The New Sweet Spot: Healthier Beverages, Full Flavour
By Ivan Primaatmaja, Beverage Channel Lead, Food Service Chains, Kerry Southeast Asia
In Asia’s fast-paced foodservice landscape, beverages are no longer just a thirst quencher or meal accompaniment; they reflect changing consumer priorities. Increasingly, these priorities centre on health, with a growing preference for drinks that are lower in sugar, yet still rich in flavour and experience.
From the rise of functional teas to low-calorie coffee innovations, the region is undergoing a transformation in beverage development that is reshaping how brands approach flavour, formulation, and consumer satisfaction.
The Sugar Shift: A Regional Wake-Up Call
Across Asia, sugar is under the spotlight. According to Innova Market Insights, three in four consumers in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (APMEA) are actively trying to reduce their sugar intake. Similarly, Euromonitor reports that over 60% of Southeast Asian consumers now check the sugar content before purchasing a beverage.
This shift is not merely about cutting sweetness. It plays to a deeper, more holistic concern for well-being. Quick service restaurant (QSR) brands and beverage retailers are responding with new “light” or “less sweet” menu series, with global bubble tea players offering reduced sugar drinks that still deliver great taste.
But lower sugar consumption isn’t the only driver. Consumers are also looking for beverages with added functional benefits such as collagen, probiotics, or energy boosters to satisfy broader wellness goals like improving skin health, immunity, or digestion. In China, for instance, Mintel research shows that 42% of consumers are interested in drinks that support these specific health outcomes.
This health-forward movement is also intersecting with rising interest in sustainability and clean label formulations. Gen Z consumers, in particular, are drawn to drinks made with natural sweeteners, ethically sourced ingredients, and transparent labelling. It’s clear that beverages must now perform triple duty: less sugar, more function, and greater environmental responsibility.
The Taste Gap: Why “Less Sweet” Often Falls Flat
While the market signals are clear, the technical challenges of sugar reduction are anything but simple. Consumers may want less sugar, but they don’t want to sacrifice satisfaction. In fact, 36% of APMEA consumers say that reduced- or zero-sugar drinks don’t meet their taste expectations.
This is because sugar is more than just a sweetener. It plays a critical role in creating balance, enhancing mouthfeel, and masking off-notes in complex flavour systems. Remove it, and bitterness or sourness may emerge, while body and smoothness decline.
The impact is especially noticeable in powdered beverage formats, where sugar also acts as a bulking agent. Removing or reducing sugar requires precise formulation adjustments to maintain consistency in preparation, especially in high-throughput environments like QSR outlets.
For brands, the challenge is to reformulate in ways that preserve the original beverage experience without complicating operations or compromising on taste.
Taste Technologies: Rebuilding the Beverage Experience
To address this complexity, QSR operators and beverage developers are turning to advanced taste technologies that can recreate the sensory effects of sugar without the calories.
These include:
Sweetness enhancers that mimic the intensity of sugar.
Masking agents that neutralise the bitterness or metallic aftertaste of some natural sweeteners.
Mouthfeel modulators that restore body, roundness, and texture.
One such innovation is Kerry’s Tastesense™ system, a proprietary taste solution that enables up to 50% sugar reduction by optimising sweetness, balance, and mouthfeel. With a toolkit of targeted flavour modulators, systems like Tastesense™ help brands deliver a satisfying beverage experience even in reduced-sugar formats.
These solutions are especially valuable in QSR settings, where operational consistency and preparation speed are critical. Reformulated beverages must integrate smoothly with existing SOPs, equipment, and training procedures, without requiring major changes or increasing the risk of error at the outlet level.
What’s more, producing just one kilogrammes of sugar consumes between 600 and 1,000 litres of water. By reducing sugar with Tastesense™, we’re not only creating healthier beverages but driving meaningful sustainability gains, including up to a 28% reduction in water usage and a 24% cut in carbon emissions. It’s all part of our commitment to sustainable nutrition: delivering drinks that are better for people and gentler on the planet.
Innovation at Speed and Scale: The QSR Imperative
For quick service brands, the opportunity is clear: meet consumer demand for healthier drinks without compromising efficiency or experience.
However, execution requires careful consideration. Reformulating beverages often involves balancing additional ingredient costs (particularly in powdered mixes) against potential benefits such as avoiding sugar taxes, tapping into premium health-conscious markets, or improving brand equity.
Equally important is how these innovations are communicated. Saying a drink is “less sweet” is no longer enough. Brands must articulate the why: the functional benefits, the taste appeal, the health impact, and do so with credibility and clarity.
What’s Next: The Future of Beverages in Asia
Looking ahead, beverage innovation in Asia is set to be defined by three converging trends:
Personalisation: Consumers will expect to customise everything from sweetness levels to added functions, creating tailor-made drink experiences that reflect individual preferences and lifestyles.
Transparency and clean labels: Natural ingredients, ethical sourcing, and minimal processing will become baseline expectations.
Science-led indulgence: The winning beverages of the future will not force a trade-off between taste and health. Instead, they will deliver indulgent flavour profiles supported by smart formulation and functional benefits.
Asia’s beverage market is entering a new era, one where consumer expectations are higher, but so too is the opportunity to innovate. Brands that embrace this shift, marrying science with creativity, and health with indulgence, are in a strong place to lead because in this next chapter of beverage innovation, less sweet doesn’t mean less impact. It means more thoughtful innovation, more flavour, and more reasons to say yes to a healthier choice.
