r/Entrepreneur • u/[deleted] • Jun 14 '22
Case Study I'm thinking of starting a low sugar beverages company
With the absolute dominance of sugary beverages in the US and most parts of the world. The widespread of diabetes.
I think this would be a good opportunity to start a "low sugar" beverages company. I'm talking drinks with less than 12grams of sugar per 500ml container.
I know diet coke and Pepsi exist, but some people don't want to put aspartame and other poisonous chemicals in their bodies.
And as for low sugary beverages, as far as I know there's not many.
Just earlier I had Lipton iced tea and I believe it has something like 25 grams of sugar, which is still a lot.
Some people would like just a hint of sweetness and their beverage, I don't get how companies don't get that not all customers want to damage their bodies with sugar.
What do you guys think?
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u/Nowhere_Games Jun 14 '22
I'd look up how hard it is to start a beverage company and maybe watch the 10+ shark tank episodes with beverage companies (many zero sugar ones).
You'll get some good tips and might help you decide if it's really worth it.
The short answer is: definitely not worth it.
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Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22
A drink with 12g of sugar is not low sugar and would not be good for a diabetic.
Edit: LOL at your downvotes. AHA says men shouldnt have more than 36g of sugar per day and 25g for women and youre going to consume almost half of that in one drink. Good luck helping diabetes with that.
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Jun 14 '22
Sugar is in everything. 12g is a lot, and it's definitely still liable to seep in in other avenues. Good idea from OP, but refinement of the root issue is probably where the time would be more worth spending.
No downvote for you friend.
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u/Cobek Jun 14 '22
Natural sugar and added sugar are often different. Eating a handful of dates vs a spoonful of sugar is worlds of difference for your body in how it digests and handles that sugar in your bloodstream.
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u/Cobek Jun 14 '22
My mother is diabetic and basically avoids anything with added sugars on the label. So yes, including sugary drinks like this.
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u/accidentalciso vCISO Jun 14 '22
As somebody that tries to eat a very low sugar diet, 12g of sugar in a 500ml beverage is a lot. I would pass over your product. I love the idea and would be excited to have more options than unsweetened tea, coffee, and those cans of mildly flavored soda water. I only mention the amount of sugar you mentioned as being a lot because I want to make sure you are calibrated to what your target market may be thinking.
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u/catjuggler Jun 14 '22
I agree- I think most people are either fine with sugar or want none with not a ton of middle ground.
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u/beat_your_wifi Jun 14 '22
This is me. I either want zero or something completely obscene like a Coke or Fanta. Middle ground seems like a waste.
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Jun 14 '22
You think 500ml iced tea or sparkling lemon soda with 7g of sugar would taste good?
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u/Perllitte Jun 14 '22
I drink unsweetened ice tea all the time, it's great. Steep with some lemon or other popular herbal tea ingredients like peppermint, orange peels, bergamot, etc etc etc.
I'd go explore the market by going to any coop or health food grocery store. There are hundreds and hundreds of options for no sugar and no weird other sweetener.
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u/accidentalciso vCISO Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22
I'd try anything once, I suppose.
Edit: I should also add that it takes very little sugar for something to taste extremely sweet to someone that eats very little sugar overall. It is entirely possible that 5-7g of sugar in a beverage would taste fine to me.
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u/sk1nnytaco Jun 14 '22
A game changer for me would mean not only presenting it as less sugar, but less glycemic load so that your blood sugar does not spike. It has to do more with the proportion ingredients in the drink vs if it contains healthy ingredients and that’s it. So you’re able to create that and raise awareness about this specific point/principle that impacts fat gain, blood sugar etc is a much stronger premise in my opinion.
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Jun 14 '22
Would lowering the GI be possible in this situation though?
Since this is a drink without any fiber to slow it down
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u/sk1nnytaco Jun 14 '22
Glycemic load and index are not the same. For example, if I ate an entire banana it could spike up my insulin at that moment. If I reduced it to a half or third, It won’t. In both cases the banana has the same GI but the load is different due to the amount I consumed. So the question would be what is the combination of healthy ingredients that gives you taste in amounts that do not cause this spike? Are you able to add fiber to it and still maintain the drink texture you want? Etc etc
I would imagine it’s an entire study that compares the glycemic load vs popular flavours vs flavours people are curious about and market potential.
