Tate & Lyle taps into erythritol, broadens sugar reduction business

17 Nov 2022 --- UK-based Tate & Lyle is expanding its portfolio of reduced sugar alternatives, entering the erythritol business with its Erytesse Erythritol launch, that has 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, a similar temporal profile and contains zero calories.

“Consumers are increasingly switching to sugar-reduced products, so manufacturers are looking for more sweetening solutions that will help them reformulate and still deliver the taste and texture consumers will love,” says Abigail Storms, global head of sweeteners at Tate & Lyle.

“Erytesse Erythritol has a clean taste and bulking properties that make it perfect for helping manufacturers meet this demand, and as such it strengthens our existing sweetening toolbox, as well as our overall portfolio.”

The company shares that its product has a diverse range of applications, including beverages, dairy, bakery and confectionery.

Rise of erythritol
Tate & Lyle explains that the compound annual growth rate of new product launches with low caloric claims – low, no and reduced calories – containing erythritol are expanding at 22% per year and have done that for five years in a row.

“The perception and awareness of the benefits of erythritol are increasing with 67% of industry professionals feeling positive about the ingredient, and an increasing number of US consumers likely or very likely to buy a product which contains erythritol now at 23% (up from 6% in 2020),” explains the company.

Erythritol can be used alone or combined with other sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit or high-potency sweeteners like sucralose.

73% of consumers from an average of ten countries say that they try to limit or reduce products/ingredients that are ‘bad’ for them, such as high in sugar, salt, fat, etc.“It can also be used to create sweetening solutions for manufactured food products, including bulking and mouthfeel when sucrose is reduced or removed. In addition, it offers good stability in high levels of heat or acidity during processing, making it suitable for a host of formulations,” notes Tate & Lyle.

According to Innova Market Insights, in the chocolate category, global launches with erythritol grew 33% between 2017 and 2021, making it one of the fastest-growing ingredients – after the 39% of rice syrup, 38% of dates and 35% of whey permeate.

Moves in the alternative sugar space
As consumer interest in better-for-you sweeteners holds firm, showcased by the growing use of erythritol or stevia for example, companies are moving to capture healthy consumers.

PureCircle is expanding its European stevia reach after it got approval of ingredients using bioconversion – the glycosides Reb M, Reb AM and Reb D. Bioconversion allows for cheaper and more accessible products, which helps formulators cut on costs.

As sugar reduction continues to top the trend chart in food and beverages, Sweegen is innovating ways for brands to prioritize taste while making better-for-you products.

In 2022, the company launched its Bestevia LQ, a collection of liquid stevia-based sweeteners.

Meanwhile, Food-tech start-up Better Juice unveiled this month a plant to produce proprietary beads composed of non-GMO microorganisms that naturally convert the juice’s composition of fruit sugars, including sucrose, glucose and fructose, into better-for-you prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers.

Moreover, healthy indulgence trends with low calories and reduced sugar continue to gain traction, as most confectionery companies now have sugar-reduced options.

Innova Market Insights reports that 73% of consumers from an average of ten countries say that they try to limit or reduce products/ingredients that are ‘bad’ for them, such as high in sugar, salt, fat, etc.

By Marc Cervera

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