Sweetener Breakups Are Hard:

Sweetener Breakups Are Hard: Why the Industry Is Quietly Moving on from Erythritol (and What to Do Instead) Summary Erythritol hasn’t been banned, and it hasn’t stopped functioning. What’s changed is risk. Once a quiet, reliable workhorse in sugar reduction, erythritol now carries perception volatility and trade exposure that smart Read more…

Formulation Mission Control

Mission Control for Modern Formulation

How Icon Foods Steers Brands Through the New Nutrition Frontier At SCIFTS and again at EXPOWest, the food and beverage industry won’t just be trading samples and business cards—they’ll be navigating the tectonic shift that’s reshaping how products get made, labeled, and loved. With the launch of the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Read more…

RTD Coffee Has Entered Its Second Act

Summary RTD coffee has moved beyond convenience and into its second act: function-first formulation. Today’s bottled brews are expected to deliver protein for satiety, fiber for balance, adaptogens for focus, and low sugar without sacrificing drinkability. But coffee is a demanding matrix, acidic, polyphenol-rich, and unforgiving when sweetness or mouthfeel Read more…

The Erythritol Reckoning: What Now for BFY Formulators?

Summary Erythritol was once the gold standard for sugar reduction—clean taste, low glycemic impact, functional bulk, and formulation flexibility. But tariffs, anti-dumping rulings, and mounting scientific scrutiny have dramatically altered its risk profile. With prices volatile and new research raising concerns about cardiovascular and metabolic implications  The Erythritol Reckoning, better-for-you Read more…

FroCo* Has Entered the Chat

Why Frozen Cottage Cheese is the Next Legit Platform, and How to Formulate it Without Screwing it Up Summary Frozen cottage cheese, or “FroCo*,” is emerging as a serious new platform in frozen desserts, driven by the convergence of protein-forward eating, sugar reduction, GLP-1 behavior shifts, and clean-label expectations. Rather Read more…

The Sweetener Cage Match

Aspartame, Sucralose, Ace-K v. MonkSweet™ MV50, SteviaSweet™ RebM, and SteviaSweet™ RM95D A formulator-to-formulator field guide, sensory, stability, synergy, and the real-world gotchas that show up at scale. Summary In a market where sweetness is easy but a true sugar-like experience is increasingly hard to deliver, The Sweetener Cage Match steps beyond ingredient Read more…