Diabetes is on the rise. Almost 60% of people tested at a recent health roadshow were found to be at risk of diabetes. The Diabetes UK Healthy Lifestyle roadshow in Bolton tested 281 people to find out if they were at risk of developing type two diabetes. Of those, 167 people were referred to their GP because their risk of diabetes was moderate to high.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The number of people diagnosed with the disease has risen by nearly 130,000 in the past year to 2.9 million, according to Diabetes UK, and there are now 50% more Britons with diabetes than when GP data on the disease was first published in 2005. The rise is mainly due to a surge in type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of all cases.

Managing diabetes isn’t only about refined sugar - it’s about managing all sugar. That means taking care when you’re eating fruit, avoiding most processed meals and giving a wide berth to most if not all carbohydrates. And herein lies the opportunity.

When you next stroll around the supermarket, you’ll find next to nothing to cater for the diabetic market. Nothing screams out “we know diabetes is a growing problem and we’re here to cash in on it.” Plenty of products claim to be “low fat”, though they are often high in sugar.

Contrast this, for example, with gluten. Most of the major supermarkets now have a dedicated area for gluten-free products, yet coeliac disease, which requires a gluten-free diet, accounts for only 150,000 people in the UK.

And don’t restrict your thinking to just diabetics. The change in diet required can affect their families, too. This means that although your “universe” of diabetics may be four million, by factoring in family eating habits, it could be as many as 16 million.

Brands have an opportunity to open up new revenue streams by developing a range of genuinely sugar-free products. This would extend the reach of established brands, open them back up to people who otherwise would not be able to buy them and by linking products with a charity like Diabetes UK, the brand could tap into the principle that consumers are more predisposed to ethical, socially responsible brands.

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