New York City, NY—KIND snacks is unveiling an augmented reality-enabled installation/pop-up called “Sweeteners Uncovered” in NYC and a national mobile index to showcase the multitude of different sweeteners and sugar sources hidden in top-selling snacks, according to a press release.
The release cites a recent survey fielded by Morning Consult, which found that 42% of consumers say it’s difficult to determine if a snack contains artificial sweeteners, and 41% couldn’t name any sweeteners found in food and beverages. This installation is intended to challenge the food industry to disclose sweeteners and increase transparency.
While many snack categories—energy bars, yogurt, granola—are often perceived as healthy, KIND notes that many options have sweetener content on par with desserts and frozen treats. Some energy bars, the release says, are comprised of more than 30% sugar.
Stephanie Csaszar, registered dietitian and health & wellness expert at KIND, said in the release, “While peoples’ focus surrounding sweeteners is increasing, there’s little understanding of how to identify them on food labels. How can we expect consumers to know that hydrogenated starch is a mixture of sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and malitol or that sucanat is a less-refined version of cane sugar? We aim to bring greater awareness to the 100+ name variations and types of sweeteners and sugar sources found in foods that individuals might not realize they’re consuming daily.”
The installation will be open to the public at 579 Broadway in SoHo from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM EST Wednesday, 4/10, and Thursday, 4/11. The index will also be available onlinehere.
