Allulose

Icon Foods supplies bulk allulose sugar to food and beverage manufacturers across North America. KetoseSweet™ is available as crystalline, fine, and ultra-fine powder, as syrup, in organic grades, and in engineered blends with stevia and monk fruit. Kosher certified, Non-GMO Project verified, and shipping from our Portland, Oregon facility.

Allulose is a rare sugar that behaves like sucrose in a formulation while contributing almost no calories and no glycemic response. It browns, it bulks, it depresses freezing point, and under current FDA guidance it is excluded from Total Sugars and Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Panel. That last point is why allulose moved from curiosity to category standard.

What Is Allulose Sugar?

Allulose, also called D-psicose, is a monosaccharide found naturally in figs, raisins, kiwi, jackfruit, and wheat. Commercially it is produced enzymatically, most often from corn.

The body recognizes allulose as a simple sugar and absorbs it accordingly, but clinical studies confirm it is not metabolized and has no impact on blood glucose. That combination, sugar-like function without metabolic consequence, is what makes it useful. For production chemistry, see understanding allulose.

Bulk Allulose Specifications

Allulose may be labeled as a natural ingredient under U.S. FDA and FTC regulations. No animal-derived ingredients are used in production.

The Labeling Advantage

FDA guidance excludes allulose from both Total Sugars and Added Sugars declarations. For a formulator building a reduced-sugar, keto, or diabetic-friendly product, that is the difference between a label that supports the claim and one that undermines it.

Our KetoseSweet™ spec reflects it directly: 99.80 g allulose per 100 g, and 0 g total sugars. Background on the exemption is in our post on the FDA added sugars exclusion.

Allulose, Keto, and Glycemic Response

Allulose is absorbed but not metabolized, then excreted largely unchanged. Clinical work confirms no meaningful impact on blood glucose or insulin, which is why it appears across keto, diabetic-friendly, and GLP-1 adjacent product development.

For formulators, the practical consensus is that allulose carries essentially zero net carbohydrate impact while still doing sugar's structural work. Most high-intensity sweeteners give you the metabolic profile without the function. Allulose gives you both.

Allulose Syrup and Liquid Grades

KetoseSweet™ Syrup is liquid allulose at ≥95% assay and Brix ≥71. Liquid grades suit applications where humectancy is the primary requirement, where a crystalline sweetener would need dissolving, or where the formulation is already syrup-based.

Typical uses include ready-to-drink beverages, flavored syrups, sauces and condiments, ice cream and frozen desserts, and bar binding systems. The liquid also mimics the handling profile of high fructose corn syrup, which makes it a direct swap in some legacy formulations.

KetoseSweet™ Syrup Organic is available for certified organic products. KetoseSweet+™ Liquid combines allulose with stevia and monk fruit for sweetness parity in a single liquid ingredient.

Grades and Particle Sizes

Particle size determines dissolution rate and mouthfeel. Frostings and icings need a fine or ultra-fine grade to avoid grittiness. Beverages dissolve faster at finer mesh.

Organic grades run at ≥99.5% assay, higher than conventional. More in organic allulose has landed.

Allulose Compared to Other Sweeteners

Allulose is usually evaluated against three alternatives. The right choice depends on what sugar is doing in your system.

Allulose vs. stevia

These are not really competitors, they are partners. Stevia is a high-intensity sweetener at 200 to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, contributing sweetness and nothing else. Allulose is a bulk sweetener at 60 to 80% the sweetness of sugar, contributing volume, browning, freeze-point depression, and mouthfeel.

A formulation using stevia alone will taste sweet and behave wrong: no body, no browning, no structure. Most successful reduced-sugar systems pair the two, letting allulose carry the bulk while a small stevia fraction closes the sweetness gap. That is exactly what KetoseSweet+™ with Stevia is.

On taste, stevia can carry bitterness or a licorice note depending on the glycoside profile, while allulose is clean. Blending at low stevia inclusion minimizes that. See stevia plus allulose.

Allulose vs. erythritol

Both are bulk sweeteners at roughly 0.6 to 0.8 the sweetness of sucrose, and both cut calories dramatically. Three differences decide between them.

Browning. Allulose participates readily in the Maillard reaction. Erythritol does not brown at all. In baked goods, confectionery, and anything where color development matters, that difference is decisive.

Cooling effect. Erythritol has a high negative heat of solution and produces a noticeable cooling sensation. Allulose does not. In chocolate, dairy, and baked goods that usually favors allulose.

