Sort by
Sort by

Nestlé launches new 30% less sugar versions of Rowntree’s favourites

Back to Press releases
Both pouches of Rowntree's
  • Two years of research and development delivers recipe breakthrough
  • The taste the nation loves now with 30% less sugar

Nestlé’s Rowntree’s brand has unveiled brand new 30% less sugar versions of two of its best-selling products: Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles and Rowntree’s Randoms.

As part of the recipe change, the sugar removed has been replaced by increasing the fibre content in these brand new versions that are being offered alongside the existing, classic products to promote choice on the confectionery aisle.

As well as having 30% less sugar, the new products also have fewer calories and remain free from artificial flavours, colours and sweeteners ensuring 100% fruity flavour.

9,000 consumers have already had the chance to try the new products as part of a large-scale blind taste test led through social media and initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

The launch follows hot on the heels of Nestlé’s announcement that it will remove 10% of the sugar across its confectionery portfolio by 2018.

Dame Fiona Kendrick, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé UK and Ireland said:

“Our announcement last month was all about improving our existing products while this launch is all about choice. These new products will sit alongside our existing range and offer a real alternative for consumers.

We are delighted that our innovation gives consumers the option of a significantly reduced sugar version of both Fruit Pastilles and Randoms and, as consumers make the switch to the less sugar version, it can help deliver a reduction in the amount of sugar consumed overall.

Confectionery can play as much of a part in the efforts to reduce sugar and tackle obesity in the UK as any other category and, as we’re demonstrating, we’ll take every opportunity to innovate and reformulate to improve our products.

We have worked incredibly hard to create these brand new versions of our favourite sweets. There have been as many as 76 different versions of the recipe over two years of research and development to ensure that what we have ended up with is just as good as the full sugar products.”

Fruit Pastilles

Last week, Nestlé also announced that its flagship chocolate brand, KitKat, will introduce extra milk and cocoa to provide a sugar reduction of more than 1,000 tonnes from the nation’s diet by replacing sugar with more of those existing natural ingredients.

These innovations are all part of a number of Nestlé’s initiatives to improve its products through a range of methods and make incremental sugar reductions in different ways that, when added up, are a positive step overall to help improve the nation’s diet while still maintaining taste.

The new Rowntree’s products will be exclusive to Tesco from this week before being available more widely in the summer.

ENDS

For more information, contact the Nestlé UK press office on 020 8667 6005 or alternatively email [email protected]
 

Notes to Editors:

  • These are brand new products clearly branded as Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles 30% Less Sugar and Rowntree’s Randoms 30% Less Sugar.
  • These new products are a new innovation and do not form part of our previously announced 10% sugar reduction across Nestlé’s confectionery portfolio by 2018.
  • The Rowntree's 30% Less Sugar range is a very different product to our standard range, with a different recipe and alternative ingredients. It is priced accordingly, as with all of our products, based on the cost to manufacture. Final consumer pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer.
  • There is 55.9g of sugar per 100g of sweets in the regular version of Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles and 53.1g of sugar per 100g of sweets in the regular version of Rowntree’s Randoms.
    There is 38.5g of sugar per 100g of sweets in the Rowntree’s 30% Less Sugar Fruit Pastilles and 36.5g of sugar per 100g of sweets in the Rowntree’s 30% Less Sugar Randoms.
  • 9,000 consumers have already had the chance to try the new products as part of a large-scale blind taste test led through social media. Blank packaged product samples were sent to these consumers asking to feedback on the products using the hashtag #RowntreesTasteTest. The consumers did not know that the sweets were different to the regular Rowntree’s range. Initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with consumers describing the sweets as ‘juicy’, ‘fruity’ and ‘chewy’. The results of the test are being revealed this week in a series of social media posts on Facebook and Twitter.
  • From April 2017, Rowntree’s 30% Less Sugar Fruit Pastilles and Randoms will be available in a sharing pouch format, exclusively in Tesco stores. The Fruit Pastilles impulse bag will also be available in Tesco stores from the same date. The full range, including the limited edition Randoms impulse bag will launch into supermarkets and other stores nationwide from July 2017. The 30% less sugar version will not be available in any other formats at this stage.