Sucralose: All eyes on Diet Pepsi …
While sucralose prices have been going up and down like a rollercoaster in recent years, demand has been rising very steadily, said two leading Chinese sucralose producers we spoke to at the show: Kanbo International and JK Sucralose.
Both believe we are now heading for a shakeout in the market, with weaker players exiting and pricing becoming, in JK’s words, “more rational”.
PepsiCo’s plan to switch from aspartame to sucralose in Diet Pepsi this summer will also be watched closely, said JK's global marketing director Stella Wu, although some market watchers are not convinced it will reverse the brand’s fortunes.
She added: "The current competition in price is not rational or healthy... Every manufacturer is suffering, especially the small players with an annual production capacity of a few hundred metric tons, who have higher production costs. For them to offer attractive prices, they have to make sacrifices on product quality, service, innovation, efficiency, sustainability, social responsibility and sustainability."
The winners in the long term will be companies with the best "quality, technology, management, innovation sustainability and financing ability", she added. "We are prepared to double our capacity whenever the market demands."
Click HERE to read our recent interview with Kanbo International.