The Sugar Association celebrates real sugar’s deep roots: from farms to family favorites

WASHINGTON D.C. | OCTOBER 15, 2025 – The Sugar Association is marking National Real Sugar Day today by celebrating the gold standard of sweetness – real sugar! This year’s celebration highlights real sugar’s unique story and its deep roots, from farms to family favorites.

Real sugar’s roots go back thousands of years, as one of the world’s oldest commodities. Today in the United States, its story starts when sugar cane and sugar beets are grown on farms from coast to coast by our dedicated farmers. Those deep roots help our local communities to thrive by extending to the many thousands of bakeries and other businesses that rely on real sugar to make the foods we all love.

Rooted in nature, not a lab – real sugar plays many essential roles in foods as part of a balanced diet and is irreplaceable as a single functional ingredient. Renowned for its signature sweet taste, real sugar is also a natural preservative, colorant, texturing agent, and helps balance sour and acidic flavors.

Established by the Sugar Association and its members in 2022, National Real Sugar Day shines a spotlight each year on the plants and people behind the real sugar found on supermarket shelves and in home pantries nationwide. This year’s celebration comes at a time of growing interest in food and nutrition among consumers.

The Sugar Association President and CEO Courtney Gaine, Ph.D., RD, commented:

“We are excited to celebrate the fourth National Real Sugar Day today! From its deep roots on family farms to its role in local businesses, real sugar keeps traditions alive, storefronts open, and communities thriving. Behind every mealtime staple or favorite treat made with real sugar is a local job, a local business, and a local story. Today, we want to extend our gratitude to all those who work tirelessly to bring us this sweet and essential ingredient.

From pantry staples like bread and jam to special treats like birthday cake or your favorite holiday pie, real sugar is at the heart of so many family favorites – there’s really nothing like it! Gold-standard evidence reaffirms what thousands of years of history have shown – that balanced diets have room for moderate amounts of real sugar.”

Celebrate National Real Sugar Day by:

• Joining the celebration online using the hashtags #NationalRealSugarDay and #RealSugar and tagging @moretosugar.
• Baking or cooking something with #RealSugar to share with family, friends, or online!
• Sharing photos of sugar beet or sugar cane harvest online with #RealSugar.
• Sharing your favorite recipes that use #RealSugar online.
• Learning about real sugar’s functions in food and place in balanced diets by checking out the Sugar Association’s resources for parents, educators, and health professionals.
• Taking our virtual farm-to-table tour and experience how #RealSugar goes from plant to product.
• Going shopping at our #RealSugar SWAG store here.

More information about National Real Sugar Day is available here, including a celebration toolkit with social media graphics, educational resources, and more.

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The Sugar Association, founded in 1943, is the scientific voice of the U.S. sugar industry. The association is committed to making a difference by continuously supporting scientific research and sharing its knowledge that there’s more to real sugar by increasing consumer understanding of and confidence in the role that it plays in a nutritious, balanced, and enjoyable diet. The Sugar Association represents nearly 11,000 beet and cane sugar growers, as well as processors and refiners of sugar. The U.S. sugar industry generates 151,000 jobs in more than two dozen states and contributes $23.3 billion to the economy annually. For more information, visit sugar.org, follow us on X and Instagram, and connect with us on Facebook.