The Global Stevia Institute recently took a quick pulse of social media engaged US consumers when it comes to stevia. Our aim was to start a two-way dialogue with consumers to gauge overall awareness and perception of stevia. This wasn’t meant to be a large scale scientific study and results should be viewed for directional purposes for US consumers only.
Survey Details - The study was conducted online via This Mama Cooks! by blogger and Global Stevia Institute Expert Panelist, Anne-Marie Nichols.
- The survey consisted of 19 questions
- In total, 366 individuals completed the survey, although only those who had some knowledge about stevia answered the bulk of the questions (n = 307).
The majority of respondents are familiar with stevia and those who are familiar with stevia have a positive perception of it.
- Respondents were familiar with stevia (27% very, 41% somewhat), with less than one-third (31%) saying they are “not very” or “not at all” familiar with stevia.
- Two thirds (65%) of respondents have a positive perception of stevia, while only one-in-ten (11%) were negative.
Most respondents have tried stevia and are likely to recommend it to others.
Of respondents who are familiar with stevia:
- Most (80%) have tried stevia with a majority (73%) having tried stevia in the past two years.
- Many have used it to sweeten foods/beverage (59%) or consumed it in a product (31%), while fewer have baked with it (18%).
- More than half have used stevia as a substitute for table sugar (60%), followed by those that consumed stevia as an ingredient in a food/beverage (41%).
- A substantial amount are likely (40% very, 37% somewhat likely) to recommend stevia to others.
Nearly all respondents like the taste of stevia.
Of respondents who are familiar with stevia:
- A majority think stevia tastes as good as sugar (26% always tastes as good, 43% sometimes tastes as good).
- Very few didn’t like the taste of stevia as a substitute for table sugar (7% not good, 2% terrible).
- A very small number didn’t like the taste of stevia as an ingredient in foods/beverages (4% not good, 2% terrible).
A number of respondents use stevia on a regular basis.
Of the respondents that use stevia (65%):
- One-fifth (21%) say they use stevia daily and another fifth (22%) do so weekly.
Other interesting findings:
Of the respondents that use stevia (65%):
- 78% of respondents know that stevia is a natural plant extract, but only 28% know it is a plant from the sunflower family.
- 62% of respondents know that stevia is a natural sweetener and has been used around the world for centuries.
- Less than one-third (29%) of respondents know that the leaves from the stevia plant are brewed like tea to get the sweet flavor.
- The majority of respondents know that stevia has no calories (62%) and is an excellent sweetener of choice for people with diabetes (59%).
From the feedback we received from survey respondents, consumers’ perception of stevia is overwhelmingly positive and stevia trial/usage is high. Even so, the Global Stevia Institute believes that more education can be provided to help consumers understand all the benefits that 100% natural, no-calorie stevia has to offer.
Healthcare professionals are instrumental in providing consumers with answers on ways to (naturally) manage calories and added sugars. As the Global Stevia Institute continues to work directly with these healthcare professionals, our goal is to provide ongoing credible and scientific-based information on stevia to as many global healthcare professionals as possible.