Sugar reduction without taste trade-offs: New industry efforts to replicate and replace sweetness globally

F&B companies continue to chase the golden ticket of replicating the taste of sugar without sacrificing product integrity and taste to satiate a burgeoning health-conscious population. This shift in public consciousness is pushing market players to urgently find ever more innovative ways to provide the best reduced-sugar options for consumers.

Fuelled by factors such as ageing populations and rising chronic disease rates, companies are forging partnerships and thinking outside the box to perfect their products. According to Anne Hirsch, head of sugar management hub at Roquette, sugar reduction is more than just a trend. She describes it as a critical response “to changing global priorities and preferences.”

“Around the world, public policies are increasingly prioritizing transparency and urging manufacturers to rethink and reformulate their products. These measures are driving significant changes in food formulations, making healthier choices more accessible to consumers,” she tells Food Ingredients First. 

Hirsch cites the UK’s High in Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) law, which restricts the promotion of products with high sugar content and encourages brands to reconsider their ingredients and marketing strategies, as an example. 

Rebuilding sweetness

What makes sugar reduction a challenge for the industry is the complexity of the rebuilding and rebalancing process, with tastes and preferences differing from one country and person to the next. 

Continuous innovation to achieve the right mix of ingredients and texture continues to be the number one focus for companies in the billion dollar sector. 

Sarah Diedrich, senior marketing director, global sweetening & texturizing solutions at ADM, tells Food Ingredients First that sugar is such a unique product “as it holds so many jobs.”

Rises in chronic diseases like obesity are pushing companies to think outside the box. 

“When you’re taking it out, you have to think through all of the different scenarios because if you just build back the taste or the sweetness and not the functionality, that can be problematic,” she tells us. 

“It can be complex because a strawberry tastes different in Mexico than it does in the US or in Europe because of where it’s grown. So there’s also different profiles of sugars which make it complex. That’s why profiles and systems are really important parts of the process.”

The company uses its Replace Rebalance Rebuild approach to replace sweetness, rebalance flavor and rebuild functionality. 

“When you take the sugar out, you have to replace the lost sweetness. But then you also have to rebalance the flavor. So if there was a certain level of sugars in a product, even the strawberry profile within a yogurt or something can lose that profile due to the way that the sugar was interacting with the ingredients,” she explains. 

The process becomes even more intricate when you consider factors like mouthfeel. How a full-sugar product tastes on your tongue compared to a reduced-sugar alternative can make all the difference in whether a product sells well. 

Partnerships to accelerate innovation

According to figures from Innova Market Insights, half of the reduced-sugar launches happened in Europe, with soft drinks leading the charge (16%) of reduced-sugar claims. Juices and nectars were the biggest subcategory within drinks (7%).

Different partnerships and continuous innovations are emerging as businesses strive to perfect sugar substitute tastes to the standards consumers want and expect. A key player in sugar reduction, Tate & Lyle, recently teamed up with bioalternatives scale-up Manus to form The Natural Sweetener Alliance. 

They aim to expand access to natural sugar reduction solutions, starting with stevia Reb M, which they call the “first large-scale commercialization” of stevia Reb M — sourced, manufactured and bioconverted in the US. 

Sugar reduction and stevia often go hand in hand. Innova Market Insights data shows that the sweet sugar substitute is the top natural non-nutritive sweetener globally. It is closely followed by monk fruit and allulose.

Tate & Lyle also announced a partnership with botanical biotech specialist BioHarvest to synthesize botanical sweeteners to “mirror and magnify” phytonutrients at the end of last year. 

“These partnerships will accelerate the creation of more sustainable and cost-effective sweetener ingredients and sugar reduction solutions,” Abigail Storms, SVP, global sweetener and fiber platform at the company, tells Food Ingredients First.

Anne Hirsch, head of sugar management hub at Roquette.

Partnerships are becoming the norm in a sector constantly striving to move the needle. Roquette has teamed up with Bonumose, which aims to scale the use of tagatose, a natural, low-calorie sweetener with an ultra-low glycemic index.

Hirsch tells us that tagatose offers significant health benefits beyond its exceptional sweetness, making it a “highly promising” ingredient for the future of sugar reduction and healthier formulations. 

Combinators in action

While sweeteners can be used alone as a single ingredient, many companies like Tate & Lyle use combinations to deliver the best taste for consumers. In recent years, the global ingredients supplier has made significant inroads toward offering healthier options for its customers. In 2010, it dropped its renowned sugar business, ending a historic association with refined sugar. 

“Formulators find that using sweeteners in combination delivers a better consumer taste experience. Tate & Lyle’s broad sweetener portfolio allows brands to create new formulations with better taste profiles, cost-effectiveness and improved nutritional profiles and labeling,” explains Storms.

The company’s portfolio includes products like TastevaStevia Sweeteners, Dolcia Prima Allulose and Purefruit Monk Fruit Extract. It also has a portfolio of fibers that rebuild function when sugar is removed. 

For Tate & Lyle, sugar reduction is essential to its business due to growing concerns about health issues such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease. It is a direct response to changes in consumer behavior. With countries implementing regulations around added sugar, such as taxes or front-of-pack labeling requirements, the company wants to be at the forefront of innovations in the sector.

“Today, consumers are more informed and aware of the products they consume. They prefer food and beverages that offer a balance of taste and health benefits, prompting formulators to find natural or low-calorie sweeteners,” adds Storms. 

Rise of ozempic

Diedrich from ADM agrees and says consumers are increasingly becoming more mindful about what they put into their bodies. 

“We have seen a massive shift in the types of nutrients that gain the most attention and the most awareness when people are flipping over products to look at the nutritional information. I think a long time ago it was more on fat tallies and now everything is really focused on sugars, and that comes from education in the market, as well as sugar almost being seen as like a vice now,” she shares.

Consumers are seeking a more personalized approach to nutrition with growing trends like GLP-1 medications including ozempic.

As consumers seek a more personalized approach to nutrition and with growing trends like GLP-1 medications (ozempic), food companies are increasingly looking to adapt their reduced sugar offerings. For Diedrich, the “golden ticket” remains trying to replicate sugar like cane or traditional sugar, sucrose.

She adds: “That’s the kind of holy grail everyone’s still working to achieve. There’s nothing like that today and that’s why there is a systems approach.”

But given the long history connecting sugar with numerous diseases, is there still space for it in today’s increasingly health-conscious world? 

“I continue to see that there will always be a space for sugar-free products. I also see that what we see as full-calorie or full-sugar might slowly come down. I don’t think we’re ever going to remove that because everyone still sometimes craves that milkshake or full sugar during the holidays,” Diedrich answers.

“There’s still that balanced approach, but we might see more innovation in the mid-calorie or even a higher calorie range that’s still reduced in terms of it being better for you.” 

Future approach to sugar

Specialty sugar could also see a spike in interest, with consumers continuing to look for products like honey, agave and other caloric sweeteners as an alternative. ADM believes there are untapped opportunities in this area, whether around cost or the reduction process.

Roquette’s Hirsch foresees governments worldwide accelerating their efforts to reduce people’s sugar intake in the future through taxes and product labeling. She believes this will run in parallel to a rise in voluntary reduction schemes as brands work to meet sustainability goals.

“As we anticipate this new wave of sugar reduction solutions, it’s crucial to recognize that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach simply won’t work. Ingredient suppliers and F&B manufacturers alike will need to remain agile and responsive to local policies and consumer expectations to develop effective solutions,” she concludes.