General Mills announced recently that it was removing aspartame from Yoplait Light and that it would begin flashing on pack a “now aspartame free” - or “NAF” in my shorthand - message. See Yoplait Light new "now aspartame free" release.
Competitors may dismiss the sweetener switch as an insignificant attempt to defend declining sales due in the main to the exponential rise of Greek (style) yogurts over the past few years. The General Mills’ claim in their blog that sucralose is the “only low-calorie sweetener that’s made from sugar” may also attract some criticism from competitors and industry watchers alike given the fact that aspartame and sucralose are still both artificial sweeteners.
General Mills’ CEO Ken Powell stated that the move was driven by greater acceptance for sucralose among consumers. I think the “now aspartame free” ("NAF") on-pack flash is a bold step by General Mills but one that is being driven by two even deeper insights. I will use the beverage category to explain a bit what I mean.
The first relevant insight is related to the beverage industry's recent announcements regarding the planned removal of BVO (brominated vegetable oil) as an ingredient (commonly used as a stabilizer to prevent ingredients in drinks from separating). There existed for many years alternate - and arguably "better for you" - ingredients (e.g. glycerol ester of rosin) but manufacturers were never pushed to change the status quo probably because the FDA did not - conveniently perhaps - ban the ingredient even after it had removed BVO from its GRAS list back in 1970.
This all changed however with a high profile social media petition led by Sarah Kavanagh, a teenager in the US. In our digitally enabled world today, social media is not just a useful conduit for brand messages but it is helping to keep brands honest / transparent. That’s a good thing.
The second insight that I believe drove General Mills to develop their “NAF” messaging is related to the increasing rejection of "artificial stuff" by consumers. Mintel’s June 2014 “Carbonated Soft Drinks in the UK" report should make for uncomfortable reading not just because it states that 25% of adults who drink CSDs claim to be consuming less than they did 6 months ago. One of the top reasons for why consumption is down is that CSD drinkers are worried about the health impact of artificial sweeteners.
Repositioning the CSD category as “sparkling drinks” and offering natural sweetener versions are strategies that have had some success. Spending millions of dollars to try to impress on consumers that sweeteners like aspartame are not bad for them doesn’t seem to be working however. The marketplace is going through a rapid and fundamental change which is evident in the rise and rise of new and better sweeteners in beverages (today its stevia, tomorrow probably stevia and monk fruit).
The Urban Dictionary defines “NAF” as meaning something is 'lame' or generally not very good. In my view, General Mills’ on pack message for its Yoplait Light brand is definitely not a “NAF” move but a smart one and should go down well with consumers.
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