500% increase in sugar tax set to see Brits’ addictions curbed

Today, one of the most prominent voices in the British food sector, Henry Dimbleby has revealed proposals for significant increases in salt and sugar taxes in the UK in order to tackle obesity and drive a revolution in Britain’s diet. Dimbleby’s proposals would see sugar tax increase by 500% in order to encourage Brits to cut out sugar, and turn to healthier alternatives, a goal hydration experts, Air Up have been keen to achieve in their disruption of the British soft drinks sector.

The soft drinks market in the UK is worth £3.8 billion and is dominated by sugar and additive filled drinks with YouGov revealing that our top choices are Ribena, Robinsons, Coca Cola and Tango. In response, Air Up have developed first of its kind retro nasal technology, simulating these flavours Brits continue to crave using scent alone and none of the chemical nasties, aligning perfectly with Dimbleby’s goals to incentivise a healthy alternative revolution.

Landmark research Air Up analyses the complexities behind Brits’ fraught relationship with sugary drinks revealing the alarming number of Brits (37%) trying and failing to reduce sugar intake from soft drinks due to a lack of alternatives and the 42% of Brits drinking low to zero calorie drinks in attempts to reduce their sugar intake:

Key stats:

37% (16,093,000) are trying to reduce their sugar intake but are struggling to do so due to the alternatives available to them
42% (21,297,000) drink low to zero calorie sugary drinks in an attempt to reduce their sugar intake
36% (17,319,000) agree that in the absence of sugar, they are not entirely sure what is in no added sugar drinks to maintain their sweetness
Air Up’s research reveals that, shockingly, more than 4 in 10 Brits drink zero calorie sugary drinks in an attempt to reduce their sugar intake and 36% have no idea what is sweetening their drinks which are labelled as ‘zero sugar’. Air Up’s launch of their innovative retronasal technology is the answer to Brits’ need for flavour and hydration, encouraging healthier lifestyles for Brits in a truly unique way.

With 80% of flavour coming from our sense of smell, instead of taste, Air Up harnesses this clever bit of science, infusing every sip of water from your bottle with flavoured air, offering Brits a healthy alternative to flavoured drinks while still drinking 100% pure water. Each pod contains natural flavourings and scents that infuse with ambient air to be added to the pure water. These flavours range from Lime and Orange-Passionfruit to Cola and Iced Coffee with ten others in between, improving our sense of health and wellness without sacrificing flavour, truly disrupting the soft drinks sector and British consumption patterns ahead of this health revolution.

Lena Jüngst – co-founder of Air Up comments:

“Air Up is a new and fascinating way to taste. What I love most about our product, as a designer, is that it shows that a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle can still be fun and appealing. For me that is a very promising sign for our future, and something that we have worked hard to achieve. Air Up is the world’s first drinking bottle that flavours water only by scent with the help of retronasal smelling. Compared to other drinks with flavour, we do not put any ingredients into the water, but only add small fragrance bubbles that are not absorbed by the body. So the water remains water – just with flavour. This is not only good for your health, but also a much more sustainable alternative. As far as we know, no one has ever used retronasal smell like we do, to create flavour. We are a true “world’s first” and that’s pretty rare nowadays.”