Which trends offer opportunities on the European honey market?

European consumers prefer low-calorie, natural and healthy sweeteners. They are focusing more on healthy alternatives to refined sugar, such as raw cane sugar, honey and palm sugar. They are also paying more attention to food safety issues and sustainable trade. 

1. Demand for low-calorie products

Sugar replacement offers many opportunities for suppliers of low-calorie sweeteners such as stevia, aspartame and sucralose. Food manufacturers can use these high-intensity sweeteners to maintain the sweetness of their products. They also use them to label their products as ‘light’ or ‘with less sugar’ and position them as healthier products than the original product. 

European consumers are increasingly concerned about their health. In particular, obesity is one of the main health issues. As a result, consumers are trying to avoid products and ingredients with a high calorie level, such as refined white sugar.  

According to projections by the European Union, sugar consumption in the European Union will decrease by about 5% in the next decade. 

The decrease in sugar consumption will be stimulated by European governments that are also increasingly concerned about widespread obesity problems due to high calorie intake.  

Governments of several countries have imposed a ‘sugar tax' (excise duties) on various products containing sugar, such as confectionery, ice cream and soft drinks. However, Denmark and Finland abandoned their sugar and fat tax due to negative economic and political side effects.  

The United Kingdom will introduce a sugar tax in 2018. Furthermore, the European Union has developed policies to ban sugar in fruit juices.  

In line with this trend, food manufacturers are reducing the level of sugar in certain products. They often lower the sugar content of their products in small steps of around 30% and replace it with alternative low-calorie sweeteners.  

This step-wise approach to sugar reduction limits the effect on taste of the products, as consumers can slowly adapt to the new tastes. 

2. Consumers prefer natural sweeteners

In addition to the reduction of sugar intake, consumer concerns about artificial sweeteners are also gaining substantial importance.  

Artificial sweeteners are chemically synthesised and do not appear in nature. Examples include aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K.  

Due to multiple stories about the potentially negative health effects of artificial sweeteners, consumer demand for products without artificial ingredients has increased.  

Consumers are looking for products with natural sweeteners instead. These are extracted from plants and have been processed with techniques which are considered to be close to nature, such as heating, distillation and filtering.

The exact definition of natural is still a subject of debate. Examples of natural sweeteners include palm sugar, stevia, yacon and lucuma. See our studies about palm sugar, yacon and lucuma for more market information. 

3. High interest in potential health benefit

In line with demand for low-calorie products and natural sweeteners, consumers are also interested in products with potential health benefits.  

Examples of sweeteners with such perceived health benefits include raw sugars, which contain more nutrients than refined white sugar.  

Diabetic consumers also show interest in sweeteners with a low Glycaemic Index, such as coconut palm sugar.  

Although several sweeteners, including honey, often have a traditional use as a medicinal or therapeutic product, their potential health benefits cannot be promoted in Europe. This requires scientific evidence for authorisation by European Union authorities, which is generally not available. 

4. Innovative use of honey and sweeteners

Many European consumers are interested in innovative products with new flavours. The food industry is constantly looking for new and alternative sweeteners that can be used in food products.  

European consumers are particularly interested in new sweeteners which are low in calories, natural and healthy. One example is lucuma, a caramel-flavoured fruit from Peru that can be used in ice cream and other snacks. It is increasingly used by companies for its taste as well as its natural and vitamin-rich properties.  

About 25% of the honey consumed in Europe is used as an ingredient in food products. Although honey is not an innovative ingredient in itself, food and drink manufacturers still innovate with honey as an ingredient in products such as salty-sweet snacks, ready-to-drink tea and cereals.  

In recent years, honey has also become trendy as an addition to specialty drinks, flavoured spirits and distilled beverages.  

In the table honey market, which constitutes the other 75% of the honey market, the squeeze bottle has been a major innovation. Introduction of the squeeze bottle has resulted in higher demand for liquid honey (with a high fructose/glucose ratio of >1.2).  

5. Restrictions on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Many European consumers are afraid of the implications of GMO products. These products are therefore a subject of debate in European politics, and the market will remain very restricted in the short term. This will limit possibilities for sweeteners from Genetically Modified (GM) crops. 

Currently, GM cane sugar and any other GM sweeteners are not authorised to be sold in Europe. In the next three years, GM sweeteners are not expected to be authorised for sale either. Not a single authorisation procedure has been started for these products, and these procedures typically take a few years including all the preparatory work. 

Specifically for honey, there has been a lot of attention on GMOs and many importers currently demand honey with a GMO-free certificate. In 2011, a German beekeeper complained to the authorities about the introduction of GM maize in the vicinity of his beehives, which would not allow him to market his honey because of European Union legislation on GM foods.

This complaint led to a discussion on labelling of honey from areas with GM crops. The outcome was positive for honey exporters: GM pollen has to be labelled only if it makes up more than 0.9% of the honey, which is practically never the case.