Kentucky Friend Chicken became KFC so we'd forget it was fried, and now the Corn Refineries Association will be calling high fructose corn syrup "corn sugar" to rid it of its bad rap.
With growing public health concerns surrounding obesity and diabetes, the use of corn syrup as a sweetener in countless grocery items is taking the blame. With noticeable drops in the sales of products that contain more corn syrup, many companies are beginning to remove corn syrup as an ingredient. It will be interesting to see if "corn sugar" will sell any better.
Photo credits:
Elev8 | Babble
Controversial Commercial Rebranding
Corn Syrup Gets a Clean Slate as "Corn Sugar" in this Ad
Trend Themes
1. Health Awareness - The growing concern for public health is driving the removal of corn syrup as an ingredient in grocery items, creating opportunities for alternative sweeteners.
2. Ingredient Rebranding - The renaming of high fructose corn syrup to "corn sugar" is an example of companies repositioning and renaming ingredients to improve consumer perception and sales.
3. Product Reformulation - "Corn sugar" presents the chance for companies to reformulate their products using other sweeteners, attracting consumers who are concerned about the negative health effects of corn syrup.
Industry Implications
1. Food and Beverage - The food and beverage industry can explore alternative sweeteners and reformulation strategies to create healthier products in response to the declining demand for corn syrup.
2. Health and Wellness - The health and wellness industry can capitalize on the growing health awareness trend by promoting and marketing alternative sweeteners as healthier options to corn syrup.
3. Consumer Goods - Consumer goods companies can seize disruptive innovation opportunities by rebranding and removing corn syrup from their products to meet the changing preferences of health-conscious consumers.