The Future of High-Potency Sweeteners: Natural sweeteners innovations, and developments in sweetness potentiators

Of the three key trends driving the food and drinks market (health, convenience and indulgence), sweeteners deliver consumer benefits in the health arena. Sweeteners are integral to the development of many foods and drinks products marketed on the basis of their ingredients being altered to become “diet”, “light”, “sugar-reduced” or “sugar-free”. The high-potency sweeteners market is driven by the consumer attraction of consuming foods and drinks with reduced calorie contents while still delivering the full sensory experience of sugared products, particularly when evaluated in the context of the global rise in obesity.

Recent regulatory approvals for the stevia-derived sweetener rebaudioside-A (reb-A) and an extract of the Chinese fruit luo han guo have provided opportunities to manufacturer products that can be marketed on a ‘naturally sweetened’ platform. These developments are driving much of the innovation in new product development in countries where approvals have been granted.

Future development of other natural sweeteners, such as monatin, and innovative effective sweet taste enhancers will continue to shape new product development to ensure that consumer demands for naturally sweetened products are met.

Key features of this report

• Analysis of the key trends that are shaping the developments in high potency sweeteners, particularly in the context of growing obesity levels and obesity related diseases.
• Evaluation of new sweetener developments, including: new synthetic, super-potent sweeteners; newly approved natural high potency sweeteners; sweet taste potentiators under development.
• Insight into new product development and innovations utilizing new natural potent sweeteners across multiple food categories.
• Analysis of the key technical innovations that will drive future developments within the sweetener sector, including sweetness potentiators, bitter blockers, next generation sweeteners

• Gain insight into the role of high intensity sweeteners within today’s food and drink industry
• Assess the innovation trends in both artificial and natural high-potency sweeteners
• Evaluate the suitability of the emerging natural sweeteners in terms of applications across different food and drinks categories.
• Understand which natural sweeteners have been given approval for use by country and learn about the legislative challenges facing the high-intensity sweeteners market
• Learn about the latest developments in sweetness potentiators and which industry players are at the forefront of innovation

• Low calorie sweeteners account for approximately 10% of total sweeteners consumed globally. The rise in obesity levels globally and the consumer demand for healthier products will ensure that high-potency sweeteners will continue to be vital tools for effective new product development.
• The majority of mainstream sweeteners currently in use in developed markets are synthetic. As such, they are subject to high, but disproportionate levels of consumer concerns with regards to their safety.
• Government legislation has increased scrutiny on the use of sweeteners in foods, although in the US in particular, acceptance of the GRAS-affirmation process by the FDA is streamlining the process of bringing innovative ingredients to market

• Calorie-free sweetener markets continue to grow steadily, demonstrating the strength and longevity of calorie control as a driver of consumer choice.
• Calorie free sweeteners account for around 10% global sweeteners consumption, measured in terms of sucrose equivalent sweetness.
• New developments of super-potent sweeteners will ensure that low-calorie sweetness is economically attractive for food manufacturers.
• Newly approved natural potent sweeteners are in response to consumer demands for the removal of artificial additives from foods and beverages.
• Current naturally sweetened new product developments are mainly focussed on sugar-reduction, rather than calorie-free, reflecting the technical limitations of the newly approved natural sweeteners.

• How has the market for high-potency sweeteners developed during the last 30 years?
• What new potent sweeteners and sweetness potentiator technologies are under development and which ones have recently been commercialized?
• How have consumers embraced natural sweeteners in those markets where they have been approved?
• What has been the impact of natural sweeteners on the tabletop sweeteners market in the US and how is this driving innovation within the category?