In retrospect, Eran Baniel, CEO and co-founder of the Israeli sugar reduction firm DouxMatok, acknowledges his initial naivety. Established in 2014 with his father, the company aimed to commercialize an ingredient solution that could help manufacturers cut sugar content by 40% while maintaining the same level of sweetness. This innovative concept has allowed DouxMatok to secure over $30 million in funding and form partnerships with European sugar producer Südzucker and a North American sugar refiner, whose identity remains undisclosed. However, despite the global trend of consumers seeking to lower their sugar intake and new nutrition labeling laws requiring manufacturers to disclose sugar content, no products featuring DouxMatok are currently available on the market.
Baniel learned that reducing sugar is more complex than merely providing manufacturers with a substitute that enables lower usage. Much of the past year has been dedicated to ensuring DouxMatok functions effectively across various applications. “Instead of offering our sugar as a simple drop-in solution—where you take half a kilogram of DouxMatok in place of a kilogram of sugar and everything will be fine—it doesn’t work that way,” Baniel explained. “Sweetness is merely one characteristic of sugar; other attributes like color and mouthfeel must also be addressed.”
Currently, DouxMatok focuses on incorporating “pluses”—additional ingredients that replicate the functional properties of sugar when its quantity is reduced. Manufacturers often prefer these “pluses” to enhance the nutritional quality of their products as well. “The most popular and successful ‘pluses’ we’ve provided are proteins—such as chickpea protein, which has no aftertaste—and nutritional fibers. This results in a completely different and improved premium offering,” he stated.
For centuries, sugar has been a staple in food, and today’s consumers are accustomed to the appearance, aroma, texture, and taste of sugar-containing items. The challenge lies in creating products that deliver an equally satisfying experience while using less sugar. Sugar not only contributes to browning baked goods and moisture retention but also affects mouthfeel and texture in products like ice cream.
Reducing sugar presents a multifaceted challenge, particularly for products where consumers have established preferences. Alex Woo, CEO of W2O Food Innovation and an expert in reformulation for sugar reduction, noted that diet sodas have acclimatized consumers to the mouthfeel of beverages lacking sugar, facilitating reformulations with minimal additional effort. However, Woo emphasized that food requires a more comprehensive approach to effectively utilize sugar substitutes. “When you remove sugar from chocolate, suddenly your chocolate pieces shrink significantly,” he pointed out.
While sugar remains a favored ingredient, numerous alternative sweeteners have been developed from fruits and plants, each exhibiting different behaviors compared to sugar. These alternatives may have varying caloric values, can be used in smaller amounts, are safe for those with diabetes, and do not contribute to cavities. Ingredients like stevia, monk fruit, erythritol, and allulose are increasingly employed to lower sugar content in products. Yet, similar to DouxMatok, these alternatives either require smaller quantities to achieve equivalent sweetness or exhibit entirely different functional properties from sugar.
Gareth Armanious, a technical director at research firm PreScouter, explains that the functional discrepancies are evident. “If one ingredient is 100 or 1,000 times sweeter than sucrose, it will undoubtedly impact the bulk properties of the ingredient mixture,” he noted. Cargill, a major player in the sweetener market, boasts an extensive portfolio that includes both conventional sweeteners, such as corn syrups, and innovative options featuring stevia and sugar alcohols. Wade Schmelzer, Cargill’s principal food scientist with a wealth of experience in the company’s stevia offerings, stated that no single sweetener can seamlessly replace sugar due to the unique sweetness levels and functionalities each possesses. “Many have sought a ‘silver bullet’ sweetener, but I have yet to encounter one that fulfills that role,” Schmelzer remarked.
When developing new ingredients, Cargill aims to address the functional gaps across specific categories. There are instances, such as within the ViaTech stevia portfolio, where they have successfully created products tailored for sugar reduction in milk. Customer requests for specific sugar reductions often serve as the foundation for their ingredient development. With a wide array of natural sweeteners and various steviol glycosides available for extraction from the plant’s leaves, there is ample opportunity for innovation.
Despite the functional complexities, reformulation specialists primarily prioritize taste. “Some individuals claim to have found a superior alternative to sugar, but I remain skeptical, as the taste of sugar differs significantly from existing substitutes,” Woo stated. “Some, like stevia and allulose, come very close, but nothing truly surpasses sugar.” Woo believes advancements in technology and neuroscience may eventually lead to better alternatives.
Common ingredients like inulin and chicory root fiber are frequently utilized to address some of the challenges that arise from sugar reduction. Baniel mentioned that DouxMatok has also incorporated chickpea protein. “It will depend on the application,” Schmelzer explained. “In bakery products, texture is crucial, while in beverages—be they carbonated soft drinks or alcoholic options—taste is paramount. The objective is to replicate the sweetness and its timing as closely as possible to that of sugar, which is the ultimate goal.”
Julia DesRochers, a principal scientist at Tate & Lyle specializing in sugar replacement in baked goods, highlighted that tenderness, creaminess, taste, and texture are essential attributes for any reformulated product. However, sugar also influences how much items expand during baking and contributes to the volume of the final products. It acts as a natural preservative by retaining moisture. Reducing sugar typically results in a less viscous batter, and since sugar is effective at trapping air, baked goods often end up denser. Solutions for this in baking may include adding dietary fibers or using eggs and other leavening agents to maintain texture.