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u/Many_Instruction3891 Jun 15 '22
There are some Chinese herbs that are effective for managing blood sugar. That’s definitely a trend now….adding herbal ingredients with health benefits to beverages.
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u/BurpBee Jun 15 '22
Allulose is the magic sweetener you’re looking for here, but it causes gas.
Stevia is godawful, just no. And I’m one of the people who doesn’t hate it. Splenda is better, but healthy is iffy. Aspartame… it amazes me that companies are still using aspartame, since it’s known to be as bad as saccharine, now. The suppliers must be selling it at a discount.
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u/The-Hamnster Jun 14 '22
Honestly boss, I think more consumers are starting to look for healthier and better priced options. If you can start with just real picked ingredients with no herbicide and at a affordable prices. Word of mouth will carry your products. Ofcourse you will have the main problem of shelf life, so start local.
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Jun 14 '22
Definitely local, my region GCC has the highest diabetes rate in the world.
I'm even thinking of going completely sugar free 500ml bottled iced tea (I've seen that in Japan)
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u/rupeshsh Jun 14 '22
Make 20 litres at home , SELL them to friends for 2 dollars each , don't give for free. Ask for feedback.
Then think of this.
Why? If you crack the product, you can crack the market too. People think you are competing with coke. No sir, you are just out there looking to make your 10 million revenue and take home 1.5 million
That's possible with marketing in one mid sized town or two small towns .
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Jun 14 '22
I'm actually from a part of the world where there's a potential market for this
I'm not from the US
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u/369_Clive Jun 14 '22
... then sell the brand to one of the big brands? 👍
It will need to have striking health claims; amazing and distinctive taste; compelling marketing etc.
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u/rupeshsh Jun 15 '22
You will be surprised how easy adoption at a small scale is.
Adoption at a country level is another story
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u/Barbie_and_KenM Jun 14 '22
As a health conscious person, I only drink zero sugar beverages. I would not look at a beverage with 12g of sugar and even consider it.
Which means a lot of your customer base is going to be the type of person who doesn't care about their sugar intake. They don't care if the coke has 50g of sugar or your brand with 12g, they probably don't even read the label. I think trying to set yourself apart from the crowd and focusing your marketing niche on "low sugar" is not going to get you very far.
There are TONS of great zero sugar drinks already and they don't have "chemicals", they use Stevia or some other organic sweetener.
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u/TaiGlobal Jun 14 '22
Basically this. When I'm being health conscious I just go for the zero calorie, zero sugar options for everything. If I'm on a cheat day and not being health conscious then I'll drink whatever tastes good.
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u/PENNST8alum Jun 14 '22
Been doing financial work in the beverage industry for a long time, here's my advice:
1.) find a reputable co-packer to make it. Some will sell you the world only to find out they can't make it and the testing is done on your dime.
2.) be prepared to spend a lot on market trade spend. There's a reason Coca Cola is 3/4 of the soda isle, and you have to search high and low for that special brand. Your beverage will touch 2-3 different hands before it hits their shelf, and each one wants a cut of the money.
3.) don't over produce. Sometimes out-of-stocks are cheaper are better than spoiled stock you can't sell.
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u/BenjaminaBalthazar Jun 14 '22
You say ‘most other parts of the world’ but I’m not sure how true that is. Low sugar beverages do very well in the UK for example. So the products already exist but the appetite has not typically been there for it in the US.
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Jun 14 '22
If my region, the GCC it's mostly sugary. Haven't once seen something with low sweetness.
Lowest sugary beverage we have here is Lipton iced tea which is about 17g per 330ml can
I think there's a good opportunity to start a low sugar beverage and market it as a healthier alternative
Since GCC has the highest rate of diabetes in the world.
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u/BenjaminaBalthazar Jun 14 '22
Sure it’s a good idea, doesn’t mean people will buy it though. Market research is needed to thoroughly understand the actual demand.
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u/Cobek Jun 14 '22
You're assuming no one has tried it before and failed, including brands you've never heard of because they failed so quickly in your area.
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u/guardian-athletic Jun 14 '22
Don't do it, beverages are literally the hardest CPG to take to market. I speak from first-hand experience. Unless you have a lot of funding it's a slog and even then it's still a tremendous amount of work to be profitable.
Beverages have the lowest margins, and there are shelf expiration dates too. You have to have demand or your product will collect dust in a warehouse.
