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Desserts and sweet treats made with sugar substitutes
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Saturday, 28 August, 2021, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Gauri Varma
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Decadent chocolate pudding, scrumptious cheesecake or a luscious bowl of kheer, are you already craving these by a mere mention? A sweet treat is undoubtedly a delight to relish but if you have been diagnosed with diabetes and are asked to steer clear of sugar or you are looking for weight loss, sugar is a big no. In such cases, no matter how tempting a dessert might be, the oodles of refined sugar used in it would end up adding calories to your diet, besides shooting up the sugar levels.
Sugar-free baked goods, such as these cookies made with sunflower seeds and raisins, are well-suited to diabetes sufferers. They allow sugary foods to be replaced with those containing sugar substitutes.
Rising incidences of diabetes and overweight/obesity are pushing consumers from sugar and toward sugar-free alternatives
Few Innovations in Ingredients
According to industry experts, no new sweetener is driving the market to the heights seen in the early 2000s. When the FDA granted permission for sucralose to be used as a sweetening ingredient, it hit the market at a ‘perfect storm' moment: a new sweetener, given a ‘healthier’ profile than other sugar substitutes, was launched around the time that the low-carb fad was at its height, and the combination of factors led to a rush on products made with sucralose. The sweetener became the sugar-free ingredient of choice in a wide array of product classes, from cereal to ice cream to carbonated beverages.
Stevia: The Natural Alternative
Stevia, a natural plant-derived sweetener, does not yet have approval as a food ingredient in EU or US, although it is poised for approval in Australia and has acceptance in 12 countries, including Japan, Brazil and China. Stevia is sold in US as a nutritional supplement, and it has found its way to the tabletop market through that circuitous route. However, growing acceptance may make this natural sweetener the focus of the next sweetener battleground.
Market Trends: Sugar-free Candy
Sugar-free chocolate confectionery had a major following during the height of the low-carb years in 2003 and 2004, but the current trend favors sugar-free, non-chocolate products, sales of which are moving at a pace considerably faster than their chocolate counterparts. Increased numbers of diabetics suggest a growing market for sugar-free hard candy.
Major developments in sugar-free candy revolve around the following issues:
Finding a sugar substitute that offers both good taste and pleasant aftertaste. Manufacturers continue to experiment with new sugar substitutes and combinations of substitutes to find the sweetest sugar-free candy.
Producing sugar-free versions of strong, established candy brands. Hershey, for example, has launched a number of sugar-free analogs to popular sugar candies such as Twizzlers and Jolly Rancher. In mid-2005, Storck released Sugar-free Mentos, and in 2007, this company extended its sugar-free line of Werther’s Originals.
Baked barfi, fig mousse are few Indian examples of sweets.
The Future of the Sugar-free Market
Sugar-free brands have the opportunity to position themselves as tools for the diabetic community, and as the Baby Boom population ages, this will become an extremely important relationship, since diabetes and aging are related.
Many sugar-free products provide other benefits meaningful to the consumer (tooth whitening, weight control, vitamins, energy). This trend is likely to continue and begs the questions: how far can the fusion of sugar-free and added benefits go? What other health trends might show up in the sugar-free arena?
Finally, Much of the dialogue is good for the sugar-free industry because Internet users who are dieting often will recommend their favorite sugar-free foods to other online dieters—foods they believe are great tools to satisfy and beat sweet cravings in a low-calorie way. However, some of the online chatter is detrimental to the industry. There is a small but vocal group of dieters who seem to think that sugar-free foods actually make a person crave more sweets.
Increased ingredient options in the way of diabetic-friendly, new sugar sweeteners are another opportunity for the sugar-free industry. Recent entries into the marketplace, such as the polyol isomaltulose, offer manufacturers of sugar-free foods and drinks additional options in the formulation of their products. This sugar-replacing ingredient releases fully digestible energy in the form of glucose into the bloodstream during a longer period of time than conventional sugar.
Long-term release avoids the sugar rush associated with the consumption of conventional sugar. The substance is said to provide a low insulinemic response, making it a potential sweetener for use among diabetics. The company also says it does not promote tooth decay. However, sugar-free products will maintain one advantage over products that might be made from isomaltulose: It has the same calorie count as conventional sugar.
(The author is CEO and founder of G'Patisserie and Confect)
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