The UK’s lowest sugar candy brand secures first national listing with Holland & Barrett
NeatSweets, the UK’s pioneering low-sugar candy brand, has secured its first national listing with resurgent retailer Holland & Barrett. The partnership will see its Sour Citrus and Fruity Berry Gummy Bears sold in around 400 stores.
The deal marks another major milestone for the fast-growing challenger brand, following a recent listing with David Lloyd and expanding distribution across Europe and North America.
Sugar confectionary sales grew 5% to £1.9bn in the past year 1 , with volumes up 3.3%. However, 61%2 of UK adults and 75%2 of children are reported to exceed their recommended daily amount of sugar, whilst eight in ten households regularly buy candy.
Mark Lilley, NeatSweets co-founder and the entrepreneur behind restaurant chain Abokado, said “Our ambition is to help remove 10 million kilograms of sugar from the confectionary aisle, and increase joy by 1000%! Holland & Barrett is the first major UK retailer to recognise that the category has incredible scope for growth through low-sugar innovation. Consumer demand for candy isn’t going away, but neither is the appetite for us all to be kinder to our bodies.”
In the wake of stricter HFSS regulations, NeatSweets is uniquely positioned to satisfy the growing demand for treats without the traps. With less than 2g of sugar per bag – around 95% less than standard confectionery – the brand is the lowest-sugar candy range in the UK (RRP £1.99).
1 Kantar, The Grocer, 2025
2 BMJ, 2019 – Ultra-processed foods and excessive free sugar intake in the UK: a nationally representative cross-sectional study
3 Trust Research, Nexus communications, 2011 consumers, 2024
Comments are closed.