Beneo launches an ingredient to help reduce sugar content and increase fiber

Diving Summary:

• Functional ingredients supplier Beneo is launching Beneo-scL85, a fiber derived from beet sugar to help manufacturers meet growing consumer demand for low-sugar products.
• Beneo-scL85 is a short-chain fructooligosaccharide, a prebiotic that escapes digestion in the small intestine. It offers a slightly sweet taste, good solubility, and natural credentials that can help improve flavor and texture. The ingredient can also be used to bulk up in applications such as bakery, dairy, and cereal.
• Beneo-scL85 is the latest offering from ingredient suppliers to help food manufacturers improve the nutritional quality of their products as buyers keep a closer eye on what they consume.

Diving information:

As manufacturers seek to improve the nutritional content of the foods they produce, few areas in recent years have received as much attention as reducing sugar.

When reducing the amount of sweetener needed, CPG companies must consider how removing sugar affects the texture, structure, color, and shelf life of their products. The more options companies have as they create a new product or reformulate the ingredient combination of an existing one, the closer they can come to mimicking the original product but in a healthier way.

Fifty-seven percent of consumers recently said that “low sugar” claims influence their purchasing decisions, Beneo said in a news release. Beneo-scL85, the company said, will enable more of its customers to respond to this trend through the development or reformulation of new products.

The global market for low-sugar foods and beverages reached $46.18 billion in 2021, according to Grandview Research. It is projected to post a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% between 2022 and 2030 due in large part to increased demand for healthy, low-sugar foods and beverages.

The ability to reduce sugar consumption is not the only value of Beneo-scL85. Beneo noted in a statement that it not only helps replace sugar, but adds dietary fiber. The result is a stronger nutritional profile for the product, allowing manufacturers to achieve a healthier offering.

Beneo-scL85 “is a valuable addition to the Beneo portfolio because it increases flexibility and availability for our customers,” Eric Neven, Beneo’s business managing director of functional fibers, said in a statement. “It will further secure supply to meet the high demand for solutions to reduce sugar.”

Even when consumers look to reduce the amount of sugar they eat or drink each day, most people far exceed the recommended amount.

The American Heart Association estimated that men should not consume more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day; for women, the figure is less than 6 teaspoons. What people usually consume each day is much higher. American adults have about 17 teaspoons of added sugar every day, more than 2 to 3 times the recommended amount for men and women, respectively, the health group said.