MANILA, Philippines ? Sugar in any other form can taste just as sweet. Or so believe the proponents of ?healthier? food choices, who have eschewed white, refined table sugar in some of their products for alternative sweeteners that pack on taste but not calories.

Bakeshop chain Goldilocks launched in 2006 its Goldilocks Go Lite line, with the sugar-free version of Goldilocks mamon as the first of the product line. The secret ingredient is sucralose or Splenda.

Sucralose was chosen over the more common aspartame, Goldilocks officials said, because regulatory agencies worldwide like the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and the Philippines? Bureau of Food and Drug Administration (BFAD) have found it to be safer. Aspartame, on the other hand, continues to be the subject of controversy due to alleged side effects such as migraine.

A teaspoon of white sugar has 120 calories compared to zero for a serving of Splenda, and five for Equal.

Goldilocks Marketing Director Pinky Yee hit on the idea to launch a sugar-free line because of customers? feedback that they were gaining unwanted pounds on Goldilocks products. Being a fitness buff herself, Yee theorized that there would surely be a market for people looking for the same Goldilocks taste but with far less calories. She was proven right, for the Go Lite line has since become among the best-selling Goldilocks products.

And from the mamon, the Go Lite line has expanded to include the Mango Mousse Lite cake and sugar-free ensaymada, walnut brownies and choco butter slice.

Philippine Coffee Board trustee Pacita U. Juan, owner of Echostore in Serendra, Fort Bonifacio, noted that there was a growing consumer awareness of sugar alternatives, saying that brands like Sweet N? Low, Equal and Splenda are now found in more shelves than before.

Coffee drinkers also usually reach out for a packet of these sugar-free alternatives in restaurants, rather than ordinary white sugar, she shared. ?Consumers are more conscious of their health,? Juan added. ?The use of sugar-free alternatives can also be due to an increase in the cases of diabetes and obesity. People are getting more conscious of their caloric intake.?

A report by the Center for Marketing Intelligence, McCann Worldgroup?s market information and research provider, confirmed the trend toward healthier eating.

According to the study, countries experiencing economic flux, the Philippines for one, show new consumer thinking in terms of food shopping, meal preparation, and dining.

Consumers have become more careful about what they eat, not so much because they want to lose weight, but because they want to stay healthy. They are looking for more nutrition for their money and are conscious about nutritional labels.

The study also revealed that nearly two-thirds of consumers included in the report are more likely to check nutritional information on labels.

?They?re looking for four important items: fat, calories, sugar and transfat. ?Natural? is also the most frequently featured claim on food and beverages. This (and) ?plus? claims, or those which includes vitamins and calcium, are also gaining popularity among consumers,? the report noted.

A consumer report commissioned by the Philippine Development Assistance Programme (PDAP), one of the country?s largest nongovernment organizations working to increase production and patronage of healthier products, came to the same conclusion.

The group reported that Filipinos were becoming more conscious about their health and the welfare of farmer groups that work hard to produce pesticide-free food, such as organic rice and muscovado sugar.

The research also showed that the primary motivations behind using healthy alternatives were the environment (?keeps me healthy and has no toxins/harmful chemicals?); altruism (?want to help improve the lot of farmers producing it? and lifestyle (?fits my healthy lifestyle?).

Juan said that because of this growing health trend, she was stocking up on sugar alternatives like muscovado or raw sugar and coco sap in Echostore at Serendra, which features organic and healthy products.

?The demand for sugar alternatives is definitely growing as coffee consumption increases and more health issues come to the fore,? Juan said. ?At Echostore, people are really looking for natural sugar substitutes, so we have a wide selection of muscovado and coco sap sweeteners.?

This demand bodes well for rural cooperatives and farmers selling muscovado or natural, raw sugar. Muscovado, unlike refined sugar, does not go through chemical processing and is simply naturally dried sugar cane juice.

It might yet be the sweetest note farmers have heard for a long long time.