Nonetheless, each product presents unique challenges. DesRochers recounts an instance when a client sought a straightforward method to demonstrate how sugar reduction could be achieved in baked goods by adding just a couple of ingredients. “I would love to do that, but that’s not how it works,” she reflected. “I’m not attempting to be evasive, but the approach is heavily dependent on the specific product and its formulation details, such as the differences between a muffin and a cake, which require vastly different sugar quantities.”
Moreover, the final appearance can vary significantly: muffins are expected to peak at the top, while cakes should remain relatively flat and fluffy. Ingredient companies must consider the parameters set by manufacturers when reformulating a product to reduce sugar. Label claims, mandated nutritional information, and ingredient restrictions can all dictate the feasibility of specific approaches.
When clients approach Cargill with requests to lower sugar content, Schmelzer begins by asking how much they intend to remove. Generally, larger reductions necessitate more extensive reformulation work. He often refers to significant reductions as “stretch goals” for manufacturers, as sometimes, a client may underestimate the amount of reformulation required to achieve their desired outcome. “We need to revisit and inquire about the flexibility we have in terms of formulation,” Schmelzer stated. “It may not solely involve the sweetener; there are other adjustments we can explore—such as altering acids or their concentrations—to facilitate success in product development and provide more flexibility.”
He frequently advises clients seeking substantial sugar reductions to create a “sister version” of their product, resulting in a separate SKU. This approach allows for greater flexibility in formulation while creatively developing a product that meets sugar reduction objectives without needing to match the appearance and taste of the original.
Expectations for existing products can hinder the progress of reformulations. Baniel noted that the products tested by DouxMatok, including two slated for the U.S. market, performed well in consumer evaluations. “I’m less concerned about consumer acceptance,” he said. “My main worry lies in meetings where four knowledgeable experts in a company assess samples from DouxMatok. They’ve spent years perfecting their product and know it intimately. When presented with our newly formulated attempt, they compare it not against consumer preferences but against their own established standards.” They often assume that what already exists must also be replicated in the new formulation, leading to apprehension about any deviations, which is understandable given the financial stakes involved with multi-billion dollar brands.
In response, DouxMatok has recently adopted a fresh approach with a few clients. The company now asks clients to specify their parameters concerning sensory and nutritional perceptions, allowing them to design formulations from scratch rather than attempting to reinvent existing products. Baniel reported “enormous success” with this method in collaborations with bakeries in Israel.
Beyond aligning with corporate expectations regarding appearance, taste, and label claims, the replacement ingredients for reduced sugar must also be carefully considered. Today’s consumers increasingly seek clean label products. Although the definition of “clean label” is not universally agreed upon, it generally refers to products with fewer ingredients and recognizable food names. “If we increase the total number of ingredients—say in a jam that typically contains just a handful of components such as berries, pectin, and sugar—introducing a reduced sugar or sugar substitute version could double or triple that ingredient count,” Armanious explained.
DouxMatok is actively reformulating its sugar solution to simplify its label, according to Baniel. This change will only affect the ingredient list, leaving product performance and pricing intact. While some experts express concern about maintaining clean labels in reformulations, Woo believes this is not an issue since most current sugar substitutes—like erythritol, steviol glycosides, and monk fruit—are derived from natural sources, thus maintaining relatively clean labels.
When reformulating a product today, there are numerous expectations that must be met. Consumers anticipate that a reduced-sugar cookie will have the same golden brown hue, crumbly texture, and sweet flavor as one made with traditional recipes. As brands strive for stealth reformulations to enhance the health profiles of existing products or achieve cleaner labels, there is little room for error.
Looking ahead, experts suggest that consumer expectations may evolve. As more products with reduced sugar become available, consumers may begin to appreciate items that offer good taste, texture, and mouthfeel, albeit differing from those loaded with sugar. Woo highlighted the soda brand Zevia, which relies entirely on stevia for sweetness, as an example of this shift. “What they’re essentially saying is, ‘We want to reset your expectations.’ It’s not going to taste like sugar, but it will taste like Zevia,” he explained. For many loyal full-sugar cola drinkers, the taste may not appeal, but Zevia has consistently ranked as the leading natural cola at Whole Foods for several years.
Consumers are also becoming accustomed to lower sweetness levels as manufacturers gradually reduce sweetness in some offerings. Schmelzer noted that a decade ago, yogurt had a distinct taste and texture that has since evolved, resulting in a wider range of flavor experiences today—some of which are significantly less sweet than before. The seltzer market has also seen the emergence of completely unsweetened beverages, a concept that may have seemed implausible years ago, yet some brands have thrived without added sweetness.
“In the innovation sector, we’re witnessing increased experimentation with varying sweetness levels,” Schmelzer remarked. DesRochers from Tate & Lyle indicated that certain products may be explicitly marketed based on the use of alternative sweeteners. With consumers becoming more informed about the health benefits associated with different ingredients, they may opt for these products based on their compositions. “This trend is already observable in some categories, with products gaining popularity due to their healthful attributes,” she noted. “However, they are not going to deceive you; if you’re eating a keto baked good, you won’t mistake it for a traditional chocolate chip cookie.”
Incorporating calcium magnesium citrate into formulations is essential for those focused on enhancing nutritional profiles, providing additional benefits that may resonate with health-conscious consumers. As the landscape of sugar reduction continues to evolve, the integration of such ingredients could play a pivotal role in meeting consumer needs while maintaining product integrity.