SPAR Croatia is reducing the sugar content in its own-brand products, in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The retailer has so far managed to significantly reduce the amount of sugar in 36 SKUs produced for the SPAR brand by Croatian manufacturers.
Croatian food company Vindija is one of the firsts to support SPAR Croatia's initiative.
So far, it has rebranded the 'z bregov fruit yoghurt range, reducing the proportion of sugar by 15% and using 26,000 kilograms (kg) less sugar on an annual basis.
A similar initiative was also implemented for the Vindija juice range, which has seen a reduction in sugar of 231,700 kilograms annually.
While reducing the calorific value in both ranges, Vindija has managed to retain the recognisable flavours.
Other leading Croatian food producers are expected to join SPAR Croatia's initiative in the near future.
Austrian Inspiration
The inspiration comes from a similar initiative by SPAR in Austria, which received support from the medical profession, as well as Austrian producers of well-known brands, such as Berglandmilch, which reduced the amount of sugar in its products.
In up to 160 products from private labels, such as SPAR, S-Budget, SPAR Natur*pur, and SPAR Vital, the recipe was changed and the proportion of sugar was reduced by up to 80%, without the need to resort to artificial sugar substitutes and with no change in taste.
At group level, SPAR's continuous work on changing recipes and reducing the amount of sugar in various product categories, including cakes, soft drinks, syrups, puddings, muesli, biscuits, and cappuccino, has resulted in a reduction of the amount of sugar by more than 300 tonnes.
