Jack Winkler and Tam Fry’s recent article in Beverage Daily explains clearly just how successful the SIDL has been and why.
My reading is that sales of full sugar soft drinks fell because
- The sugar free versions were cheaper
- There was no compromise on taste
Articles such as this will undoubtedly fuel the desire felt by politicians and NGOs to bring in a similar tax on chocolate .
Would extending the sugar tax in this way prove successful?
I think not, for two main reasons
- Sugar free chocolate will be more expensive than current sugar-sweetened product
- The sugar-free version will taste worse
This may be the reason why manufacturers are experimenting with reduced sugar products such as Nestle Wowsome and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk 30% Less Sugar. The challenge here is that these products are lower in sugar but do not contain significantly less calories on a weight for weight basis.
With soft drinks you can swap sugar for water.
But for everything else you can’t.