Why sugarfree? According to the Calorie Control Council's 2007 National Consumer Survey, 194 million Americans consume low-calorie and sugarfree foods and beverages. This is an increase of more than 30 million people since 2000, and more than 100 million since 1989 (Figure 1). Further, 48 percent of Americans chew sugar-free gum and 49 percent use sugar substitutes, while 60 percent consume diet soft drinks (Figure 2). The growth rates of U.S. and global sugarfree confectionery and chewing gum markets are outpacing normal confectionery categories with double-digit growth in almost all areas of the world. As you can see from Figure 3,2007 U.S. dollar sales of sugarfree candy and gum are outpacing the growth of their sugar counterparts. Sugar-free gum sales grew at 12.6 percent in 2007 versus a loss of 10.4 percent for sugar-based gum. Sugarfree candy grew at 2.7 percent, while sugar confectionery grew at only 0.5 percent over the 52 weeks ending in December of 2007. In global markets, sugarfree confectionery sales are achieving double-digit growth in virtually every market except the United States, with the maximum growth rate in India, where sugarfree confectionery is growing at 39.7 percent, while sugar confectionery is growing at 7 percent.
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