Sweetener Sales Going Up Even As Sugar Still Tops Taste Tests

The saga of the sweeteners has been a complicated one in the last year.

With continuing negative press high fructose corn syrup has dropped in sales, even though all current data shows that the body processes it exactly like regular sugar.

At the same time companies advertising the substitution of "natural" sugar in the place of HFCS have seen an 11% growth in sales in the last year. So for now, good old fashioned sugar is enjoying a comeback after it was demonized by the low-carb craze.

At the same time artificial sweeteners continue to grow in popularity, even as a recent sweetener taste comparison test conducted by Consumer Reports finds that even artificial sweeteners have a hard time standing up to real sugar.

According to the test, drinks and candies are a good place to use artificial sweeteners, while baking items don't fare as well.

That's a problem, since baked goods are very popular, and rely on sugar for more than just sweetening. As it says in the article, "sugar does a lot more than add sweetness," it helps baked goods rise, and gives them an attractive color and texture.

However, some success was found in using a mixture of regular sugar and artificial sweeteners like sucralose or saccharin.

Food manufacturers looking to capitalize on both of these growing trends might find substantial success marketing popular baked goods as "reduced sugar," since this offers consumers a variety of popular benefits.

They could still enjoy those baked goods, while consuming fewer calories, "natural" sugar, and artificial sweeteners.