Moms Confirm Their Interest in Buying Products Made With the Truvia® Brand for the Whole Family

MINNEAPOLIS, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Truvia® brand continues to lead the way for natural sweeteners, now ranking as the number two sugar substitute in the U.S. with a 12.8 percent share at retail within the sugar substitute category.  Truvia® natural sweetener has achieved this milestone after just over two years on the market, surpassing Merisant's Equal® (aspartame) for the past 16 months and the 52 year-old brand, Cumberland's Sweet'N Low® for the past 12 weeks. (Source: ACNielsen Food/Drug/Mass+Wal-Mart, 4 weeks ending 3/19/11.)

"The rapid acceptance of Truvia® natural sweetener since its launch, shows that consumers want a natural, great tasting, zero-calorie sweetener," said Zanna McFerson, assistant vice president, Cargill Health & Nutrition and director, Truvia® enterprise. "Now, more than ever, consumers are looking for new food and beverage products that help in sugar and calorie reduction."  

Truvia® rebiana is used as an ingredient in over 30 food and beverage products today, including Glaceau vitaminwater zero™, YoCrunch® 100 Calorie Packs, Kraft Crystal Light® Pure and Minute Maid Premium® Pomegranate Tea.

Knowing that a growing number of consumers are searching for sugar-reduced products in the grocery store, the Truvia® brand commissioned an independent study with more than 2,400 moms in the U.S. to answer the following question:  "Are moms willing to give products made with Truvia® natural sweetener to their family?"

The research* confirmed that yes, U.S. moms are already buying (or interested in buying) products made with the Truvia® brand for the whole family, including their kids.  Key findings:

• Current products made with Truvia® brand are most often purchased for the entire family.
• When moms were asked about potential products that could be made with the Truvia® brand in categories such as dairy, ready-to-eat cereal, confections and beverages, the findings were similar across all product categories:
  • Half to two-thirds of moms who are current product purchasers in these categories, are interested in products made with the Truvia® brand.  These moms also indicated they would purchase these products for the entire family, including the kids.  
  • 90% of moms would purchase juice drinks and 89% would purchase ready-to-eat cereal made with the Truvia® brand for their kids.
  • Even moms who currently don't buy products in certain categories, were interested in buying products made with the Truvia® brand and said they would buy these products for the entire family.

"Every day, Cargill works closely with food and beverage companies to find the right recipes for new products or for reducing calories and sugars in existing items," added Zanna McFerson.  "The Truvia® brand provides a solution to create better-for-you products for the whole family."

About Truvia® natural sweetener tabletop and ingredient
The Truvia® brand business is comprised of both consumer products – Truvia® natural sweetener and the ingredient – Truvia® rebiana. Truvia® natural sweetener is a great tasting, natural, zero-calorie tabletop sweetener made with rebiana, derived from the best tasting part of the stevia leaf. Truvia® rebiana is an ingredient used to sweeten foods and beverages. For more information, visit truvia.com.

The Truvia® brand incorporates Cargill standards for food safety, quality assurance and global agronomy expertise. Cargill is the only company in the stevia sweetener market managing from field to the consumer table, and is responsible for opening the category of zero-calorie natural sweetness in 2008.

About Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit cargill.com.

*Source:  Cargill/TNS Proprietary Research: Moms' Acceptance Study.  A study of 2,417 primary grocery shoppers, U.S. moms age 18-59 with children age 1-18 in the household.  Results reported are statistically significant at a 95% level of confidence.  Study was fielded in October 2010.  

SOURCE Truvia