@kenobi 65
Thank you for getting and supporting what I’ve said too many times!
If it was profitable and marketable to make a sugar free version of Skittles, someone would have made or will make it and as Kevin O’Leary says they’ll be “Crushed like the cockroach they are.” by Mars Wrigley as soon as it was a success. The fact that almost five years has passed since the article was posted shows that even the ‘cockroaches’ understand that the product is a no go.
Another factor in the sugar free anything market is the overall gain in product sales. Say sugar free Skittles is introduced and it makes up 10% of all Skittles sales. But 80% of those sales are by those who switched from buying regular Skittles, meaning the actual market gain was only 2% and a probable loss do to production and marketing costs.
What product manufacturers need to is a 10% (or whatever figure it may be) in additional sales to make the product worthwhile to bring to market.
Again, Coca Cola is a prime example of how this works. In their case fortunately, no doubt due to extensive and costly market research and test marketing came out slightly ahead. But unfortunately for Coke Zero lovers resulted in the loss of their favored product, and possibly in the future, the loss of Diet Coke.
Edit: Note that Coke Zero Sugar was undoubtably brought to market to fill in the gap due to poor or slowing sales of Coke Zero and Diet Coke.
"COCA-COLA CANNIBALISM: Diet Coke’s sister brand is pushing it closer to the brink of destruction
Kate Taylor Oct 25, 2017, 5:54 AM
Diet Coke sales dropped again in the most recent quarter.
Meanwhile, Coke Zero Sugar sales in the US grew after a controversial brand revamp — and, in some markets, began to cannibalize Diet Coke sales.
After a controversial brand revamp, Coke Zero Sugar is on the rise. Meanwhile, Diet Coke’s downward spiral continues — and its sister brand’s success isn’t helping.
On Wednesday, Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected earnings, with a 3% increase in North American sales."
“In the US, Coke Zero sales increased by 3.5% in 2016, compared with Diet Coke’s drop of 1.9% in the same period”.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/coke-zero-sugar-trumps-diet-coke-2017-10
Coke Zero failed because it tastes like crap. Not because of a rejection of diet sodas in general.
At a previous job, one of the people in charge of obtaining birthday cakes for those with birthdays knew I was diabetic, as generally I rarely partook of anybodies cake. She decided to be really fantastic and made me a cake … the deep, thick, wonderful chocolate ganache frosting it was lovingly made with diabetic chocolate. The department had never been so regular before or since =)
I must be allergic to that opium, because I do not like Skittles. M&Ms, OTOH…now, THOSE are addictive regardless of their flavor (except for coffee, a taste I have never acquired).
Earlier this week, I served dinner at a soup kitchen and signed up to bring peanut butter sandwiches, except in my case I made them with gluten-free bread and sunflower seed butter. The bread was meh - tasteless and crumblier than regular white bread - but the sunflower butter was delicious! I’m not a big sunflower seed fan but this was yummy. Anyway, I told a young man what was on that plate, and he replied, “No way! I tried Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (*) made with sunflower seed butter, and they were nasty!” I have seen them, presumably as an alternate for people with peanut or tree nut allergies, and they do not sound good.
(*) or a knockoff brand.
Sugar Free Jolly Ranchers hard candy. Delicious stuff!
I imagine that was good for you?
Not me. I have a sweet tooth, I am not diabetic, I hate chocolate icing (tastes bitter) and I am slightly underweight (not taking in enough calories). The only reason I’m not inhaling (non-chocolate) cakes is my dentist would be cranky with me.
I would have rather had one of those fruit ‘flower’ arrangements than a cake. It was ok, barring the laxative effect, if it had been normal chocolate ganache it would have been fine with me. I made sure when I was working outside the house to make allowances on my birthday to my daily food plan for a piece of birthday cake.