New Consumption Guide
With the improvement of people's health concepts, the demand for healthy diet is becoming more and more intense, and the concept of "addition and subtraction" related to diet is accelerating, and "salt reduction", "less oil" and "less sugar" have become the core labels of healthy diet.
Many attentive consumers will find that the "zero sugar" war in the beverage industry is in the ascendant, and the "war" of healthy consumption upgrading has spread from the beverage industry to the field of condiments. As one of the most commonly used condiments, soy sauce bears the brunt of it and has become a first-mover category for health upgrades. Industry giants represented by June Fresh are stepping up the layout of the light salt soy sauce market, hoping to occupy the opportunity in the health track.
In 2020, June Fresh officially launched the "light" series of light salt soy sauce products. Unlike the general salt reduction soy sauce, june fresh light salt soy sauce adopts the concept of gradual salt reduction. Three types of soy sauces (a total of four types) with a salt content of 12 grams, 10 grams and 8 grams can help users gradually change their heavy-taste eating habits. The "light" series of soy sauce products adhere to the production of products without dilution and without adding preservatives, and have been widely praised once they have been listed. At the "Research and Industrialization Achievement Evaluation Meeting of High-quality Salt-reducing Soy Sauce" just held by the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology, Sun Baoguo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Meng Suhe, chairman of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology, and other experts believe that the fresh light salt soy sauce in June has created a new standard for high-quality light salt soy sauce for the industry.
Predictably, the condiment industry is brewing a reconfiguration that will make a huge difference in our lives. In the face of fierce industry competition and consumer "picky" demand, does June fresh light salt have the opportunity to stand out and open the outlet of healthy condiments?
Three minus three health, heavy in the kitchen:
The "Battle of Tastes" in the Kitchen
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults should not consume more than 5 grams of salt per day; the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents recommend that adults consume no more than 6 grams of salt per day. But what is the average salt intake Chinese?
In 2019, a study released by Queen Mary College, University of London, UK, showed that in the past 40 years, the average daily salt intake of Chinese adults has exceeded 10g, far exceeding the upper limit recommended by WHO and the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents. Sichuan cuisine, hot pot, grilled skewers and other diets that are popular in the north and south of the river are all high-salt foods that are uncompromising. It can be said that Chinese is a "heavy taste" in the diet.
But behind the "coolness" in taste is a huge health risk in the body. In addition to obesity, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease, excessive salt intake may also increase the risk of stroke and osteoporosis. There is a gap between the emotional appeal to deliciousness and the rational appeal for physical health, and the "battle of tastes" is about to erupt.
The more people care about their health, the more stringent the management of salt intake. According to the data, 94% of Chinese urban consumers are trying to reduce their salt intake, of which the post-95s eat an average of 3g less salt per day than the post-85s, of which 30% will choose to directly replace edible salt with salt-reduced soy sauce in cooking.
The increase in health awareness will bring about a huge change in consumption habits. As the most important "gate" of salt intake, the kitchen will play an increasingly important role in the future "Healthy China, Salt Reduction First" plan. As the most important condiment in the kitchen salt control, the production industry behind soy sauce is bound to usher in a wave of industry upgrading opportunities.
Doorways that consumers don't know:
The "True and False War" of Low-Salt Soy Sauce
Under the "Healthy China" strategy, many companies have seen opportunities for product innovation in salt-reducing soy sauce.
However, in the past, due to the immature technology of some enterprises themselves and eager to catch up with the hot spot of "salt reduction soy sauce", they could only simply dilute ordinary soy sauce as "salt reduction soy sauce". That is, the vernacular "add water and mix it", and then publicize it under the banner of "salt reduction soy sauce".
Although this practice reduces the salt content in the unit volume of soy sauce on the surface, it will also cause less nutrients in the soy sauce, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the soy sauce. So what to do? "Smart" merchants may add additional sodium glutamate, which is monosodium glutamate, to enhance the quality and flavor of soy sauce.
This phenomenon of "taking shortcuts" is a kind of damage to consumers and the entire soy sauce industry that "bad money drives out good money". So that's why when fresh light salt soy sauce was introduced to the market in June, many experts thought it "created a new standard for high-quality light salt soy sauce for the industry."
Why is it that June alone can rarely get high recognition from experts?
At present, the salt content of salt-reducing soy sauce on the market is concentrated in 12.00g-14.00g/100mL, and the relatively high level is also around 12g/100ml, according to industry insiders, it is very difficult to break through the 12g standard. However, June Fresh relied on the in-depth study of the product to launch 4 light salt series of soy sauces in one go, namely 8g light salt original sauce, 10g light salt original sauce, 12g light salt oyster soy sauce and 12g light salt kelp soy sauce.
In addition, june fresh light salt soy sauce through the breeding technology, patented salt reduction technology, breakthrough fence factor antiseptic technology, targeted regulation of various indicators in the fermentation process; at the same time the integration of modern biological fermentation and clean production technology, the integration of modern biological fermentation and clean production technology, the integration of modern biological fermentation and clean production technology, the real realization of scientific salt reduction. While removing excess sodium ions, it does not destroy the nutrients of the original soy sauce. Truly achieve salt reduction without freshness, salt reduction without nutrition. Coupled with the insistence on not adding preservatives, it can be said that it is a rare "hard core salt reduction" in the soy sauce industry.
At the 2021 Practical Seminar on the "Guidelines for Salt Reduction in the Chinese Food Industry" hosted by the Chinese Nutrition Society, Hou Qingyun, director of R&D of Shin wo, said that in order to achieve the goal of reducing 1g of salt per 100ml of soy sauce, the company's R&D investment was as high as 20 million! Meng Suhe, chairman of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology, believes that Xinhe is the most refined enterprise in the condiment industry, and systematically solves the technical and scientific problems related to soy sauce salt reduction from the research and development of strains, production processes, product packaging and other links.
Industry upgrade under health dividends:
Gradually reducing salt has made the Healthy China strategy land
In view of the health status of the Chinese people, the Healthy China Strategy proposes to achieve the goal of reducing the country's per capita daily salt intake by 20% by 2030. In the "three minus three health" advocated by the National Healthy Lifestyle Diet Action, "salt reduction" is regarded as the "top priority".
The salt reduction plan is inseparable from policy guidance, media publicity, and the participation of food enterprises. Based on the dilemma of Chinese people to reduce salt, June fresh light salt put forward the concept of "gradual salt reduction and light salt cultivation", through the gradient design of salt content of light salt products, so that different tastes and different levels of salt reduction people have a choice. This is also regarded by some experts as one of the most product-oriented salt reduction solutions in the condiment industry.
Jiang Junwu, general manager of Xinhe Enterprise Food Co., Ltd., mentioned that the reason why June Fresh launched the light soy sauce series is to actively practice the healthy China strategy, and salt reduction is the number one task of three minus three health, which requires specific products and strategies to land. Through gradient salt reduction, consumers gradually recognize the importance of salt reduction, and through the productization path, on the basis of ensuring taste, we can protect and improve the health status of consumers as much as possible.
Sun Baoguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that people are not afraid of trouble for health now, and enterprises need to tell health stories well and speak with factual data. I believe that with scientific support, consumers will make the right choice.
Under the trend of great health, Xinhe Enterprise Food Co., Ltd., as a condiment company, can promote the landing of the healthy China strategy with the idea of productization path and "step by step salt reduction and light salt cultivation", and help consumers develop light salt eating habits that are worthy of respect and recognition. The demonstration effect of fresh light salt formed in June will also drive more people and more enterprises to join the scientific salt reduction team.