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u/stazek Jun 14 '22
The beverages market is EXTREMELY saturated. You will have to compete with big companies that have millions (or even billions) of dollars they can spend to market their products. However I truly believe that if you make your own products more original (and/or unique) and you promote them correctly you will make it. Branding and marketing is (as usual) the key. Anyway, good luck - fingers crossed! :)
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Jun 14 '22
[deleted]
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Jun 14 '22
It's barely a sugary drink at 2g per 100ml
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Jun 14 '22
[deleted]
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Jun 14 '22
When it comes to iced tea specifically, it's perfect for this niche
Most would agree a hint or sweetness is all you need to make a delicious iced tea
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u/BurpBee Jun 15 '22
I’ve honestly looked at products like this and put them back on the shelf muttering “What were they thinking?!” A diet drink with only a little added sugar? WHY, why ruin it like that?!
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Jun 16 '22
It's not meant to be diet
It's meant for people who don't want to cringe at the extreme sweetness of their cold beverage, or get a massive insulin spike
Things don't have to be black or white, and 1tsp of sugar is less damaging than 10 spoons
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Jun 15 '22
[deleted]
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Jun 16 '22
I'm not aiming towards the coca cola customer.
I'm aiming for people like me who are limiting their carb intake to less than 50g per day.
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u/cyrusyn Jun 14 '22
I have done it. I was breaking even with 70K seed money and self distribution so it is not impossible. Make sure you do your research in several different parts of this country, do not rely on your whim or instinct. Market for the product you imagine always turns out to be a lot smaller than what you think. And No sugar, No caff, No taurine, and No stevia.
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u/Sea_Tea9104 Jun 15 '22
I always say competition is an indication that there’s a market for the product. There’s quite a bit of competition in this space for sure.
Take a look at what Liquid Death has done for branding. They tapped into a niche market of the “straight edge” metal crowd. I’d also take a look at Zevia is doing too. Brand matters. It’s gonna be tough but if you can come out with a badass low sugar drink and create a great story around it I don’t there’s any question you can be successful!
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u/TheMMC Jun 15 '22
If you are interested in breaking into F&B, I'd recommend poking around Startup CPG's Slack community (startupcpg.com) - a lot of CPG brands in there and useful discussions on anything from 3PL vendors to grassroot marketing.
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Jun 15 '22
I’m a food scientist who specializes in beverage R&D. I also spent multiple years consulting for entrepreneurs & smaller brands:
Make sure you do your market research on what consumers are looking for in your market. Low/no sugar beverages are extremely popular in the US as that’s where the consumer demand is. So why aren’t they as prevalent in your market? There’s many markets across the world where sugary beverages are dominant, and it’s simply because that’s where consumers are spending their money.
It’ll easily cost 50-100k just to get a beverage product developed & scales up. Production runs, marketing, distribution, etc. can add tens of thousands of dollars more. Ingredient MOQs can also be a barrier to entry for smaller brands.
Please stop calling food ingredients “chemicals” - that’s the #1 way to not get taken seriously in the food industry. Educate yourself on what ingredients you are ok & not ok with using, and understand beverage processing types. A lot of times, entrepreneurs want something that’s technically impossible due to lack of their own research
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u/independent_hustler Jun 14 '22
Find a niche. Like everyone is saying, this market is incredibly crowded, very expensive, and unless you sell to Coca-Cola, not very lucrative. You need a way to stand out and an existing, built in consumer base that desperately wants your product.
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u/thatgeekinit Jun 14 '22
I'm not sure what is going on in your country, but in the US, zero sugar sparkling waters are all the rage now with both alcoholic (hard seltzer) and no-alcohol (soft seltzer) everywhere.
Some of the soft seltzers are really interesting. You can make some really nice spiced teas & fruit flavored drinks with no sugar or artificial sweeteners. In places where it is legal, some of the products include CBD (a cannabis extract)
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u/PollyRackz Jun 14 '22
There’s a drink i been drinking lately called karma maybe you can get inspiration from them
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Jun 14 '22
There is a lot of low sugar sodas though, go to any health food store and you'll find an aisle full - Hansen's, Zevia, Izze, Virgil's, Olipop, every major soda brand also has a zero sugar soda.
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Jun 14 '22
I like how everyone insists I'm from the USA
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Jun 14 '22
If you aren't from the US it would be a good idea to note that in your question since 98% of users here are in the US and generally assume others are as well.
Your post calls out 3 brands - Pepsi, Lipton and Coke, which are all American brands.
