Looking to unlock the full potential of monk fruit in your clean label formulations? Meet the MonkSweet™ Trifecta—V25, V40, and V50—Icon Foods’ curated lineup of mogroside V extracts designed for precision sweetening without the bitterness, bulk, or aftertaste. Whether you’re crafting light beverages, chewy confections, or high-potency tablets, this powerhouse trio offers scalable, stackable options that match sucrose’s sweetness curve and keep your flavor on point. Dive into the science behind each variant and discover how to blend smarter.
Authored by: Thom King, Icon Foods
Chief Innovations Officer/Certified Food Scientist
When it comes to high-intensity natural sweeteners, monk fruit is the quiet disruptor of the clean label world. It doesn’t spike insulin, it doesn’t ferment in your gut like a frat party gone rogue, and it plays remarkably well with others. At Icon Foods, we’ve spent the better part of two decades refining our monk fruit offerings. The result? A curated suite of mogroside V extracts tailored to suit everything from delicate dry mixes to freeze-thaw warriors. Let’s dive into the sweet science behind MonkSweet™ V25, V40, and V50.
MonkSweet™ V25 – The Gentle Giant (125x Sweeter than Sugar)
Overview
MonkSweet™ V25 is our most approachable extract. Clocking in at ~125x the sweetness of sucrose, it’s designed for moderate sweetening power with a forgiving profile. It’s the “starter monk” for formulators who want clean label credentials without needing a masking SWAT team.
Best Applications
- Hot and Cold Beverages: Ideal for tea, coffee, and flavored waters where the flavor payload is light. It delivers gentle sweetness with minimal aftertaste.
- Bakery Mixes & Pancake Syrups: Plays well in dry blends and applications that lean on Maillard browning.
- RTM Powders and Collagen Drinks: Especially those that require rapid dissolution and a clean finish.
Usage Levels
- RTD Beverages: 0.007–0.015%
- Dry Mixes: 0.02–0.05%
- Bars & Bakery: 0.01–0.03%
- Gummies/Tablets: 0.01–0.025%
Pro Tip
When paired with allulose, erythritol or soluble tapioca fiber, MonkSweet™ V25 can mimic the temporal profile of sucrose with minimal formulation gymnastics.
MonkSweet™ V40 – The Formulator’s Friend (200x Sweeter than Sugar)
Overview
This is our mid-range powerhouse. MonkSweet™ V40 is all about balance—twice the sweetness punch of V25, but without tipping into bitterness or metallic afterburn. It’s refined, polished, and perfect for beverages and baked goods that need a little more bang per microgram.
Best Applications
- Functional Beverages & Sports Drinks: A sweetener that won’t crash the flavor party or linger like an uninvited guest.
- Confections & Chews: Great synergy with allulose or isomalt for candy bases.
- Yogurts & Frozen Desserts: Handles pH swings and freeze-thaw cycles without degrading flavor fidelity.
Usage Levels
- Beverages: 0.004–0.01%
- Frozen Desserts: 0.006–0.015%
- Confections: 0.005–0.012%
- Supplements (RTM, gummies): 0.003–0.01%
Pro Tip
V40 becomes exponentially more versatile when paired with Reb A 60 or 95. You get sweetness amplification and temporal smoothing in one strategic stack.
MonkSweet™ V50 – The Heavy Hitter (300x Sweeter than Sugar)
Overview
MonkSweet™ V50 is not for the faint of heart. This is your high-potency go-to when cost-in-use matters or when you’re trying to sweeten without adding volume. It’s potent, punchy, and pairs best with a sophistication strategy.
Best Applications
- Zero-Cal RTDs and RTMs: Ideal for beverages that need intense sweetness in low-volume formats like wellness shots or electrolyte concentrates.
- Pharma & Supplement Tablets: Excellent for microdosing sweetness without compromising on actives.
- High-Intensity Confections: Think hard candies, lozenges, and cough drops.
Usage Levels
- RTDs/Shots: 0.0015–0.006%
- Supplements (tabs, chews): 0.002–0.008%
- Candy/Lozenges: 0.002–0.01%
Pro Tip
Due to its potency, V50 shines brightest when buffered with bulking agents like allulose, prebiotic fibers or a fiber stack. Consider layering with Reb M for masking any edge in citrus or botanical-heavy applications.
Sweet Synergy: When to Blend the Trifecta
MonkSweet™ V25, V40, and V50 aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, a savvy formulator will often blend them with other glycosides or low intensity sweeteners and fibers to craft a custom sweetness curve that:
- Matches sucrose onset and decay
- Avoids the dreaded stevia spike
- Enhances fruit, spice, or chocolate notes
Formulate with Intent. Sweeten with Precision.
At Icon Foods, we believe monk fruit isn’t just a sweetener—it’s a tool for precise, purposeful formulation. Whether you’re building a clean label protein bar, a gut-friendly soda, or a no-compromise confection, MonkSweet™ V25, V40, and V50 give you the flexibility to fine-tune flavor without fear.
These extracts are all GRAS, stable, scalable, and supported by a team that understands the nuances of sweetener interactions, labeling, and regulatory compliance. Whether you’re just starting your monk fruit journey or ready to level up your stack, we’ve got your back—because better-for-you shouldn’t mean flavor-compromised.
Let’s sweeten the future—one mogroside at a time.
