The news was revealed in the 2017 Nestlé in society – Creating Shared Value report, which covered progress on its key commitments.
In 2016, the company made what it called a “ground-breaking discovery” on sugar structure. It found a way to restructure sugar crystals so they dissolved more quickly on the tongue. This meant less sugar would be needed in the manufacturing process, which Nestlé said could reduce sugar used in products by up to 40%.
Technology
The report said: “We scaled up our technology in 2017, and plan to launch the first products using this technology in mid-2018.”
This initiative is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to reduce sugar in its products. In 2014, it committed to reducing sugars by 10% by the end of 2016 in all products where energy from sugars contributed more than 10% in the daily diet.
The report said: “This was aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline recommending people keep free sugars below 10% of total energy intake.
“By that time, only 7% of our foods and beverages were in scope of this commitment because the other products already met the 10%.
Reduce sugar
“We are pleased that over half of our foods and beverages currently provide less than 5% energy from free sugars. We will now reduce sugars by 5% in the remaining roughly 45%. This is an ambitious task, considering consumer demand for more natural and tastier products.”
In 2017, Nestlé cut sugar from its Kit Kat brand, achieving a reduction of around 7%. It said that, combined with portion control by the end of its global roll-out in 2018, the potentialimpact would be the removal of around 2,100t of sugar from individuals’ diets.