Sweet'n Low (stylized as Sweet'N Low) is a brand of artificial sweetener now made primarily from granulated saccharin (except in Canada, where it contains cyclamate instead[1]). When introduced in 1958 in the United States, Sweet'n Low was cyclamate-based, but it was replaced by a saccharin-based formulation in 1969.[2] It is also a brand name applied to a family of sweetener and sweetened products, some containing sweeteners other than saccharin or cyclamate.[3] There have been over 500 billion Sweet'N Low packets produced.[4]
Sweet'n Low is manufactured and distributed in the United States by Cumberland Packing Corporation, which also produces Sugar in the Raw and Stevia in the Raw, and in the United Kingdom by Dietary Foods Ltd. Sweet'n Low has been licensed to Bernard Food Industries for a line of low-calorie baking mixes. Its patent is U.S. patent 3,625,711.
History
editSaccharin was discovered in 1878 by Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist working on coal tar derivatives at the Johns Hopkins University. Although saccharin was commercialized not long after its discovery, it was not until decades later that its use became widespread. Sweet'n Low was first introduced in 1957 by Benjamin Eisenstadt, formerly proprietor of a Brooklyn Navy Yard cafeteria,[5] and his son, Marvin Eisenstadt. The elder Eisenstadt had earlier invented the sugar packet, but did not patent it, and artificial sweetener packets were an outgrowth of that business. The two were the first to market and distribute the sugar substitute in powdered form. Their distribution company, Cumberland Packing Corporation, still controls the product.
The business is still based on the site of Ben's original diner, but no longer produces or packages the product there.[5][6] Since 1957, the company operated a Sweet'n Low manufacturing and packing plant in Brooklyn, but the company announced in 2016 that it would close that operation, and shift those functions elsewhere in the United States.[6] At the end, the plant employed 300 unionized manufacturing staff and still used antique equipment.[6]
Branding and advertising
editThe name "Sweet'n Low" derives from an 1863 song[5] by Joseph Barnby, which took both its title and lyrics from an Alfred Tennyson poem, entitled The Princess: Sweet and Low.[7] The product's name and musical staff logo have US trademark registration number 3,317,421.
Around 2005, Cumberland Packing Corporation made a sponsorship deal with Metro Goldwyn Mayer related to the 2006 film The Pink Panther.[8] As a result, the Pink Panther animated character made an appearance on the sweetener's pink packaging and television commercials.[8][9][10]
By 2010, the cartoon panther had been replaced by a motif reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s (which their newly-hired advertising agency, Mother, believed had returned to fashion in the 2010s), in an effort to broaden the brand's appeal to customers outside of its traditional demographic of women aged 45 and older.[9][10] The agency felt that previous advertising, using Regis Philbin and the Pink Panther, borrowed the brand equity of other properties instead of claiming cultural relevance of its own.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "Comparing Sugar Substitutes", HealthLink BC website, 2023-01-18, archived from the original on 2023-03-21,
Cyclamate (Sucaryl, Sugar Twin, Sweet 'N Low). Cyclamate is sold as a sweetener in packet, tablet, liquid, and granulated form. Health Canada does not allow food manufacturers to sell foods or beverages that contain cyclamate.
- ^ "The Bittersweet History of Sugar Substitutes", The New York Times, p. 24, section 6, 1987-03-29, archived from the original on 2023-07-06,
The Cumberland Packing Corporation of Brooklyn, N.Y., markets cyclamate-based Sweet 'n Low as a sugar substitute.
- ^ "Our Products", Sweet'n Low website, archived from the original on 2023-07-06, retrieved 2023-07-06
- ^ "B'klyn-Based Sweet 'N Low Celebrates Milestone: 500 Billionth Pink Packet". Brooklyn Eagle. 2006-11-01. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
- ^ a b c "The Story of Sweet'N Low". Sweet'N Low. Cumberland Packing Corp. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c Hajela, Deepti (2016-01-17), "Sweet'N Low to end Brooklyn production after nearly 60 years", Associated Press website, archived from the original on 2023-07-12, retrieved 2023-07-12,
But the family-owned company told workers just over a week ago that manufacturing and packing work would stop in Brooklyn over the course of the year and shift entirely to other parts of the country, leaving only its headquarters in the borough.
- ^ "The Princess: Sweet and Low - Representative Poetry Online". rpo.library.utoronto.ca.
- ^ a b Pakulski, Gary T. (2005-11-13), "Big pink guy achieves silver", Toledo Blade website, archived from the original on 2023-07-12, retrieved 2023-07-12,
And a few months ago, the character began showing up in TV spots and on packaging for Sweet'n Low sugar-substitute.
- ^ a b c Elliott, Stuart (2010-08-23), "Trying to Get a Sweetener Back in the Pink", The New York Times website, archived from the original on 2012-04-26, retrieved 2023-07-12,
Sweet 'N Low "went a little astray" with the Philbin and Pink Panther ads, he adds, because they were of the "borrowed equity" approach to advertising.
- ^ a b c Stanley, T. L. (2010-09-03), "Sweet'N Low Ads Get Retro Look", Adweek website, archived from the original on 2018-12-10, retrieved 2023-07-12,
The campaign was created by Mother, New York, and print work for Sweet'N Low targets both the longtime fan of the sweetener and the potential (younger) consumer. The brand's parent company, Cumberland Packing Corp., hopes to broaden its demographic beyond 45-year-old-plus women, who have been the traditional buyers of the product.
External links
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