Around the world, consumers are continuing to demand products with less sugar, associating it with negative health consequences such as tooth decay, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
And since the pandemic, the quest for reduced sugar has become more relevant than ever, with the number of health-conscious consumers increasing in the past several years.
Globally, government health departments are also forcing food manufacturers to do more to reduce sugar in food and drink through sugar taxes and consumer education campaigns.
Food manufacturers are responding to these demands, with ‘reduced sugar’, ‘sugar-free’ and ‘no added sugar’ claims increasing by over 127% in ANZ between 2021 and 2023. In particular, the dairy, meals & meal centres, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) and chocolate confectionery categories have seen the most significant growth in this area (Mintel GNPD, 2024).
Sugar reduction is not going away any time soon, and to make it trickier, consumers still want a product that tastes good and is budget-friendly.
As food formulators, we know that reducing sugar affects more than just sweetness.
Sugar also plays a functional role in the food matrix, such as in texture (including mouthfeel and viscosity), colour, flavour delivery and more.
|
Food Category |
Challenges In Sugar Reduction |
HW Product Solutions |
|
Beverages |
Mouthfeel, sweetness profile, masking of high-intensity sweeteners |
Gum acacia, flavours, taste modulation |
|
Confectionery |
Texture, flavour delivery, sweetness profile |
Sugar alcohols, sweeteners, taste modulation |
|
Bakery |
Texture changes (crumb structure), browning, flavour profile, shelf life |
Gum acacia, starches, stabilisers, sweeteners |
|
Dairy |
Mouthfeel, masking, flavour delivery |
Stabiliser products, flavours, taste modulation |
|
Breakfast Cereals |
Texture, bowl life, sweetness profile, masking off-notes |
Starches, gum acacia, taste modulation |
|
Jams & Preserves |
Texture – cutting, spreading, sweetness profile, masking high-intensity sweeteners |
Sugar alcohols, hydrocolloids, taste modulation, flavours |
|
Frozen Desserts |
Texture – body & creaminess, flavour delivery |
Starches, flavours, taste modulation |
While natural high-intensity sweeteners such as Stevia and Monk Fruit have offered the promise of replacing sugar and a clean label solution, one of the biggest hurdles to overcome has been their bitter and metallic after taste. Other issues which need to be addressed are formulation stability, increased food safety risk and mouthfeel changes.
Hawkins Watts approaches sugar replacement holistically, using our formulation expertise with flavours, textures, colours and more to re-engineer products so that they are as close as possible to the benchmarks and are microbiologically safe. Our laboratories have all of the food processing equipment necessary to validate that the new formulations will work commercially.
If your business is looking to reduce sugar in its formulations, get in touch with us:
Australia: sales@hawkinswatts.com.au
New Zealand: sales@hawkinswatts.com
Sources
Mintel GNPD: Market (ANZ), Super-Category matches Food;Drink, Claims match one or more of Sugar-Free, Low Reduced Sugar, No Added Sugar, Date Published between Jul 2021 and July 2024.
