Taste is a leading influence on food and beverage purchases in the United States. In the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey, 85% of U.S. adults said taste had a major impact on purchases in 2006, compared with 64% for price, 58% for healthfulness, and 48% for convenience. More recent sweetness research shows a complicated preference: sweet was the most popular basic taste in 2025, yet 78% said reducing the overall sweetness of their diet was at least somewhat important.
Contents
- Flavor as a purchase driver
- Which basic tastes Americans prefer
- Why people want less sweetness
- What people expect from reducing sweetness
- Foods and drinks adding sweet flavor
- What “something sweet” brings to mind
- What Americans think sugar contributes
Flavor as a purchase driver
The 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey Full Report measured purchase factors using a 1–5 impact scale. The figures below classify ratings of 4 or 5 as impactful. They describe survey responses, not market share.
In 2006, taste led the listed factors: 85% of U.S. adults rated it impactful. Price followed at 64%, while healthfulness reached 58% and convenience 48%. That ordering puts flavor at the center of everyday food decisions, even when shoppers also consider cost, nutrition, and ease.
The survey also tracked environmental sustainability at several points. When that measure was added in 2011, 52% considered it impactful. The share was 39% in 2018 and 27% in 2025. In the most recent year-to-year comparison, price was impactful for 71% in 2025, down from 76% in 2024. Healthfulness was impactful for 57% in 2025, down from 62% in 2024.
These results do not measure how much people enjoy particular flavors. They show how respondents rated different considerations when buying food and beverages. Still, the 2006 result gives taste a clear position among the practical forces shaping purchase choices.
Which basic tastes Americans prefer
The IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans’ Perceptions Of Sweetness In Their Diets surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults in 2025. Respondents selected their top two preferred basic tastes, so the percentages are not expected to total 100%.
| Basic taste | Share ranking it in the top two |
|---|---|
| Sweet | 58% |
| Savory/umami | 49% |
| Salty | 45% |
| Sour | 24% |
| Bitter | 21% |
Sweet-tasting foods ranked first, with 58% placing them among their top two basic tastes. Savory or umami followed at 49%, and salty foods reached 45%. Sour was selected by 24%, while bitter was selected by 21%.
The same survey found that 78% considered reducing the overall sweetness of their diet very or somewhat important. That included 33% who said reducing sweetness was very important. Only 6% said it was not at all important. The contrast is useful for understanding flavor preferences: liking sweet foods and wanting a less-sweet overall diet can both be common responses.
Why people want less sweetness
Among the 778 U.S. adults who said reducing overall sweetness was very or somewhat important, the most common reason was eating healthier in general, selected by 49%. The question was filtered to this group, so these percentages do not represent all 1,000 survey respondents.
Blood-sugar or diabetes management was selected by 43%, followed by body-weight management at 41%. Dental health reached 36%, and 34% said they wanted to feel better. Heart health was selected by 30%.
Less frequently selected reasons included looking better at 20% and a doctor’s recommendation at 15%. The pattern suggests that reducing sweetness is associated with broad personal health goals as well as specific concerns. The survey does not establish why any one respondent chose a reason, and respondents could select more than one reason.
The reasons also vary in how directly they describe flavor. “Eating healthier in general” is broad, while blood-sugar or diabetes management, dental health, and heart health identify particular health priorities. Wanting to feel better and looking better are personal outcomes, and a doctor’s recommendation is an external prompt. Because the question allowed multiple selections, the categories describe overlapping motivations rather than separate groups of people. A respondent could therefore be trying to reduce sweetness for several related reasons at once.
What people expect from reducing sweetness
The 2025 sweetness survey also asked 1,000 U.S. adults what they expected would happen if they reduced the sweetness of their current diet. Sixty-four percent expected overall health to increase, and the same 64% expected the healthfulness of their diet to increase.
Fifty-eight percent expected daily calorie intake to decrease, while 55% expected body weight to decrease. These are expectations reported by respondents, not measured outcomes or forecasts validated by a clinical study.
Some respondents anticipated changes that could make the transition difficult. Fifty-one percent expected cravings to increase if they reduced sweetness. At the same time, 50% expected satisfaction with their diet to increase. The two responses can coexist: people may anticipate stronger cravings while also believing that a less-sweet diet could be more satisfying overall.
Foods and drinks adding sweet flavor
When asked which foods and beverages contribute the most sweetness or sweet flavors to their diets, 53% of the 1,000 U.S. adults selected desserts and sweet snacks. Candy was next at 49%, followed by fruit at 41%.
Sugar-sweetened beverages were selected by 36%. Both 100% juice and coffee and tea beverages reached 32%. Breakfast cereals and bars reached 30%, while flavored yogurts reached 24%.
The remaining categories were sweeteners added to food or drinks at 23% and condiments and sauces at 17%. These responses describe what people identify as major contributors to sweet flavor; they are not measurements of sugar content or servings.
| Food or beverage category | Share identifying it as a major sweet-flavor contributor |
|---|---|
| Desserts and sweet snacks | 53% |
| Candy | 49% |
| Fruit | 41% |
| Sugar-sweetened beverages | 36% |
| 100% juice | 32% |
| Coffee and tea beverages | 32% |
| Breakfast cereals and bars | 30% |
| Flavored yogurts | 24% |
| Added sweeteners | 23% |
| Condiments and sauces | 17% |
For creative home cooking, the list highlights that people associate sweetness with more than desserts. Fruit, beverages, breakfast foods, yogurt, sauces, and added sweeteners all appear in respondents’ mental accounting of sweet flavor.
What “something sweet” brings to mind
The survey asked what people first think of when they think about consuming something sweet. A specific food was the most common answer, selected by 39% of U.S. adults. A beverage came next at 23%.
Ingredient was the first association for 12%, while 11% first thought of a feeling. Smaller shares first thought of a memory at 4% or an event at 3%.
These responses place concrete foods and drinks ahead of more abstract associations. They also show that sweet flavor can be connected to emotion, memory, and occasions for a meaningful minority of respondents, even though those categories were less common than food or beverage.
What Americans think sugar contributes
Most respondents connected added sugar with sweetness. In the 2025 sweetness survey, 77% of 1,000 U.S. adults said sugar is added to foods and beverages for sweetness.
Other perceived functions were selected less often. Calories were selected by 31%, texture by 22%, and extending shelf life by 21%. Color reached 16%, fermentation 13%, retaining moisture 11%, and bulk 9%.
| Perceived contribution of sugar | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 77% |
| Calories | 31% |
| Texture | 22% |
| Extending shelf life | 21% |
| Color | 16% |
| Fermentation | 13% |
| Retaining moisture | 11% |
| Bulk | 9% |
Taken together, the results show how strongly sweetness defines people’s understanding of sugar’s role. The lower percentages for texture, shelf life, color, fermentation, moisture, and bulk indicate that fewer respondents named those functions, but they do not show whether respondents were familiar with every possible food-making function.
Across these surveys, flavor remains closely tied to food choice and enjoyment. Sweet is the leading preferred basic taste in the 2025 sample, while reducing sweetness is also important to a large majority. The reasons people give range from general health goals to blood-sugar management, body weight, dental health, and personal well-being. For home cooks, the data points to a practical tension: many people want food to taste good, but some are also looking for ways to make sweetness more deliberate in the overall diet.