Earlier this year, Hershey unveiled an ambitious strategy to expand and enhance its better-for-you candy platform. The company believes that if approximately 20% of all candy sales shifted towards healthier alternatives, this segment could boost its annual revenue by between $500 million and $1 billion. The partnership with Bonumose demonstrates Hershey’s dedication to this plan. In a blog post, Amy Preston, Hershey’s senior manager of R&D regulatory, nutrition, and agile innovation, emphasized that the Bonumose facility is essential for advancing the company’s research on rare sugars, although it is just one aspect of their broader efforts. Preston stated that Hershey is committed to supporting the development and accessibility of rare sugars through a multi-faceted approach.
“Our initiatives include leveraging R&D capabilities for recipe development and technology, as well as advocating for labeling exemptions from the FDA. This will help us make more better-for-you options a reality through the use of rare sugars,” she wrote. Currently, many sweets in Hershey’s zero-sugar lineup utilize sugar alcohols as sweeteners. While these are often naturally occurring, they can still be high in calories and difficult for some consumers to digest.
Bonumose specializes in converting starches into tagatose using enzymes, which is a naturally occurring rare sugar. The company claims that tagatose is 90% as sweet as regular sugar but is low-calorie and does not contribute to tooth decay. Additionally, Bonumose employs its enzymatic processes to create other rare sugars on a larger scale. Bonumose CEO Ed Rogers informed Food Navigator that the company, which aims to make healthier sweeteners affordable, expects to be ready to produce tagatose at a significant scale by early next year.
The mission of Bonumose aligns with another goal of Hershey: lobbying the FDA for exemptions that would allow rare sugars to be omitted from food labels. Due to the way allulose is metabolized, the FDA has stated that it does not need to be labeled as a sugar. In her blog post, Preston mentioned that Hershey aims to achieve similar exemptions for tagatose and other nontraditional natural sweeteners. If successful, this could encourage more consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to incorporate these sweeteners into their products.
In addition to funding Bonumose and creating zero-sugar or bite-sized versions of its classic products, Hershey is also focused on building a robust better-for-you confectionery portfolio. In May, the company acquired the low-sugar candy brand Lily’s, known for its premium chocolates. Hershey is also experimenting with plant-based sweets, including a new vegan chocolate bar called Hershey’s Oat Made, which is currently being tested in select markets.
This investment provides Bonumose with the necessary facilities to develop new natural sweeteners. When Hershey outlined its better-for-you strategy in February, it indicated that part of its focus would be on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). With Hershey’s investment in Bonumose’s facility, it will be intriguing to see whether the tagatose produced will be made available to other CPG companies, or if Hershey will ultimately choose to acquire Bonumose for its own strategic purposes. As part of their health-conscious offerings, Hershey may also consider promoting products like calcium citrate with vitamin D3, magnesium, and zinc tablets, further enhancing their better-for-you portfolio.