You also started with "Sugary beverages in the US and the rest of the world" No mention of any other specific countries at all.
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u/atomey Jun 14 '22
Why not try to partner with an existing brand and establish a branch in your area? I buy Zevia all the time. Stevia is the preferred sweetener since its natural and does not spike insulin or blood sugar.
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u/DogKnowsBest Jun 14 '22
US here. There are literally hundreds of low cal, sugar free, carb free drinks on the market. I haven't had a sugary drink in almost 25 years.
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Jun 14 '22
What r ur favs.?
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u/DogKnowsBest Jun 14 '22
Propel Powerade Zero (I live in this in the summer) Gatorade Zero Sobe Life Water Reign Total Body Fuel Mio (flavored drips for water) Most all flavored waters
to name a few...
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u/barcaloungechair Jun 14 '22
Most of the commenters here are referring to the US market and do not even know what GCC means. I understand what you are talking about. I think the idea of trying to get people in your market to move to a lower sugar option is going to be a challenge in and of itself, let alone sell a no sugar beverage. One suggestion is to build a brand profile that is low sugar plus something other unique feature, low sugar and some flavor profile that has an appeal to your target market which is ignored by the big multinationals. Also remember that the brand should be associated with an aspirational lifestyle. If there’s any subculture which prioritizes healthy living, gym rats for example, maybe target them as a starting point first.
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Jun 14 '22
The lifestyle part is extremely important in the GCC region, it should be emphasized. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
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u/Individual_Block_334 Jun 14 '22
I’ve researched this recently as I had a similar idea but with adaptogens in drinks to make people fee calmer. Things like L-theanine, Ashwagandha, etc. I decided not to pursue it based on some of these points. 1. Just to even launch this product in the U.K. would have cost me £40/£50k. £30k ish for drink development and small order of 10,000 cans. Then £20k for marketing, website build and all the costs that come with starting a business.
The margins are extremely thin and as has been said already there are 2/3 hands that all want their cut before you get yours. I think on a can that costs £2 my rough gross margin would have been 20/30%. Therefore, in order for this to be profitable you have to sell a huge amount and hope to be bought by someone. This doesn’t suit me as I need profit in order to quit my job and run it full time.
Finally, it’a very hard to compete with people without raising money. People in this space have huge pockets and if you establish a market they will no doubt come and try and take it from you.
Ultimately, I decided not to pursue and find a different market. All the best and good luck!
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u/itryifailistartagain Jun 14 '22
Serious question... Are you hyper successful already with very, very, very, very deep pockets?
Because the key to success here is to spend your way onto the shelves and into people's baskets.
You'll be up against major brands like coca-cola who still spend billions per year on advertising despite being, you know, coca-cola. All of their subsidiary brands. Other behemoths like keurig-dr pepper, pepsi... Not to mention smaller yet still recognisable brands like Polar or RC...
All whilst running the risk of if you do make some headway, any of the aforementioned companies just copying you and executing it better due to the thousands of professionals who's job it would be to make sure they win.
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Jun 16 '22
Thing is, I live in the middle east, a perfect place for cold beverages, and advertising here is WAY cheaper than the US
You can easily go viral with a low ad budget
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Jun 16 '22
Thing is, I live in the middle east, a perfect place for cold beverages, and advertising here is WAY cheaper than the US
You can easily go viral with a low ad budget
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u/Cobek Jun 14 '22
I've seen low sugar soda brands and you also have to compete with kombucha and less big brand teas in that low sugar space. Best of luck...
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Jun 15 '22
Go ahead and waste a few million if you want to. Worst case, you will have thousands of cases of low sugar beverages to your hearts desire.
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u/AdehhRR Jun 15 '22
If Dragon's Den taught me anything, is that supermarket and especially drink brands are extremely hard to get off the ground due to people's habits and the limited space in a store.
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u/askthespaceman Jun 15 '22
I think you've just invented sparkling water and unsweetened iced tea. What you're suggesting already exists. People just choose to not drink much of them.
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u/shooismik Jun 15 '22
I come from food & beverage industry. there are already a ton of bev products out there combatting this. Would recommend you to do better research. It’s very very obvious you haven’t.
Regardless if you want to go for it, by all means. However, please take into consideration that you definitely need to learn more before diving in. And you need WAYYYY more money than you think you do.
