Page 17 - FoodFocusThailand No.247 November_December 2026

HOW THAI BEVERAGES CAN MEET

DEMAND FOR LESS SUGAR – WITHOUT

COMPROMISING ON SWEETNESS

Thai consumers are cutting back on sugar – but they still want the familiar sweetness they know and love.
That presents a challenge for beverage producers: how can lower zero-sugar products win over consumers’
taste buds and build share of mind, without compromising on sweetness?

Sugar Reduction Impacts Sweetness, “Replacing sweetness alone leaves gaps in mouthfeel, hints
Mouthfeel and Taste Experience of bitterness, and an unsatisfying finish – and consumers notice
“Sugar works mainly on the tongue’s sweet taste those gaps,” says Thananchanok Ittisiri, Senior Marketing
receptors. It balances acidity, and masks bitterness from Manager, Thailand & Indochina at Givaudan.
other ingredients,” says Pimwalee Kamlang-ek, Senior “Givaudan’s TasteSolutions Sweetness approach covers five
®
Application Technologist at Givaudan. “Depending on the sensory areas: sweetness modulation, mouthfeel restoration,
formulation, reducing sugar can make acidity, bitterness, off-note masking, sour–sweet rebalancing, and aroma rebalancing,”
or ingredient off-notes more noticeable. This is true across Thananchanok says. “A change in one area affects the others,
carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, and functional so we develop them together.”
drinks.” “We draw on taste solutions, identified through our natural
Sweetness reformulation therefore requires optimising product discovery programme, and use AI tools to select and
the complete system, considering not only sweetness optimise combinations for each application.”
intensity but also mouthfeel, flavour balance, and
aftertaste. These elements need to work together to Sweetness Levels Need to Reflect
deliver the desired taste experience, providing the right
balance depending on the beverage’s intended taste Thai Consumer Preferences
profile. As well as the right taste solutions and formulation tools, rebuilding
Reduced-sugar drinks can often lose their taste a drink’s taste profile requires a clear understanding of consumers’
experience. Sugar adds viscosity, and high-intensity preferences for sweetness. Sweetness preferences vary between
sweeteners are used in such small quantities – because markets, and global averages may not reflect what Thai consumers
they’re many times sweeter than sugar – that they cannot expect from a carbonated soft drink, an energy drink, or a functional
replace that viscosity. drink.
“When we try a reformulated drink, we can often “The goal is to understand the level and character of sweetness
perceive a different taste experience compared to the that Thai consumers prefer in each beverage category—and build
original. That is why we look at it from a holistic lens, from the complete taste experience around it,” says Thananchanok.
maintaining the desired sweetness, to mouthfeel and “To get sweetness just right for each category, we need to
aftertaste. These are the main sensory considerations in understand how Thai consumers define the right level and
reduced-sugar beverage development of many Thai character of sweetness.”
brands,” added Pimwalee. That’s the aim of Givaudan’s Thai consumer study. It explores
consumers’ local preferences for sweetness, balance, mouthfeel
Designing Just-Right Sweetness With a and aftertaste in carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, and
Complete Taste Experience functional drinks. Givaudan will report the findings in 2027 – giving
For R&D teams, formulating a reduced or zero-sugar producers a clearer view of the sweetness experience Thai
drink that matches the original product’s full taste profile consumers expect from lower zero-sugar drinks.
– from sweetness and mouthfeel through to finish –
requires a holistic, multisensory approach.

Planning a lower zero-sugar reformulation?
Scan the QR code to talk to Givaudan
about how to win Thai consumers’ taste buds
with sweet taste experiences.

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