The ancients said: "You don't get tired of eating, and you don't get tired of being fine." "This is not only the ultimate pursuit of food, but also reflects people's deep concern for food quality and safety. In the world of condiments, soy sauce is the soul of Chinese food, adding a rich layer to countless dishes.
Once upon a time, those soy sauces advertised as "zero additives" were in full swing, attracting the attention of many consumers with their pure and healthy concepts.
But nowadays, when we stroll through the condiment section of the supermarket, it is not difficult to find that those once beautiful zero-added soy sauces are now placed in inconspicuous corners.
This begs the question, what is the reason for such a change?
Is the price too high to discourage consumers? Or is it a taste that is different and difficult for people who are used to the taste of traditional soy sauce to accept? Or is it the failure of marketing that makes this health concept not deeply rooted in the hearts of the people?
01
With the passage of time, social changes have not only changed the way people live, but also quietly changed our dining tables.
From loose soy sauce when I was a child to a dazzling array of bottled soy sauce today, this shift not only reflects the improvement of quality of life, but also reflects the diversified demand of consumers for condiments.
I remember when I was a child, there was always a fixed place in the kitchen at home, and a big soy sauce bottle was placed. Whenever the family runs out of soy sauce, adults will tell their children to take the empty bottle to the store to get soy sauce.
At that time, the soy sauce was almost always in bulk, from the soy sauce factories in the city, simple and pure.
Although soy sauce sometimes grows white film and even maggots in the summer, housewives always have a way to deal with it - filtering, boiling, and adding a little liquor to keep it for a while.
Nowadays, walking into the condiment section of the supermarket, there are a wide variety of brands and types of soy sauce, from traditional dark soy sauce and light soy sauce, to modern flavor and freshness, and then to the once popular zero-added soy sauce, which is dazzling.
In particular, zero-added soy sauce, with its healthy, natural, and additive-free concept, was once warmly sought after by consumers.
However, the good times were short-lived. Nowadays, those zero-added soy sauces that were once beautiful are left out in the cold in the corners of supermarkets.
In small supermarkets, it is difficult to even see them, and even if they do, they are rarely stocked. What is the reason for this situation?
02
1. Price issues
Although zero-added soy sauce is produced without any added chemicals, it is relatively expensive to produce.
This has led to a much higher price tag than regular soy sauce, which is undoubtedly a significant obstacle for price-sensitive consumers. In the eyes of supermarket owners, the purchase cost of zero-added soy sauce is also relatively high, and the financial pressure is greater.
Although many supermarkets rushed to buy soy sauce in the early days, as the popularity subsided, sales began to decline, and supermarkets began to purchase zero-added soy sauce.
2. Taste differences
For many consumers, they have become accustomed to the taste of regular soy sauce. However, the zero-added soy sauce has a relatively salty taste and light color due to the lack of flavor enhancers and toners.
This makes it difficult for many consumers who are looking for the color and taste of the dishes to accept. Especially when cooking some dishes that need to be colored, the effect of zero added soy sauce is often not satisfactory.
3. Insufficient promotion and distribution capacity
Compared with some big brands of soy sauce, zero-added soy sauce is obviously not strong in advertising and promotion. Many consumers don't even know that such a product exists.
Even if it is known, it is easy to forget because of the lack of sustained publicity and promotion. In terms of distribution capacity, zero-added soy sauce is obviously not enough to compete with old brands of soy sauce.
After years of hard work, these old brands have established a complete sales channel and distribution network, and have established a deep cooperative relationship with supermarket owners. And zero-added soy sauce obviously has a long way to go in this regard.
03
When it comes to choosing a good soy sauce, there are a few important criteria that deserve our attention:
Whether it is made by soybean fermentation: Soybean is one of the main raw materials for brewing soy sauce, and its quality directly affects the taste and nutritional value of soy sauce. Therefore, when choosing soy sauce, we should prefer those made from fermented soybeans.
High liquid content of amino acids: The liquid content of amino acids is one of the important indicators to measure the quality of soy sauce. It determines the degree of umami of soy sauce. Generally speaking, a good soy sauce will have a liquid content of amino acids higher than 1, so the soy sauce tastes more delicious.
Clean ingredient list: When choosing soy sauce, we should also pay attention to its ingredient list. Good soy sauce should use as few additives and preservatives as possible.
For example, color and flavor enhancers such as caramel color and nucleotides, as well as preservatives such as potassium sorbate, should be avoided as much as possible. Choosing soy sauce with a clean ingredient list helps us enjoy our food more healthily.
Zero-added soy sauce once attracted consumers with a healthy and pure label, but it gradually cooled down under the practical considerations of the market.
Price, taste and promotion have become the three major problems in its marketing. However, no matter how the market changes, consumers' pursuit of healthy and safe food will not change.
As consumers, we should choose condiments more wisely, pay attention to the raw materials, ingredients and nutritional value of products, and take responsibility for our own health.
At the same time, it is also hoped that manufacturers can listen to the voice of consumers, continuously optimize products, make healthy food more in line with the taste of the public, and truly achieve a win-win situation of health and deliciousness.