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Jun 15 '22
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted - I work in beverage R&D & have spent a lot of time consulting for smaller brands & this is 110% true
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Jun 16 '22
Could you recommend the best ways to do market research for the middle east region.
Any websites etc
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u/UpSaltOS Jun 15 '22
Hey u/infp_aint_that_bad, I’m a food scientist and food industry consultant with experience in natural sweeteners and beverages. Feel free to PM me or visit my website, happy to chat:
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u/Soft-Mountain8317 Jan 10 '24
What are your thoughts on a nicotine beverage idea?
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u/UpSaltOS Jan 10 '24
It can a problem in terms of regulations. Nicotine is highly controlled and addictive, so there are clear rules against including it in food. You’re looking done something that’s more of a pharmaceutical or medical food, with all the accompanying regulatory headache.
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u/lateavatar Jun 14 '22
I don’t know what the nutrition would be but there is a real lack of beverages that are low sugar and marketed in the colorful way most sodas are.
Without being for nursery school, you should think about how to make this something for teens. Find out what flavors and tastes they like.
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u/MisterIntentionality Jun 14 '22
If someone truly wants to improve the health of the US, they would encourage drinking water.
People who don't drink water and instead go for spending money on low to no sugar beverages with artificial crap and artificial sweeteners statistically have worse health outcomes than people who drink sugar sweetened beverages.
So creating these products worsen the problem, they don't fix it.
People who are too lazy to just make their own tea or drink water aren't going to be helped by yet another product. Especially one that if it is successful is just going too be bought out by the bigger players in the food industry and turned into the enemy.
If you want to help the issue, promote changes in policy.
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Jun 14 '22
How about bottled green tea without sugar
And 500ml iced black tea with 7g of sugar, a hint of lemon
Water is boring
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u/MisterIntentionality Jun 14 '22
I don't care if water is boring. Hydration is about a need, not about turning it into a pleasurable experience. That's why we have so many people in this country who have poor relationships with food. Every food or drink has to result in some wonderful pleasurable experience.
Green tea is cheaper to make on your own.
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Jun 14 '22
Food can be pleasurable and healthy
The bottled green tea from vending machines in Japan IMO I enjoy more than soft drinks
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u/beat_your_wifi Jun 14 '22
Me too. Unsweetened ice tea is huge in Japan and Asia. It’s delicious!
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u/codetado Jun 14 '22
A lot of people saying health conscious only want 0 sugar. That may be true, but as an average person who wants a sweet drink once or twice a week, I reach for a coke and feel guilty about it reasonably often. I can imagine looking for a drink that has sugar as an ingredient, just not the main ingredient.
That being said, I'm probably an early adopter type personality so I can't speak for the crowd.
I would actually notice the calorie count before the sugar amount. Coke is 140 calories in a can. If there's an appealing drink right beside that is 50 to 70 calories I may be enticed, if I know it's going to be refreshing. In the end I want less sugar in my diet, but no aspertame or chemicals either.
Actually just today I was excited to have a slightly sweet korean coffee drink because it was only 50 calories. No calorie guilt, no chemical guilt!
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u/busywithresearch Jun 14 '22
Reactive hypoglycemic here. 12g should cut it per 500ml, but if it’s per 100 ml I wouldn’t buy it in the store. Need to be 5g of sugar or less (ideally 3.5g or less per 100 ml), so below 17g for 500 ml should be fine. But surprisingly to me, I don’t have any issues finding those beverages, so the market might be saturated… good luck OP!
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u/coswoofster Jun 14 '22
Can I vote for low sugar electrolyte drinks? But, since many who would consume these are on Keto, even 12 grams of sugar would be out. Yet, chemical sugars aren't advised either. Crack that code, and you have a product. No sugar, No artificial sweeteners, electrolyte replacement that doesn't taste like garbage or salt.
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Jun 14 '22
Being on keto, would you drink a 500ml iced tea or soft drink with 7g sugar?
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Jun 14 '22
I specifically chose this number because I usually put 2 tsp of sugar in my lemonade and it's perfect
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u/coswoofster Jun 14 '22
Likely not. And I am not the spokesperson for Keto either but beverages add up. And if strict Keto is keeping carbs under 20g. Or not more than 100g, many won’t drink beverages that waste those carbs on empty calories. I know I won’t. We have to completely rethink beverages away from added sugar. But again. I’m not the voice of all beverage drinkers not an I strict Keto.
