Additives in confectionery
A pan-European survey conducted by market research institute Innofact AG on behalf of the GNT Group has found that sweet lovers not only pay attention to taste and flavour, but many consumers care about the ingredients in their confectionery products. 37% of Europeans look for sweets free from artificial additives. Italian consumers are the most critical, with more than half of them paying attention to non-artificial ingredients (53%), followed by the French (36%), Germans (34%), Spanish (34%) and the British (27%).
At the same time, even the most critical candy lover seeks appealing sweets with vibrant colours. Here, naturalness is a key factor to influence the purchase decision. The majority (58%) of Europeans – among them 70% of Italians – state that they are prepared to pay more for products that do not contain any artificial additives, especially colourings (47%). Fair trade, organic or vegetarian product qualities have less impact on the willingness to accept a higher price. Only 9% of Europeans think it is acceptable if additive colourings are used in food.
“Less than 17% of British consumers approve such an ingredient. The majority, instead, believe food and drink should only be coloured with other foods such as fruit and vegetable concentrates”, states Paul Collins, board member of the GNT Group and managing director of GNT UK. “With colouring foods manufacturers can fulfil consumer demands and offer vibrant confectionery coloured in a completely natural way, providing a natural choice.”
