the last six months, have there been any particular foods, beverages, or specific ingredients that you and your family are trying to consume less of or avoid? (multiple responses accepted)* “HFCS” includes HFCS and corn syrup

FACT: FEWER THAN 3% OF CONSUMERS AVOID HFCS IN 12 HIGH-VOLUME PRODUCT CATEGORIES.Source: Mintel, October 2012

Yogurt &

Yogurt D

rinks

Spaghetti Sauce

Salad D

ress

ings

Sports D

rinks

Jam

s & Je

llies

Flavore

d Milk

Cold C

ereal

Fruit

Juic

e

Cakes/Cookie

s/Past

ries

Ketchup

Carbonate

d Bevera

ges

Package Bre

ad

CATEGORICAL PROOF: HFCS IS NOT THE ISSUE

36%

60%

21%

43%

56% 54%

29%

45% 42%

52%

24%

35%

2.7% 2.2% 2.1% 2.0% 1.9% 1.9% 1.7% 1.5% 1.5% 1.3% 1.3% 0.7%

Category shoppers specifying HFCS as a concern when buying products

Category shoppers who consider sugar/sweeteners when buying productsQ11. You said that you consider sugar or other sweeteners when buying … Please

tell us why. (Open-ended response = “Avoid/dislike HFCS”)Source: Mintel 2012; N = 2,008

Source: The Nielsen Company, March 2013

FACT: PRODUCTS THAT SWITCH TO HFCS-FREE FORMULATIONS HAVE FLAT OR FALLING SALES.

HFCS-FREE? CONSUMERS AREN’T BUYING IT.

BEVERAGES BAKED GOODS PREPARED FOODS

SOFT DRINKS FRESH BREAD CANNED SOUP

READY TO DRINK TEAS ENGLISH MUFFINS CONDIMENTS

JUICE DRINKS BAGELS SYRUP

SPORTS DRINKS ROLLS GRANOLA

REFRIGERATED YOGURT DRINKS BUNS

SNACK CRACKERSSource: The Nielsen Company, September 2012

In a scan of 3,200 SKUs, covering 25 leading brands, products that switch to HFCS-free formulations have flat or falling sales.

SWEETENER STRATEGIES: WHAT’S WORKING, WHAT’S NOT AND WHY.

MIRACLE WHIP® and logo are registered trademarks of Kraft Foods, Inc. HEINZ® brands are registered trademarks of H.J. Heinz Co. HUNT’S® brands are registered trademarks of ConAgra Brands Inc. CAPRI SUN® and logo are registered trademarks of Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. POWERADE® and logo are registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.

BRAND APPROACH ACTION

MIRACLE WHIP REPLACED WITHOUT PROMOTION SWITCHED BACK TO HFCS

HEINZ HFCS-FREE LINE EXTENSION MAINTAINS HFCS-FREE LINE

HUNT’S REPLACED WITH PROMOTION SWITCHED BACK TO HFCS

CAPRI SUN LOWER-SUGARS LINE EXTENSION WITH HFCS DRAMATIC SALES GROWTH

POWERADE MAINTAINED HFCS FORMULATION SLIGHT GAIN IN MARKET SHARE OVER HFCS-FREE GATORADE

LEARN MORE ABOUT SWEETENER STRATEGIES

SO WHAT REALLY SPEAKS TO CONSUMER NEEDS?

TOTAL LOWER SUGARS.

KEY TAKEAWAY: THE WORD IS OUT.

IT’S NOT ABOUT WHICH TYPE OF SWEETENER – BUT HOW MUCH.

FOOD FOR THOUGHTKEY QUESTIONS FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE MARKETERS:1. Are you incurring unnecessary costs to develop or promote HFCS-free

products that few of your consumers care about?

2. Instead, should you consider lowering added sugars overall in your products, in response to changing consumer needs?

3. What opportunities does this present for you to increase market share by responding to that change in consumer interests?

IS YOUR BRAND OR COMPETITOR NOTED HERE?

IF SO …

LET’S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING.TALK TO EXPERTS, ASK QUESTIONS AND GET ANSWERS.

• Get white papers and additional content at CornNaturally.com• Talk with your peers in our LinkedIn Showcase Page• Sign up for a free presentation tailored to fit your schedule and address your top concerns

• More consumer research from Mintel, covering 13 major product categories• Nielsen data tracking the sales of top brands that switched from HFCS and top brands that

switched back• Sweetener strategies from leading brands—what works, what doesn’t and why

WE’LL SHARE THE LATEST THIRD-PARTY RESEARCH ON CONSUMERS AND SWEETENERS, INCLUDING: