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Monk fruit may lift sales in US diet soda market
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An obscure melon once cultivated by Buddhist monks in China to sweeten tea could give the US$8 billion US diet soda industry a shot at winning back consumers concerned about artificial ingredients.
You won’t find monk fruit in any of the soft drinks at your local convenience store. So far, shaky supplies and limited demand have kept the expensive melon on the sidelines of the sweetener industry.
But some experts think the fuzzy green fruit, which ripens to the size of an apple, could be the ingredient soda makers have sought for decades: a natural product with great taste and no calories.
When “someone figures this out and gets a taste that is low-calorie and natural, it could really be a silver bullet that catapults that company ahead,” said Ali Dibadj, an analyst at Bernstein.
Soft drink makers are increasingly desperate for just such a miracle ingredient. Once a booming sector, diet soda has become a laggard. In the United States, consumption fell about 7 percent this year and could shrink by 20 percent through 2020, Nielsen data showed.
Consumers, increasingly wary of the health risks of artificial sweeteners, are ditching diet sodas for juices, teas and naturally sweetened lemonades, according to a recent Wells Fargo analysis.
Five years ago stevia, a low-calorie sweetener made from the leaves of a Paraguayan plant, was heralded as an ideal natural sweetener. But it has had only limited success.
Coca-Cola Co uses stevia in 45 products in 15 countries, including in Coke Life, a low-calorie alternative available in Chile and Argentina. PepsiCo uses stevia in Pepsi NEXT, a low-calorie drink it sells in Australia and France. But customers have complained that stevia’s bitter aftertaste alters the sodas’ flavors.
Now, some beverage makers are pinning their hopes on monk fruit, which is already used in protein shakes, snack bars and brownies.
“If you do detect any kind of taste, it is a fruity taste, which goes well with soda,” said Linda Gilbert, CEO of EcoFocus Worldwide, a consumer research company focusing on green and sustainable trends.
Monk fruit has been consumed for centuries in southern China, but in recent years it has become popular across the country, where it is marketed in as a remedy for sore throats.
At BioVicttoria, the fruit’s top exporter, monk fruit is bred for maximum sweetness and is hand-pollinated. The company mechanically extracts its sugar content.
As public concern about artificial sweeteners has grown, demand for monk fruit extract has increased. Supplies have also steadied since BioVittoria began producing monk fruit extract.
The company has deals with local farmers to produce 60 percent of China’s yield of 400 million monk fruits, distributed exclusively by global sugar and sweetener giant Tate and Lyle.
Ultimately, big soda companies may have to swallow higher prices to hold on to diet soda drinkers.
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