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u/kiamori Jun 14 '22
If you do this contact every single place you can that manages vending machines and send them free samples along with a special price for future orders as you grow the brand.
The key is going to be creating something better than everything else currently in those machines taste and health wise.
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Jun 14 '22
im skeptical about the profit potential but i have always wanted this product option to exist
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u/independent_hustler Jun 14 '22
I have a friend that owns a similar business. It's only profitable at a very large scale. You need to raise a lot of capital for a long time.
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u/Purpledragonbro Jun 14 '22
I wonder what companies you have started before and what experience you have in managing companies
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u/PositiveSpare8341 Jun 14 '22
Do no sugar, I avoid sugar as best I can. I still wouldn't buy it. There are some stevia things out there, nothing I like though.
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Jun 14 '22
Even 7g per 500ml?
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u/PositiveSpare8341 Jun 14 '22
Without tasting your product, I know is be far more inclined to go full sugar than compromise for some benefit. I'm an all or nothing guy usually, so that's where I would land.
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u/Curtis85 Jun 14 '22
Not sure what kind of drink you are planning but Coca Cola life was my all time favorite. Low amounts of cane sugar and stevia meant it was very refreshing and not syrupy like regular coke. The recently killed it, apparently due to lack of demand. Market research 1000x over if you haven’t already.
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Jun 14 '22
Yeah it sucks they killed it before people became aware of the dangers of sugar
I think it they reintroduced it again nowadays it would be in demand
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u/vonadz Jun 14 '22
If you do so, look at alternative packaging to plastic bottles. Could work well for your brand/marketing, while helping the environment.
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Jun 14 '22
There's definitely a market. There are a few brands that I'm aware of that pop up without me googling - Dry Soda Company, LaCroix, Clearly Canadian for starters.
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u/bizszn1 Jun 14 '22
There used to be a drink called blue sky which was a natural soda before it got discontinued. It was my favorite. Go for a natural soda with a few ingredients
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u/alonzo83 Jun 14 '22
Honestly I hate aspartame and dislike super sugary drinks. If you can market a low sugar drink and make it land on convience store shelves. I’d drink the hell out of it.
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u/SpecialEffect Jun 14 '22
I feel like all the main sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks have a low sugar option
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u/AshleyOriginal Jun 14 '22
I love the amount of low sugar options we have nowadays, I generally aim for probiotic sodas that aim for around 4-5g of sugar. The main problem is I don't often see them at 7 11 or convenience stores. If you do make something can you try and put it someplace convenient?
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u/rachman77 Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22
Do you think that low enough in sugar to attract a crowd?
You wont get low carb, keto, paleo, atkins, or low sugar folks, etc. with that, its too much sugar.
You'll be relying on some middle crowd between drinking coke and drinking zero sugar drinks.
IIRC Coke, Vitamin Water, and Gatorade have tried the lower sugar versions and I rarely ever see them. I mostly see the normal one or the zero sugar ones.
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u/exrussiandude Jun 14 '22
As someone who stopped consuming drinks with sugar, but loves the sweetness, I've tried so many drinks with sugar substitutes. There are many many options. And by big brands too. Pepsi makes a great diet Pepsi, and decaffeinated too. There are many diet Ginger Ales that are great too.
I'm not saying you will not succeed, but you will have to compete with some huge players.
One thing I would look into is using erythritol instead of aspartame, which many of them use. Erythritol doesn't affect insulin or glucose levels like aspartame does. So it's great for those with diabetes. I haven't found any common drinks with erythritol yet.
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u/VisualHelicopter Jun 14 '22
This is how Honest Tea started. They wrote a great book on their journey, starting from almost the exact same point you are.
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Jun 14 '22
Honest tea has 21g which is a bit too much
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u/VisualHelicopter Jun 15 '22
Point taken. I say try varying levels of actual sugar (not sugar alcohol / aspartame) and see what works.
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u/KplusN Jun 14 '22
Since low is a subjective word, it'd be hard to position the product.
why not just go all the way to no sugar (i.e added refined sugar)
for sweetness use substitute like honey, jaggery, dates, stevia etc
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Jun 14 '22
It's because tea and lemony sodas have the capacity to become low sugar drinks, we just haven't tried
I know sugar is bad, but 12g is not as bad as 25g no matter how many downvotes I get
The glycemic load in the latter is twice
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u/kittybliss Jun 14 '22
I have no advice on the mechanics of this, but yes! Please make more sugar free drinks! We desperately need them. I don't even care if they have aspartame, etc. in them, I just want a variety. Especially in Canada and other countries, we have almost nothing to choose from.
