Diet products lose their appeal in Germany

Despite rising obesity levels, it seems products labelled as “diet” or “light” are losing their appeal in Germany as consumers opt for natural and unprocessed foods and drinks in order to lose or maintain weight. Mintel agency research reveals that only 7% of Germans consumed food and drink products labelled as “light” or “diet” to lose or maintain weight in 2015.

Among the reasons for the decreasing popularity of diet food and drink products is the growing scepticism towards such products. More than three quarters (76%) of Germans agree that not all products marketed as “diet” are necessarily lower in calories in comparison to standard varieties, while almost three in five (58%) say they are wary of the ingredients that go into diet food products to make them low calorie. Moreover, more than two-thirds of Germans (67%) say regular foods are as good as diet food products when trying to lose weight.

According to Mintel research, 62% of German consumers agree that they prefer foods that are naturally low in fat compared to reduced-fat products, while 44% say they eat unprocessed foods in order to lose or maintain weight.

While over half (53%) of Germans say full-fat butter is healthy in moderation, less than one in five (19%) believe the same about low-fat spreads. Similarly, while almost three in 10 (29%) agree low-fat spreads are “artificial”, only 2% believe butter is “artificial”. Moreover, almost half (45%) of Germans say they are not worried about the fat content in regular yogurt, with 76% agreeing yogurts are naturally healthy.