Should You Switch High Fructose Corn Syrup for Sugar?

If you're into food or food distribution, chances are you're aware of the whole slew of accusations recently leveled at corn syrup.

There are claims floating around - all unproven mind you - that corn syrup is responsible for everything from obesity to cancer to headaches.

But whether or not it's true, companies who have publicly switched from corn syrup to sugar are enjoying a noticeable boost in sales and profits.

Just ask PepsiCo. The release of Pepsi Throwback, and its tremendous popularity, has led many food manufacturers to question whether or not they should switch from corn syrup to sugar too.

Pepsi Throwback is a "time-limited retro version of Pepsi" that has the natural sugar taste of the 1960s and 1970s (in the '80s almost all soda companies switched to corn syrup).

Groovy.

So, is there any difference between Pepsi Throwback and their current beverage?

Only the price. And their customers don't seem to care.

Some people do say that Pepsi Throwback has a sweeter, more distinctive flavor, but taste tests haven't been definitive.

And whether it's sugar or corn syrup, the calories are almost the same.

So should you make the jump to sugar instead of corn syrup? That depends on your client base as well as your product. Corn syrup is less expensive than sugar, and many manufacturers would lose a lot of revenue by making the shift.

However, if yours is a health-conscious client base, then you could stand to make a tidy profit by switching to natural sugar. Many consumers today will willing spend more on a product they feel is more "natural" or healthy for them.

In this case switching to natural sugar won't cost more, and could in fact boost revenue.

So, you can look at it like a combination of 1960s food manufacturing with modern day health consciousness.

And that's both groovy, and sweet.