Home baking with fewer calories
lucrative home baking market with the launch of what it claims is
the world's first sugar/sweetener blend.
Sucralose is unique among sweeteners in that it is made from sugar, rather than 'artificial' ingredients, and the US company which markets the no-calorie brand, McNeil Nutritionals, claims that this was a major factor in the development of the new product, Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking.
Splenda already claims to be the number one branded retail sweetener in the US, and was keen to build on the growing trend towards healthier products by diversifying into previously untapped growth areas.
"Americans are not willing to compromise on taste when looking for healthier solutions," said Colin Watts, president of McNeil Nutritionals. "We created Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking to offer a true sugar baking replacement option for the growing consumer demand," he said, citing company figures which suggested that over 66 per cent of consumers would purchase the sweetener/sugar blend instead of sugar.
Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking contains sugar, which allows consumers to achieve the browning, rising, spreading and texture that baked goods made with sugar possess, but the addition of the sweetener means that these results can be achieved with only half the amount of sugar suggested in the recipe.
"With over 80 per cent of consumers telling us they would use Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking on all or most baking occasions, we see this product really changing the way people think about sugar," added Watts.
The new product will be available throughout the US in August 2004, in a 2 lb re-sealable plastic bag and at a suggested retail price of $6.29 - $6.49. There is no word as yet as to when - if at all - the product will be available in Europe, in particular in the UK where Splenda's table top sweetener brand was recently launched.
