No big surprises to me:
The forums below range from mostly young men (e.g., Muscular Development) to mostly young women (e.g., Oxygen) and the results are fairly consistent.
If you combine the answers from question 2 and 3 (which are in essence the same question in terms of purchase decisions) you get a clear picture; this demographic cares much more about taste and cost ( but that was not in the poll) then “natural” vs. synthetics.
Results from my BodyBuilding Revealed Forums:
I strictly use products with natural sweeteners/flavors 20.59%
I prefer natural to synthetic, but it's not a deal breaker 50.00%
I don't pay attention to how they do it, as long as it tastes good! 14.71%
I prefer protein powders with no flavors of any kind/flavor myself 14.71%
Results from Muscular Development Forums:
I strictly use products with natural sweeteners/flavors 8.82%
I prefer natural to synthetic, but it's not a deal breaker 29.41%
I don't pay attention to how they do it, as long as it tastes good! 58.82%
I prefer protein powders with no flavors of any kind/flavor myself 2.94%
Iron Magazine forums:
I strictly use products with natural sweeteners/flavors 36.36%
I prefer natural to synthetic, but it's not a deal breaker 18.18%
I don't pay attention to how they do it, as long as it tastes good! 45.45%
I prefer protein powders with no flavors of any kind/flavor myself 0
Siouxcountry.com
I strictly use products with natural sweeteners/flavors 5.41%
I prefer natural to synthetic, but it's not a deal breaker 43.24%
I don't pay attention to how they do it, as long as it tastes good! 45.95%
I prefer protein powders with no flavors of any kind/flavor myself 5.41%
Oxygen Magazine Forums:
I strictly use products with natural sweeteners/flavors 32.26%
I prefer natural to synthetic, but it's not a deal breaker 29.03%
I don't pay attention to how they do it, as long as it tastes good! 32.26%
I prefer protein powders with no flavors of any kind/flavor myself 6.45%
Sample sizes were not huge, but pretty consistent....