Labeling. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and declares as one. Allulose is excluded from Total and Added Sugars. For a clean-label claim, the panels read very differently.

Erythritol still wins on cost in many systems and on crystallization behavior in panned confections. Formulators often use both. See bulk erythritol and our post on allulose and the erythritol trade situation.

Allulose vs. monk fruit

Same relationship as stevia. Monk fruit is high-intensity, roughly 125 to 250 times the sweetness of sugar depending on mogroside V content, and contributes no bulk. Allulose provides the structure monk fruit cannot.

The pairing is particularly clean because monk fruit carries a mild fruity character that complements allulose's neutral profile. KetoseSweet™ with Monk Fruit is built on exactly that. See allulose with monk fruit and bulk monk fruit extract.

Allulose vs. tagatose

The two rare sugars, and the closest comparison. Tagatose is sweeter at roughly 90% of sucrose versus allulose at 60 to 80%. Both brown, both are excluded from added sugars, both carry low glycemic impact.

Tagatose runs 1.5 kcal per gram against allulose's near-zero. Allulose has stronger humectancy and freeze-point control. Tagatose sits closer to sucrose on the sweetness curve, meaning less compensation needed. Many formulators blend them. Our full comparison of tagatose vs. allulose covers the detail.

Allulose Blends and Sweetener Systems

At 60 to 80% the sweetness of sugar, allulose needs a high-intensity partner to reach parity. These are systems we already build.

If none of the standard systems fits, we build custom blends in-house.

Formulating With Allulose

Browning, and why you lower your oven

Allulose is a reducing sugar, which means it enters the Maillard reaction readily. Unlike sucrose, which must hydrolyze before browning, allulose is already primed. It browns at roughly 220 to 230°F where sucrose shows little color until around 320°F.

Practically, you can lower oven temperature, shorten bake time, or both. Allulose also produces a convincing brown sugar character in reduced-sugar systems. Our guide to baking with allulose works through the adjustments.

Freezing point depression

Allulose depresses the freezing point effectively, producing smoother, softer, more scoopable frozen desserts at reduced sugar levels. It is one of the strongest tools available for ice cream and frozen novelties.

Humectancy and shelf life

Allulose binds water, supporting softness and moisture retention in baked goods and bars over shelf life. The syrup grade is particularly useful where humectancy is the primary requirement.

Solubility

Allulose is water soluble and soluble in most basic food grade solvents, and stable under normal conditions of use. Finer mesh grades dissolve faster, which matters in cold beverages and in frostings where texture is judged directly.

Digestive tolerance

Allulose is generally well tolerated, though like any rare sugar it is dose-dependent. Most formulators work within a 2 to 20% usage range. Confirm tolerance at your intended level in your specific application.

Applications

Frozen desserts and dairy

Freeze-point control and smooth mouthfeel make allulose one of the strongest options in ice cream, frozen yogurt, and novelties. See frozen dairy applications.

Baked goods and bars

Browning, bulk, and humectancy, with a bake profile adjustment. See baked goods and bars.

Beverages

Fine and ultra-fine grades and the syrup dissolve cleanly in ready-to-drink, carbonated, and functional systems. See beverage applications.

Confectionery

Crystallization behavior and browning perform in chocolate, chews, and panned confections. See confectionery applications.

Supply and Sourcing

KetoseSweet™ is manufactured in China and sold from our Portland, Oregon facility, which operates under Oregon Department of Agriculture Food Safety Division establishment #88294 and is a registered FDA food manufacturing facility. Allulose demand has been outpacing easy capacity, and we hold contracted positions across grades and forms.

Current market conditions, contracting windows, and capacity by region are in our allulose market outlook. More on sourcing and documentation.

What Products Contain Allulose?

Allulose appears across reduced-sugar and keto categories: protein and nutrition bars, ice cream and frozen desserts, sugar-free chocolate and confectionery, ready-to-drink beverages, baked goods and mixes, syrups and sauces, and tabletop sweeteners.

On an ingredient panel it appears by name or within a sweetener blend. Under current FDA guidance it contributes to Total Carbohydrate but is excluded from Total Sugars and Added Sugars. Our post on what foods contain allulose covers where it shows up.

Request a Sample

Tell us the application and the grade you are considering. We will send KetoseSweet™ with full documentation, and if a blend suits your system better we will say so. Samples ship in 24 to 48 hours, and we hold no minimum order quanity.