The challenge

As Europe’s largest supplier of sugar products, Südzucker AG operates across both B2C and B2B markets. To strengthen relationships with its B2B customers, the company wanted to deepen its understanding of how consumer needs are evolving across key product categories such as chocolate, baked goods, cereals, dairy and soft drinks.

The goal was to access fresh, forward-looking consumer insight that could support conversations with partners and help Südzucker anticipate future demand, particularly among younger generations (Gen Z) and around topics such as sustainability and conscious consumption.

The solution

We designed and manage an ongoing B2B Consumer Trends Tracker covering consumption patterns and evolving attitudes towards processed goods linked to Südzucker’s portfolio.

Each wave includes a quantitative online survey among approximately 1,000 respondents per market across Belgium, Poland, France, Germany, the UK and, more recently, Italy. The tracker provides a continuous view of changing behaviours, with the first wave established as a baseline in 2021 and the fifth wave conducted in 2025.

The research explores consumption habits across generations (Gen Z, Y, X and baby boomers), alongside shifts in dietary behaviour such as organic consumption. It also tracks broader contextual forces such as inflation and climate change, helping interpret how macro trends influence everyday choices.

The impact

The tracker has become a recurring strategic input for Südzucker, helping teams stay close to evolving consumer expectations in a fast-changing market.

Insights are published annually in the “Sweet Trends” report and further shared through articles and internal summaries, ensuring findings are widely accessible across the organisation and with B2B partners.

Over time, the initiative has evolved into a continuous source of foresight, helping Südzucker anticipate change and bring relevant, consumer-led perspectives into commercial conversations.