Utrecht, Netherlands, August 08, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Most global food & beverage companies are now placing sugar reduction at the forefront of product innovation. This trend is a response to growing consumer demand for a healthier lifestyle through more natural, nutritious products, especially with obesity identified as significant comorbidity linked to severe illness from COVID-19.

FutureBridge’s three-year-long review of global sugar reduction innovations highlighted three technologies hitting key price competitiveness milestones. This development allows them to address a core barrier to greater adoption of low-calorie sugar alternatives – a high cost linked to processing issues. “We see a growing trend of new sweetener solutions with a competitive price advantage,” said Sarah Browner, Senior Analyst at FutureBridge. “Companies, especially start-ups, are rethinking and reevaluating the production process of several low-calorie sweeteners to make them more accessible on the market.”

Three new bioprocesses set to rattle the low-calorie sweetener market
FutureBridge’s latest report on the breakthrough innovation landscape of alternative sweetener solutions has identified three technologies that look set to disrupt the market;

Xylitol: Xylitol’s application in food and beverages today is limited, with only 11 product launches utilizing this sweetener in 2019. Austrian start-up, Annikki, has launched a bio-process to improve the output volume per batch of xylitol with a decrease in manufacturing cost to around $500/ton compared to the manufacturing cost via petro-chemicals of $1000-$2000/ton.

Tagatose: Despite its health advantages over sugar, tagatose’s cost-effective production remains a roadblock. It currently retails for about $26/kg, while the same amount of sugar sells for less than 50 cents. The U.S. start-up, Bonumose, which uses cornstarch instead of lactose from milk, could potentially lower production costs by 80 percent (to around $3/kg).

Stevia: Stevia’s cost fluctuates depending on the sourcing of the stevia leaves and the solvent used. Amyris ferments sugarcane with yeasts to produce steviol rebaudioside molecules, resulting in a 90% lower product development cost.

FutureBridge will issue the next update of its tracker of the complex global landscape of sugar reduction innovations and the companies driving these to market in October 2020.

FutureBridge will host a webinar on Emerging Technologies of Sugar Reduction on September 17, 2020, at 4.30 pm CET/10.30 am EST to explore these developments and share its 6-to-18-month outlook. To register, click here. https://bit.ly/3a212Fx

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About FutureBridge
FutureBridge tracks & advises enterprises on the future of industries from a 1-to-25-year perspective. With its data & analytics platform, in-depth techno-commercial knowledge, and network of start-ups, technology partners, and corporate leaders, it keeps its clients ahead on the technology curve, identifies new opportunities, markets, and business models, and facilitates best-fit solutions and partnerships. FutureBridge has a team of over 500 in-house experts in Europe, North America, and Asia.