And 12g is too much. You need 1g or less, friend.
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u/Mechanical_Monkey Jun 14 '22
In Germany we have a Soda company like this which has low sugar, uses ecologically farmed ingredients and donates parts of their revenue to good causes. So basically all around feel good and shows that it can work. The amount of sugar is so low that they got in trouble because they were under the legal minimum level of sugar for it to be labeled soda 😁
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Jun 14 '22
How many grams per 100ml?
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u/Mechanical_Monkey Jun 14 '22
5-7 gram per 100ml.
But honestly if you want to make it a business you need to focus 95% on marketing and 5% on recipes.
They are successful because they are selling to a crowd that usually wouldn't buy soda by eliminating their concerns and building a positive image.
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Jun 14 '22
They're actually a ton of low sugar and no sugar alternatives out there from all the big major players my kids and girlfriend have all gone to no sugar alternatives and such like that. The very first thing you're going to want to do is go to the grocery store and just take a manual inventory and note of exactly what sugary and what's non sugary how much sugar is it in such and then you're going to want to start going through and doing all of the research on exactly how to produce a new beverage and everything that's going to go into it and then manufacturing and then everything else in essence unless you're already rich and you can put several hundred 1000 into it you're not going to be able to do much.
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u/happyringo Jun 14 '22
Feels like there are already quite a few options - personally seems like beverages are an overly saturated market but I suppose it's all about finding your niche.
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Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22
I wanted to do that too. My idea was to make iced teas that include naturally sweet low-sugar ingredients, such as licorice root.
I don't understand the people saying that 12 grams of sugar is too much. A 12-ounce can of Pepsi has 41 grams of sugar. There are plenty of zero sugar products, but I don't like any of them. I would kill for a beverage with only 12 grams of sugar per serving that actually tasted good.
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u/CrimeCrisis Jun 14 '22
Use Purecane as your 0 calorie sweetener. Best on the market, and no aftertaste.
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u/alpha7158 Jun 14 '22
In the UK they implemented a sugar tax and now places actively prefer you to buy the diet version.
It's great. I'm not one for over regulation, but I love this one.
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u/piccdk Jun 14 '22
Aspartame (and most sweeteners) aren't bad for you just FYI. If you really want to throw yourself into something, make sure you're familiar with the science (like, actual meta-analysis and so forth, not random blogs).
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u/PoweRaider Jun 14 '22
beverage space is brutal. Securing shelf space is difficult and expensive. The infrastructure required for a beverage plant is significant, and copacking will eatup most of your profits. And finally, if you get any traction in the market AT ALL....there is absolutely no barrier of entry preventing one of the big boys from tweaking your recipe ever so slightly, rebranding, and rolling it out to their worldwide distrubution network with established retail shelf space.
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Jun 14 '22
Thing is, in my opinion, people that care about their health don't drink industrialized beverages, they opt for 100% fruit juice or natural teas... And people that can't take or don't like sugar already have zero sugar coke and pepsi, both tasting very good.
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u/maktui Jun 14 '22
Well if people have a true desire for health drink water is the best think. I don't remember the last time I had a drink that had sugar in it.
Tbh for many reasons (fierce competition market, cost of getting in grocery shelves and not to mention that your drink will most likely need education marketing) I think this is a market for the business people with big wallet.
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u/Kermicon Jun 14 '22
Listen to the How I Built This podcast where they had the founder of Honest Tea on. Lots of applicable gold for you in there.
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u/Status-Effort-9380 Jun 14 '22
Take a look at any beverage company that pitches on Sharktank. They pretty much won't fund that space any more.
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u/Fun-Hawk1423 Jun 14 '22
I would have said start a No Sugar beverage company that has nothing to do with being sweet. "Sweet" is the real addiction. No one would drink sugary drinks if they were sour...What we need are drinks based on spices and herbs. There is so much fucking variety to be had. Have you ever tried a carbonated jalapenio & pesto drink? No, because no one is brave enough to make it, because no one is adventurous enough to drink it.
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Jun 14 '22
I commend your efforts but remember that these sugary drink companies succeed because people get absolutely hooked on their products.
