YORK, England--Nestle is launching a lower-sugar Milkybar made with a new version of the sweetener which could help ease the $185 billion confectionery industry's growing public health headache.
Milkybar Wowsomes, a new more expensive take on the 81-year-old white chocolate made famous by the gun-slinging Milkybar Kid ads, will be on shelves in Britain and Ireland in coming weeks.
The world's largest packaged food company says the new bars have 30 percent less sugar than a typical chocolate bar, helped by the use of Nestle's new ingredient, sugar that has been physically altered to be lighter and dissolve faster. But they have only 3 percent fewer calories, due to extra natural ingredients.
The new sugar, first discussed publicly in 2016, partly addresses one of Big Food's toughest challenges - how to make junk food healthy but keep it tasty. "Health is important, but ... many consumers are not ready to give up taste," Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said. "If you could have a tablet of chocolate with the same taste with 30 percent less sugar, I think consumers would jump on it."
Nestle's marketing chief says the aim of the new chocolate, which underwent more than 300 recipe tweaks, is to give parents the option of a healthier treat for their children. Unlike the original plain white Milkybar chocolate, Wowsomes have a chocolate shell around a creamy centre containing both the lighter sugar and crisped oat cereal.
"We felt it was important to signal that this brand is evolving and answering new consumer trends," Patrice Bula, head of marketing, told Reuters.
Nestle is under shareholder pressure to accelerate sales after six years of slowing growth, with the sector struggling as consumers seek fresher foods and flock to new, independent brands seen as healthier or more ethical. Governments are also cracking down on sugar to help fight obesity, but taxes, like the one coming into effect in Britain next week, generally concentrate on soft drinks.
Companies like Nestle are trying to stay ahead. Next month it is rolling out San Pellegrino soft drinks with the low-calorie sugar substitute stevia, which will keep the fruit-flavoured drinks below the new British tax threshold. Nestle's new invention is not for use in drinks and for now, it is just in confectionery - one of the toughest categories to reformulate, as chocolate can be up to 55 percent sugar.
Nestle executives said it was too early to specify how much this development would curb sugar purchases, although the company is looking to cut back over time.
