Is granulated sugar for coffee the same as bottled drink sugar?

Uni-President Assam Milk Tea has released its first sugar-free original flavor, advertised as true 0 sugar: no sucrose, no sugar substitutes, and no carbohydrates, including no acesulfame potassium, sucralose, erythritol, or aspartame. It keeps the same 500ml size as the classic version and sells for about 3.6 yuan. Energy per 100ml falls from 230 kJ to 58 kJ.

The change is a direct answer to the lower-sugar trend in bottled milk tea, where ready-to-drink tea and sparkling water have taken share. As with is granulated sugar for coffee, the question is what replaces the sweetness and how the body handles it. Does white coffee have more caffeine is a separate matter, but here the technical challenge is keeping Assam's classic taste with no sugar at all.

The bottled milk tea market is undergoing a health-oriented transformation. Uni-President Assam Milk Tea has launched its first sugar-free original flavor version, highlighting "true 0 sugar," meaning it contains no sucrose, sugar substitutes, or carbohydrates, and specifically no acesulfame potassium, sucralose, erythritol, or aspartame. The new product has the same 500ml capacity as the classic version and retails for about 3.6 yuan. Although the ingredients still include food additives, white granulated sugar and glucose syrup have been removed. Energy per 100ml has dropped from 230 kJ in the classic version to 58 kJ, a significant reduction in sugar. In recent years, ready-to-drink tea and sparkling water have diverted some bottled milk tea consumption, while freshly made new-style tea drinks have also captured younger customers. Uni-President's move is both a response to the sugar-reduction trend and a proactive innovation amid market competition. However, the technical challenge of 0-sugar milk tea lies in balancing taste. Whether it can retain Assam's classic flavor after removing sugar will test the brand's R&D strength.

There was a time when, at the mention of ready-to-drink bottled milk tea, the brand that first came to many people's minds was Uni-President Assam. With years of accumulated brand recognition in the bottled milk tea segment, technical barriers higher than those of freshly made tea drinks, and the price advantage of less than five yuan per bottle, Assam has still maintained considerable sales amid fierce competition in China's tea beverage market.

Data from Uni-President China's 2022 annual report show that its milk tea category revenue reached 6.005 billion yuan, up 4.5% year on year. Uni-President also stated that Assam Milk Tea continued to hold the top spot in the market, with its revenue compound growth rate remaining in double digits over the past few years.

In recent years, however, the popularity of ready-to-drink tea and sparkling water has to some extent diverted consumers' enthusiasm for buying bottled milk tea, while freshly made new-style tea drinks have attracted many young consumers with flavor innovation and trending topics. As the leader in the bottled milk tea sector, Assam also needs to innovate.

Recently, Uni-President Assam Milk Tea entered the sugar-free category for the first time, bringing an original flavor milk tea with sugar-free as its core selling point.

It is reported that this new product claims "true 0 sugar," meaning it contains absolutely no sucrose, sugar substitutes, or carbohydrates. In the product poster, Uni-President also specifically stated that "0 sugar substitutes" means no added sweeteners—acesulfame potassium, sucralose, erythritol, and the controversial aspartame of recent years.

Currently, on the Tmall Uni-President official flagship store, Assam Sugar-Free Original Milk Tea and the classic version are not only the same in capacity (both 500ml), but also roughly the same in retail price, both around 3.6 yuan.

Judging from the ingredient list of the sugar-free original milk tea, this product contains water, black tea leaves, milk powder, concentrated milk protein, vegetable oil, diglycerol fatty acid esters, and other ingredients. Although there are still many food additives, sugars such as white granulated sugar and glucose syrup are indeed no longer present.

In addition, the nutrition facts table of this sugar-free original milk tea shows that energy per 100ml is 58 kJ; by comparison, classic Assam Milk Tea has 230 kJ per 100ml.

Uni-President is not the first to focus on "sugar reduction." As early as 2021, PepsiCo globally announced plans to cut the sugar content of soft drinks and tea beverages sold in EU countries by a quarter by 2025.

Another giant, Coca-Cola, also once revealed at an investor conference: "From sugar reduction in 2017 to 2019, during this period we improved the formulas of nearly 1,000 beverages." "We have been taking action to adjust beverage formulas, reduce added sugar, provide small-pack products, and launch more beneficial drinks through innovation, while promoting low-calorie and zero-calorie products."

At the same time, as consumer health awareness continues to increase, low-sugar and sugar-free drinks are becoming more and more favored. Many orders explicitly note requirements such as "half sugar," "30% sugar," and "no sugar." Meituan data show that compared with the first half of last year, in the first half of this year the proportion of nationwide beverage delivery orders choosing "no added sugar" rose by 1.3%, the proportion choosing "30% sugar" rose by 3.2%, while the proportion choosing "full sugar" fell by 2%.

Some analysts believe that the difficulty of 0-sugar milk tea lies in balancing taste. Uni-President Assam's product update this time needs to retain the original flavor while removing sugar, which is a major test of the brand's R&D capability.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.