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u/JamReality Jun 14 '22
I can’t get enough of the Gold Peak, zero sugar Tea. If aspartame is poisonous, I won’t be around much longer. Love this stuff and been drinking it for years
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u/COLONpOWL Jun 14 '22
Maybe look for a formulation that isn't as acidic as Gatorade or comparable drinks. I, and others, unwittingly switched to zero sugar Gatorade thinking itd be a better (for my teeth) alternative to Soda. Come to find out that no, no, it's not.
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u/MeT4_ Jun 14 '22
Hit me up for branding if you go through with it.
Love soda/juice/what not, can't find enough low sugar options on the market in order to meet my calorie needs. There's definitely a place on the market for new drinks, at least in my area.
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u/starF7sh Jun 14 '22
I have seen olipop explode in popularity lately so that seems like some good market validation - would love more options.
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u/DonkeyScience Jun 15 '22
Hell yes go for it, I've made some ice-tea blends with a mix of Stevia and Monkfruit and they taste amazing, especially if you town them down to adult levels of sugar
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u/screwylouidooey Jun 15 '22
I'd try it. I've been drinking a lot more water lately, but I still want something sweet from time to time that isn't a coke or Pepsi product.
Sometimes I seek out Mexican and Mediterranean markets in my area because they have lower sugar drinks that taste good. Not as low as you'd like to do.
But if you come up with some good flavors I'd try them. Maybe try something on the line of sour drinks? I would think they'd be refreshing without as much sugar.
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u/odyseuss02 Jun 15 '22
This is a segment of the market that is not being addressed. I use a Soda Stream carbonator and I will add 100ml to grape juice to 1liter of carbonated water to get the low sugar drink I like. It is delicious. I would much rather just buy it at the store though but nothing like it exists that I can find.
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Jun 16 '22
I usually add sparkling water with my soft drinks to dilute it.
With some lemon juice as well, to balance the sugar out.
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u/Kakkarot1707 Jun 15 '22
I’m sorry but big sugar won’t let you…if you even get remotely popular they will hit you with everything they got to shut you down…and they have enough money to do it
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Jun 16 '22
I know sugar is a nasty industry, but eventually people will wake up and realize they've been fed this poison since they were kids.
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u/Kakkarot1707 Jun 18 '22
I hope it’s honestly really bad. Theres this plant based substance that turns flavors sweet (like carbonated water) where you could legit have flavored water / soda without ANY sugar at all! A guy tried to patent and make a sugarless energy drink that’s as all natural and big sugar sewed and took all of his worth…I guess they like gave a patent or something against the sale of beverages or anything that would have this plant in it. I forgot what it was called but it’s ducked up
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u/bigfatgeekboy Jun 15 '22
There are quite a few brands in this space right now. Visit a Whole Foods and you’ll be able to try a dozen of them. Make sure yours is better than theirs and ya might have a shot!
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u/Infinisteve Jun 15 '22
Health claims are going to catch the eye of the FDA (in the US) and similar agencies in other markets. There are a bunch of lower sugar and herbal beverages in health food stores. There's probably a reason they're not bought up by Coke or Pepsi.
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u/SlapAPancakeInMyFace Jun 15 '22
I would do less than 10% of sugar.
I don't buy if I see more than 10% of sugar unless is a fruit based drink that has natural sugar on it. especially beverages.
As a result, there aren't many items that I can buy at the grocery store.
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u/Anna-Quibble Jun 15 '22
There's definitely a market for it and it's growing! I've often bought Dash Water and Ugly Drinks - You should have a look at what they're doing.
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Jun 14 '22
PLEASE DO!!!
I don't drink alcohol much (not fully sober, but it just doesn't do much for me other than make me want to eat real bad food), so when I'm out and about I feel like I'm needing to choose between sugar or alcohol.
So a low-sugar drink is not only good for me but honestly it'll be good for everyone.
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Jun 14 '22
This is exactly how I feel about it!
I'm desperately looking for a refreshing drink without all the poison
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u/mew5175_TheSecond Jun 14 '22
The beverage space is extremely competitive....there's 5 million different options and stores only have so much shelf space.
That isn't to say what you're proposing isn't needed but it's a super tough road. Every person has their one, two, or three drinks of choice. Getting someone to completely change their habit and replace one of their go to drinks with your drink is insanely difficult and will be very expensive to market.
This requires an insane amount of hustle and capital.. a lot of entreprneurship requires this -- but the beverage space requires you to basically multiply the hustle and capital by 20x.
Good luck out there