News

Singapore’s Nutri Grade label spurs beverage reformulation

24 May 2023

Nearly six months after becoming mandatory for drinks, Singapore’s Nutri-Grade front-of-pack label is encouraging some beverage brands to reduce sugar and saturated fat content.

Launched in December 2022, Nutri-Grade is a mandatory nutrition label for beverages sold in Singapore in prepacked form and from automated beverage dispensers. Nutri-Grade beverages are graded as A, B, C, or D, according to their sugar and saturated fat content.

Singapore’s Nutri Grade label spurs beverage reformulation
© Singapore Ministry of Health

“Nutri-Grade labels are effective in increasing purchases of beverages that were rated A or B—the healthier drinks,” said Dr Soye Shin, Health Economist from Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School in response to her recent study looking at the impact of these labels on consumer purchases.

“Compared to what was bought during the shopping experience without the Nutri-Grade labels, those bought with the Nutri-Grade labels had a reduced sugar content of 1.5 grams per serving.”

The study was not without its negatives though as additional findings revealed that there were no significant differences in the total calories, saturated fat or other nutrients present in the purchased goods.

According to the research team, this was likely because beverages account for a small part of the total shopping basket.

Nutri Grade label to extend to freshly prepared beverages

While the study highlights the limits of the labelling system that focuses primarily on pre-packaged beverages, the findings are a good starting point to expand NG to include freshly prepared beverages - a move the Singapore government intends to implement by the end of 2023.

The beverage industry has been prepared for the sugar restrictions on pre-packaged beverages for some time now with big name brands like Yeo’s reformulating its flagship products to avoid the high-sugar ‘C’ or ‘D’ labels.

In the last 12 months, Yeo’s has made available zero-sugar and low-sugar variants of its popular chrysanthemum tea products.

“The criteria for a beverage to be labelled a Healthier Choice under the government scheme is to have 5% or less of sugar – the original chrysanthemum tea already qualified for this, and so the less-sugar (2.5%) and zero-sugar (0%) options definitely also qualify too,” said Yeo’s Singapore CEO Angela Lu.

“Similarly for Nutri-Grade, Grade C is where drinks have above 5% sugar content and Grade D beverages have more than 10% sugar content.”

Yeo’s, POKKA and Yakult joins the low sugar movement

Just as Yeo’s have taken the lead on this, so has its fellow beverage makers followed with POKKA also introducing its range of reduced-sugar alternatives such as Kiyo Kyoho Grape Juice Less Sugar.

Yakult has reformulated Yakult Original to now include 6.5 grams of total sugar per 100 ml serving as well as 1.5 µg of vitamin D added.

Now qualified as a Nutri-Grade B product, Yakult Gold has approximately 2.5 times less sugar than Yakult Original.

The pandemic’s influence on consuming less sugar

Further impacting manufacturers and consumer food choices was the pandemic, placing general health under the spotlight, and the need to keep a closer eye on food and beverage intake.

“The pandemic has changed and influenced ways of life globally,” commented Irene Ee, POKKA senior product manager, marketing division.

“This has in turn altered consumers behaviours as well as companies’ business perspectives - protecting [consumers’] health and interests are new expectations, so adaptability is a crucial driving force [for us] to push forward for the years to come.”

Related news

UK High Court allows Oatly to use 'milk' on packaging

UK High Court allows Oatly to use 'milk' on packaging

17 Jan 2024

Oatly has scored a landmark victory in the use of the word milk after the UK High Court ruled against the country’s dairy industry and permitted the term to be used on packaging.

Read more 
Chobani expands drink presence with La Colombe acquisition

Chobani expands drink presence with La Colombe acquisition

16 Jan 2024

Greek yoghurt giant Chobani has purchased US coffee brand La Colombe Coffee Roasters for $900 million, furthering its expansion into beverage categories like coffee, oat milk, creamer and ready-to-drink offerings.

Read more 
PepsiCo to reshape convenient foods portfolio with less sodium and more plant proteins

PepsiCo to reshape convenient foods portfolio with less sodium and more plant proteins

10 Jan 2024

PepsiCo has revealed details of two nutrition goals that look to reduce sodium and boost consumption of legumes, whole grains, and plant-based proteins as part of the multinational’s expanded convenient foods portfolio.

Read more 
Meet the innovative ingredients showcased at Fi Europe’s New Product Zone

Meet the innovative ingredients showcased at Fi Europe’s New Product Zone

3 Jan 2024

The Food Ingredients category at Fi Europe’s New Product Zone featured 19 distinct and innovative products. From fermented delights to sustainable proteins, these ingredients are ready to make their mark in the market.

Read more 
Fi Europe’s New Product Zone elevates the nutrition of everyday indulgences

Fi Europe’s New Product Zone elevates the nutrition of everyday indulgences

22 Dec 2023

At Fi Europe 2023's New Product Zone, eight health ingredients, each offering an enhanced nutritional profile of various products, were on display. These ingredients address the evolving needs of the food and beverage industry and cater to consumers se...

Read more 
MyAir plans to expand personalised adaptogen products to UK

MyAir plans to expand personalised adaptogen products to UK

15 Dec 2023

After launches in Japan and the US, B2B personalised nutrition company MyAir is eyeing the UK market with its white-label functional food and drink products. “Taste is a must – but it's not enough,” says its CEO. “Food has become functional and persona...

Read more 
Augmented technology is the gateway to new food experiences

Augmented technology is the gateway to new food experiences

13 Dec 2023

Harnessing augmented reality as a digital tool could offer consumers increasingly personalised food and beverage experiences, opening up new ways to see and taste products, according to a report by Canvas8 and Givaudan.

Read more 
Colombia introduces tax on ultra-processed foods

Colombia introduces tax on ultra-processed foods

7 Dec 2023

In a bid to curb rates of obesity and other non-communicable disease, the Colombian government has introduced a tax on various ultra-processed food (UPF) and drink products.

Read more 
Snack trends, ingredient claims, and plant-based perceptions: Highlights from Fi Europe 2023, part 1

Snack trends, ingredient claims, and plant-based perceptions: Highlights from Fi Europe 2023, part 1

7 Dec 2023

Value-led snacking, sustainability storytelling, and the importance of having a ‘star ingredient’: we asked consumer analysts and market experts at Fi Europe about the trends and innovations that are shaping the food industry.

Read more 
Consumers want more plant-based meat without GM ingredients

Consumers want more plant-based meat without GM ingredients

28 Nov 2023

Plant-based meat has been a hot and popular category for several years, but not all North American shoppers are embracing vegetarian alternatives that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients, according to the Non-GMO Project.

Read more