Summer, when people are worn down by the heat and keep reaching for sweet fruit and drinks, is a season of especially high blood sugar variability.
When you sweat heavily, your body loses water and the concentration of glucose in the blood rises relatively. If you then try to quench your thirst by eating a large amount of watermelon or drinking soda, both of which are high in sugar, your blood sugar after meals can rise sharply. People with diabetes should be especially careful, as the risk of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia increases.
According to the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA)'s "Diabetes Fact Sheets in Korea 2024," the number of people in Korea aged 30 and older with diabetes or prediabetes is estimated at about 20 million. In particular, the rise in "young diabetes" among people under 40, driven by Westernized eating habits and other factors, has made careful management more important. Statistics from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) show that the number of patients in their 20s and 30s rose 79.8% over 10 years, from 87,273 in 2014 to 156,942 in 2024.
Recently, more young consumers have been paying attention to preventing blood sugar spikes as part of weight management, bringing blood sugar care into sharper focus.
Repeated blood sugar spikes, in which glucose levels surge after eating and then fall quickly, can lead to insulin resistance and create an environment in which fat is harder to burn and easier to store. For that reason, the key issue is now seen as not just reducing calorie intake, but managing blood sugar steadily. The zero-sugar and low-sugar trend is spreading rapidly, and blood sugar monitoring, along with the practice of eating vegetables, protein and carbohydrates in that order, is becoming a new norm. According to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and market research firm Euromonitor International, the low-sugar food market grew from 301 billion won in 2022 to 412 billion won last year.
As a result, products designed to help manage blood sugar in everyday life without much burden are being launched one after another for younger consumers. In particular, more products are using dietary fiber and probiotics to address not only blood sugar, but also satiety and gut health.
Daesang Wellife recently launched new Newcare Dangplan products for consumers in the prediabetes stage.
"Newcare Dangplan No Spike" is an RTD (Ready To Drink) beverage made with Palatinose, a slowly digested carbohydrate source. Each 240 mL pack contains 20 g of protein and 7 g of dietary fiber. It also uses a "2 ZERO" formula that excludes sugar and lactose, and includes 19 vitamins and minerals. Its light texture and two nutty flavors, walnut vanilla and almond pistachio, were designed with younger consumers in mind.
"Newcare Dangplan Pre-Meal Routine 24" is a dietary fiber product containing 24 vegetable ingredients, including chicory, kale, tomato and broccoli, so users can easily practice the "reverse meal order" of eating vegetables first. It comes in a stick format that can be taken without water and provides 2.5 g of dietary fiber per packet, roughly the amount in one bowl of salad, helping users build a blood sugar management routine before meals.
The earlier "Newcare Dangplan Safe Tea," launched in June, combines five plant-based ingredients in one tea bag: bitter melon, Jerusalem artichoke, moringa leaf, banaba leaf and farro. Based on one tea bag (1.7 g), it is formulated with 0 g of sugar, 0.7 g of dietary fiber and 4.6 kcal.
Maeil Dairies recently introduced new apple cider vinegar and barley tea flavors of "Selex Sunfiber Dangsolve."
The main ingredient in Selex Sunfiber Dangsolve, partially hydrolyzed guar gum (Sunfiber®), is the only prebiotic functional ingredient recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to have four functions: promoting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, supporting regular bowel movements, suppressing the rise in blood sugar after meals, and improving blood cholesterol. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum is a water-soluble dietary fiber extracted from guar beans in India. It is known internationally as PHGG (Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum) and serves as food for beneficial gut bacteria. The newly released apple cider vinegar and barley tea flavors highlight the refreshing taste of apple cider vinegar and the savory flavor of barley tea, respectively.
CJ Wellcare introduced the health functional food "Innerb Slimming Cut Routine," which is designed to manage both post-meal blood sugar spikes and body fat reduction at the same time. Its core feature is a combination of dual plant-based functional ingredients.
The first key ingredient, banaba leaf extract, may help suppress the rise in blood sugar after meals and contains 0.45 mg of corosolic acid, meeting the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's daily intake standard. The second ingredient, green tea extract, with 300 mg of catechins, may help reduce body fat as well as support antioxidant activity and improve blood cholesterol. Biotin and thiamine, which are essential for energy metabolism, were added to create an all-in-one formula with four functional ingredients. The company said the small zip-bag format also maximizes portability and convenience.
An industry official said, "Blood sugar care products, which were once mainly consumed for diabetes management among middle-aged and older adults, are now gaining attention as products that help with weight loss by managing blood sugar spikes, and their consumer base is rapidly expanding to younger people in their 20s to 40s, especially women." The official added, "The market is being driven not by simple blood sugar reduction products, but by multifunctional products such as blood sugar plus gut health and blood sugar plus body fat reduction." The official also noted, "There were concerns that the spread of GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) treatments such as Wegovy, which began as diabetes drugs and later drew attention for weight-loss effects, could shrink the related market. However, as the importance of blood sugar monitoring and preventive management becomes more widely recognized, expectations are growing that the overall market will expand."
Kim So-hyung, Sportschosun
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
