FDBusiness.com

AminoSweet Aspartame tastes like sugar.  When they taste water sweetened with aspartame and water sweetened with sugar, most people cannot tell the difference.  As The Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness has stated, “Of all of the low- and no-calorie sweeteners, aspartame has a sweetness that most closely replicates the taste of table sugar.”  It’s not surprising, then, that aspartame has been the driver of growth in low calorie foods and drinks.  Before aspartame was introduced in Western Europe, starting in Denmark and the UK in 1983, consumption of low calorie carbonated soft drinks was 389 million litres.  By the end of 2012, consumption had reached 7.9 billion litres.  Low calorie carbonated soft drinks enjoy a growing market share in many western European countries.  Now, more than ever, low calorie foods and drinks with aspartame are in tune with consumer preferences.  Well-conducted market research undertaken recently in France and the United Kingdom shows that people’s biggest concerns are the amount of fat and sugar in their diets.  Aspartame is made from two amino acids, just like those found in eggs, milk, cheese, grains and fruit.  When we consume products with aspartame, it is broken down to small amounts of common dietary components.  Apart from an excellent sweet taste with calories, aspartame brings nothing new to the diet.  Over the last thirty years, the competition for people’s discretionary expenditure has intensified.  The variety of beverages that consumers have to choose from is always changing and growing.  Growth of out-of-home consumption of food and drink by the “Starbucks generation” continues.  In this context, as the low calorie sweetening ingredient that tastes like sugar, aspartame has a central role in enabling food and drink companies to satisfy consumer demand for great-tasting products, and, at the same time, to deliver against commitments to formulate products that help people choose healthier diets.