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18-July-2024
By Lukas Southard
The Institute of Food Technologists yearly convention in Chicago, IFT First, proved to be a fertile ground for showing how ingredient providers and suppliers are innovating on trends like sugar reduction, weight management and functionality.
Although alternative sweeteners like monk fruit, stevia and various sugar alcohols continue to proliferate, some food scientists are finding new ways to get a saccharine boost into products without spiking glycemic levels.
Israel-based Better Juice uses a proprietary immobilized enzyme solution to reduce the sugar content of juice by as much as 80%, converting natural sugar molecules from juices and purees into dietary fibers and acids while maintaining the flavor and nutritionals of the product. Founded in 2018, Better Juice is preparing to bring its IP to other categories like bev-alc and is currently raising between $6 million to $10 million in a round led by Ingredion Ventures with additional investment from Emil Capital.
Ingredion showed off its own sugar reducing products including its new stevia-based PURECIRCLE Clean Taste Solubility Solution. Marketed as “going beyond Reb M,” the new extract claims to offer less aftertaste than other stevia products while still cutting sugar contents by 50% to 100%.
Fresh off a partnership deal with Grupo Bimbo, Oobli showcased its active ingredient brazzein which is made via a fermentation process to sweeten products. Although it has been busy – launching D2C branded chocolates, canned sweet teas and signing on with a natural channel distributor – the company “doesn’t want to be the biggest CPG company in the world,” said director of program management Tina Wang. Instead it aims to have an impact as a B2B supplier.
Along with alternative sweeteners, gut-health and weight management solutions were also hot on the show floor. Multinational operation Comet displayed its prebiotic fiber derived from upcycled wheat straw that can be used in GLP-1 companion products to help consumers manage their weight. Not only does Comet tick the boxes of gut-health and metabolic health claims but it hits sustainability claims by reducing land use and partnering with ethanol producers.
PLT Health Solutions showed its own weight management innovation with its Slendacor and Supresa products. While Slendacor is a non-stimulant calorie-burning ingredient, Supresa is also positioned towards GLP-1 drugs to reduce snack cravings with an active ingredient derived from the autumn crocus plant.
The 70-year old ingredient maker also plays with functionality including mango leaf extract Zynamite that stimulates brain energy and improves cognitive function.
Also in functional foods: Mongolian tea maker Amu was showing off its Himalayan buckwheat teas with shilajit. The traditional Ayurvedic supplement claims to increase energy, improve cognitive function and raise testosterone levels.
Baobab trees might only be familiar to Westerners through The Little Prince or Disney’s The Lion King, but Ghana-based company Kaibae is on a mission to show the ancient African trees’ seed pods bring sustainable health benefits. The company is positioning its baobab fruit powder as the next gut health powder solution, benefiting microbiomes and skin while also boosting energy levels.
