Sweet alternatives: Ingredion and Oobli join forces to target sugar reduction solutions

Ingredient solutions provider Ingredion has teamed up with sweet protein technology platform Oobli, which is focused on replacing sugar in F&B products. Thea two businesses plan to accelerate sweet proteins, which are cost-effective and healthy. One strategy will be to pair natural sweetener solutions like stevia alongside Oobli proteins.

Sweet proteins have no glycemic impact or effect on the gut microbiome. Oobli’s sweet proteins are produced via fermentation and are claimed to be cost-effective as a sweetener replacement, according to the company.

They are also championed as climate-friendly because they use less land, water, and carbon than farmed sugarcane. 

Levels of sweetness

Sweet proteins are a great-tasting, healthier sweetener that is considered a foundational part of any combination of sweetener ingredients in applications such as sodas, baked goods, yogurts, and candies.

“Sweet proteins are a long-overdue addition to the toolkit of better-for-you sweeteners,” says Ali Wing, CEO at Oobli. “Working with Ingredion’s best-in-class teams to pair natural sweeteners with our novel sweet proteins will deliver game-changing solutions in this important, growing and timely category.”

Sweet proteins can also cost-effectively complement other natural sweeteners, helping food companies achieve ideal levels of sweetness, meet nutrition objectives, and manage costs.

“We’ve long been at the forefront of innovation in sugar reduction solutions, and our work with sweet proteins is an exciting new chapter in that journey,” adds Nate Yates, VP and GM of Sugar Reduction and Fiber Fortification, CEO of Pure Circle at Ingredion. 

“Whether we’re enhancing existing sweetener systems with sweet proteins or using our established sweeteners to unlock new possibilities, we see incredible synergies across these platforms.”

High demand for sweet proteins

The two companies recently tested several co-developed products to better understand the opportunities for sweet proteins and stevia. The collaboration was formed after both companies collected customer feedback. 

This partnership follows Oobli’s receipt of US Food and Drug Administration GRAS “no questions” letters for two sweet proteins, monellin and brazzein. This confirms that these novel sweet proteins are safe to use as sweeteners in products.

This round supports Oobli’s expansion with sweet proteins, both as a standalone solution and in combination with other natural sweeteners, such as stevia, developed in partnership with Ingredion.

Food companies, including Grupo Bimbo, work closely with Oobli to integrate sweet proteins into their product formulations.

Oobli also recently completed US$18 million in Series B1 funding, adding new strategic food and agri investors, including Ingredion Ventures, Lever VC, and Sucden Ventures. These investors join existing Oobli investors Khosla Ventures, Piva Capital, B37 Ventures, and other leading companies.

Oobli is the first company worldwide regulated to sell sweet proteins as a sweetener. It also has four proteins with self-affirmed FDA GRAS status and one protein with FDA FEMA GRAS status.

In March, Ingredion and Oobli will unveil several novel sweet treats at Future Food Tech in San Francisco on March 13-14, 2025.