The sweet spot in sugar replacement and reduction

Nowadays, sugar is a hot topic in the industry and consumer households. Sugar-rich foods have a way of slipping into our diet, very often in the shape of indulgent snacks or convenience foods. Consumers want the best of both worlds: great tasting and easily accessible foods that are better for them. Hence, the industry is set with the challenge to reconcile the snacking trend with the demand for better-for-you options.

BENEO’s functional ingredients offer new ways to replace sugar and add nutritional as well as technical benefits to mindful foods that do not require any compromises on taste and texture.

What to know about sugar replacements

Sugar reduction with naturally-sourced ingredients
No added sugar claim with additional health benefits
Meaningful sugar replacement, with slow-release sugar
Webinar about sugar replacement
Non-animal derived Proteins
Webinar about Remypure, clean-label rice starch
In-depth information about sugar replacement

Sugar reduction with naturally-sourced ingredients

Replacing sugar with functional ingredients can bring both technical and nutritional enhancements to bakery, cereal, dairy and many other applications. Our ingredients can be applied to obtain sugar-reduced foods with a great texture, natural sweetness and less calories.

Orafti^® Inulin and Orafti^® Oligofructose and Orafti^® scFOS are easily applicable and help reduce sugar levels to 30%. These chicory root fibres are an excellent alternative to sugar not only because of their bulking or texturizing properties, but also their relative sweetness compared to that of sucrose. On top, BENEO prebiotic fibres uniquely offer on-pack health claims for e.g. digestive health and blood sugar management.

BENEO’s Isomalt is the only nutritive sweetener derived exclusively from beet sugar, with a mild, sugar-like taste. Thanks to its low hygroscopicity, it is the ideal sugar substitute in a multitude of applications; e.g. in confections or dry and soft baked goods. When replacing sugar by Isomalt in biscuits, the dough will not be sticky and the biscuits will remain very crunchy. Isomalt can also be used in combination with Orafti^® fibres to replace sugar, bringing digestive wellness and on-pack labels as a bonus.

No added sugar claim

The majority of consumers have faith in no added sugar messages on pack. The dairy segment showed in 2016 the sharpest increase in product launches with a “no added sugar” claim, but the bakery and cereal industries are catching up. Such claims can be accomplished with BENEO’s naturally sourced Isomalt, a stand-alone bulk sweetener that replaces sugar on a one to one weight scale.

Isomalt is already the number one sugar replacer in hard-boiled candies worldwide and it can easily be used as bulk sweetener in many other food products (e.g. fruit jams, cereals, bakery products,…) by means of swapping the total amount of sugars with Isomalt. On top of its low hygroscopicity, low calorie and texturizing properties, Isomalt allows for health claims on blood sugar management and dental health.

Meaningful sugar replacement, with slow-release sugar

Consumers are increasingly aware of the difference between good and bad carbs and in certain markets, they begin to respond to “low glycaemic” messages. Research shows that over half of European consumers agree that sugar releases its energy too quickly, and that they are looking for alternative options. BENEO’s Palatinose^TM is a smart alternative sugar that is released slowly and in a more balanced way, allowing for lower blood sugar response and related on-pack health claims for blood sugar management . Next to improving blood sugar management, clinical study results also show that the gentle carbohydrate energy of Palatinose™ supports efforts towards weight management and sustained energy.

Palatinose™ is very low hygroscopic and is therefore ideal to use in powder mixes. When replacing part of the sugar by Palatinose™, the resulting bakery doughs become very manageable, even without any major changes in recipe or process. Palatinose™ offers a mild sweetness and enhances a nice brown crust appeal in baked goods.