Icon Foods builds sugar reduction solutions for six application areas. Each one fails differently when sugar comes out, and each one needs a different ingredient system to fix it.
Sugar Does a Different Job in Every Application
The mistake most reformulation projects make is treating sugar reduction as a sweetener substitution. It rarely is. Sugar is doing structural, functional and preservation work that varies enormously by category, and the ingredient that solves one application will fail in another.
| Application | What sugar was really doing | What replaces it |
|---|---|---|
| Beverages | Body, flavor carriage, preservation | Glycerin, fiber, allulose, modulation |
| Baked Goods & Bars | Bulk, browning, moisture, spread | Rare sugars, polyols, fiber, humectants |
| Frozen Dairy | Freezing point depression, overrun | Allulose, glycerin, inulin |
| Confectionery | Crystallization, glass, chew, coating | Isomalt, maltitol, xylitol, fiber syrup |
| Supplements | Masking bitter actives | Reb M, thaumatin, modulation |
| Condiments | Body, gloss, water activity, acid balance | Allulose syrup, fiber syrup, glycerin |
Where to Start
Three questions narrow it faster than a product catalogue will.
Which function is actually failing? If the product is pale, you need browning and only the rare sugars deliver it. If it is thin, you need bulk or body. If it stales, you need a humectant. If it tastes flat rather than less sweet, you need modulation.
What is the label constraint? Allulose is excluded from both Total and Added Sugars under current FDA guidance. Tagatose is excluded from Added Sugars. Fiber adds a nutrient rather than removing one. Sugar alcohols declare under Total Carbohydrate.
What is the realistic serving size? Digestive tolerance is a dose relationship, and it is the constraint that most often decides a formulation rather than cost or flavor.
Sugar Reduction Solutions Are Systems, Not Ingredients
Almost no reduced-sugar formulation resolves to a single swap. A working system is usually three or four components: something for bulk, something for the function sugar was performing, a high-intensity sweetener for the sweetness that remains, and often a modulator for the finish.
Browse by ingredient family in rare sugars, polyols and blends, high intensity sweeteners, fibers, modulators, nutritive sweeteners and inclusions.
Formulation Support Comes With the Ingredient
Tell us the application, the sugar reduction target, and which function is currently failing. Our team develops the system and mills it to your process specification, at no charge to customers. See custom blends and formulation support.
Samples ship in 24 to 48 hours with full documentation, and we hold no minimum order.
Discover our customized applications to perfect your product
Icon Foods has a deep expertise with many different applications. There are many different sweetener blends depending on your product and we can help you figure out the perfect match. Below you can learn more about what we can do for your specific product. We are not limited to the categories below, if you don’t see your product category, contact us to discuss your sweetener questions.