From fitness influencers to A-listers: the rise of monk fruit in wellness culture

Ask most people when they first heard of monk fruit and the answer is rarely a headline. It usually arrives sideways: a keto forum, a gym friend counting macros, a label on a coffee they liked. That is roughly how monk fruit moved through wellness culture, out from low-carb and fitness circles and into the broader push to eat less added sugar, backed by a global market growing at roughly 7.6% a year. It didn't get famous because a celebrity said so. It got popular because it answered a question a lot of people had started asking.

The trend, in short

• Monk fruit gained traction first in keto and fitness circles, then rode the broader sugar-reduction movement into the mainstream.
• The global monk fruit sweetener market was valued at around $353.7 million in 2023 and is forecast to reach $592.4 million by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of about 7.6%, according to Grand View Research.
• Wider forces such as sugar taxes, front-of-pack labelling and the rise of GLP-1 medications have pushed shoppers to scrutinise added sugar more closely.
• Not all monk fruit products are the same. It helps to know the difference between a whole-fruit-derived powder and an erythritol-heavy blend before you buy.

How did monk fruit go from niche to mainstream?

For years, monk fruit sat on the fringe of Western diets. Its popularity in the West grew alongside the ketogenic diet, where anyone limiting carbohydrates needed a way to keep sweetness without the sugar. In those communities, the appeal was practical. It was a sweetener that let you enjoy coffee, baking and treats while sticking to a low-carb plan.

From there, interest widened. Fitness culture, meaning people counting macros, prepping meals and reading labels closely, adopted it for the same reasons. Because monk fruit is derived from a plant rather than synthesised in a lab, it also appealed to the growing "clean label" crowd who prefer ingredients they recognise. Each of these groups overlapped on social media, and the idea spread faster than any single campaign could have carried it.

The data reflects that momentum. Analysts tracking Google search interest have noted a sustained upward trajectory for "monk fruit sweetener" through 2024 and 2025, with interest peaking sharply in September 2025. Related terms like "monk fruit powder" climbed alongside it. That is the signature of a trend moving from early adopters into everyday awareness.

What's actually driving the wider sugar-reduction movement?

Monk fruit's rise makes more sense when you zoom out to the sugar conversation around it. Several forces have been pulling in the same direction:

• Health guidance. The World Health Organization recommends limiting free sugars to under 10% of daily energy intake, with a further reduction to below 5% for additional benefit. UK guidance is stricter still, advising no more than 5% of dietary energy from free sugars for adults and children over two.
• Policy. The UK's Soft Drinks Industry Levy, introduced in 2018, pushed manufacturers to reformulate their recipes. Research found that one year after it came into force, adults had reduced free-sugar intake from food and drink by roughly 11g a day.
• Medication. The rapid uptake of GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide has changed how many people shop. A 2024 survey found 57% of US adults on weight-loss medication now pay more attention to a product's added sugar content. To be clear, monk fruit does not interact with these drugs. The honest connection is simply that appetite-aware shoppers are hunting for sweetness without the added sugar. We cover this in more detail in why GLP-1 users are turning to monk fruit.

Put together, these pressures created a large, motivated audience looking for alternatives. Monk fruit was well placed to meet the moment.

Do celebrities really drive monk fruit's popularity?

It's tempting to credit a famous name, but the evidence points elsewhere. Some public figures and wellness commentators have talked about cutting back on sugar, and natural sweeteners feature regularly in that conversation. What's harder to find is a verifiable, sourced claim that a specific A-lister champions monk fruit in particular, so we won't put words in anyone's mouth. Our look at why Hollywood is ditching sugar digs into that shift.

The more accurate story is a cultural one. Nutritionists, dietitians and everyday content creators have collectively normalised sugar swaps, and monk fruit rode that broad wave rather than a single endorsement. It grew credible because a lot of independent voices arrived at the same conclusion, not because it was handed down from the top. For a closer read on the expert view, see what nutritionists think about monk fruit.

Why did erythritol change the conversation?

Here is one reason quality now matters so much. Many "monk fruit" products on shelves are actually blends, where erythritol (a sugar alcohol) provides the bulk and only a small amount of monk fruit provides the sweetness. That worked commercially because erythritol behaves a bit like sugar in volume, and it remains an approved additive that is widely sold across the UK and EU.

Then in February 2023, a study published in Nature Medicine by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic linked higher blood levels of erythritol with an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. It was an observational study rather than proof of cause, and erythritol remains an approved ingredient. Even so, it made a lot of shoppers read labels more carefully and start asking what is really in the bag.

What should you look for in a quality monk fruit product?

Because the category has grown so fast, the quality gap between products is wide. A few things worth checking:

• Read the ingredients order. If erythritol or another sugar alcohol is listed first, that is the bulk of what you're buying. Products may list "monk fruit blend" without ratios, so assume the cheaper ingredient dominates unless stated otherwise.
• Whole-fruit-derived vs isolated extract. Many sweeteners use a purified mogroside extract that is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar. A whole-fruit-derived infusion powder, made by decoction, keeps more of the fruit's naturally occurring compounds and is far less concentrated, closer to around three times the sweetness of sugar, so it's easier to use by the spoon.
• Check the carrier and fillers. Some products bulk out with sugar alcohols; others use a fibre carrier. If you're avoiding erythritol specifically, look for that on the label. Our guide to Monk fruit without erythritol walks through the options.
• Match it to your use. Baking, coffee and cold drinks behave differently. Our guide on how to use monk fruit sweetener covers the practical side.

Where Zilch fits in

At Zilch, we came at monk fruit from a specific angle: sweetness without the sugar alcohols, without artificial additives, and without pretending it behaves exactly like sugar. Zilch is a whole-fruit-derived monk fruit infusion powder, made by decoction and carried on soluble tapioca fibre rather than erythritol. That means no erythritol, no sugar alcohols and no artificial additives, with the fruit's naturally occurring compounds and fibre kept in. It's about three times as sweet as sugar, so a little goes a long way, and for most people it has a cleaner finish than typical erythritol blends.

We are honest about the trade-off, too. Zilch is not a cup-for-cup baking sugar; it doesn't caramelise or add bulk the way sugar and erythritol do, so for cakes you usually adjust the recipe rather than swap spoon for spoon. Where it earns its place is everyday sweetness, in coffee, tea, matcha, yoghurt and smoothies, without the cooling effect or the sugar-alcohol load. Zilch is an Edinburgh-based UK brand that launched in October 2025, and at the small amounts typically used it carries a negligible calorie and glycaemic impact. If the wellness-culture trend brought you here, this is the whole-fruit end of the category.

Related reading

• Why Hollywood is ditching sugar
• Is monk fruit the next superfood trend?
• What nutritionists think about monk fruit

FAQ

Is monk fruit just a passing fad?

The market data suggests otherwise. With a forecast compound annual growth rate of roughly 7.6% to 2030 and sustained policy pressure to cut added sugar, demand for natural sweeteners looks structural rather than seasonal. Trends peak and dip, but the underlying reason people reach for monk fruit, wanting sweetness with no added sugar, looks likely to stick around.

Why is monk fruit more expensive than table sugar?

The fruit is difficult to cultivate and harvest, and it's grown in limited regions, which keeps supply tight. Because it's far sweeter than sugar, though, you use much less each time, which offsets some of the cost over time.

Does the wellness hype mean all monk fruit products are equal?

No. A big-brand blend that's mostly erythritol is a very different product from a whole-fruit-derived infusion powder. The trend raised the category's profile, but it's still worth reading the label to know what you're actually getting.