At a glance

The food industry faces unprecedented demand for reduced-sugar products.

Key insights:

• Market growth: 64% of consumers are actively trying to reduce sugar intake; "no added sugar" launches grew 4.24% from 2020-2023
• Main challenges: Taste and texture preservation, supply chain reliability and cost optimization at scale
• Leading solutions: Multisweetener blends with stevia-based PURECIRCLE™ technology deliver sugarlike taste without aftertastes
• Scale-up success: Requires structured phases from bench testing to commercial launch with modified processing protocols
• Sustainability advantage: Bioconversion technologies reduce environmental impact while ensuring supply security

The food and beverage industry faces an unprecedented shift in consumer expectations. As health consciousness rises and regulatory pressure mounts, brands must navigate the complex challenge of reducing sugar content while maintaining the taste and texture consumers expect. This transformation isn't just a trend — it's a fundamental change in how products are formulated, manufactured and positioned in the marketplace.

Reduced-sugar product trends and market landscape

Consumer sugar consumption has shifted dramatically. Research shows that 64% of consumers worldwide are trying to reduce their sugar intake for health reasons,1 while 42% are actively reducing sugar to lose weight.2 They are making informed decisions based on growing awareness of sugar's connection to obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The regulatory environment reinforces these consumer trends. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's requirements for added sugar labeling have created more transparency around sugar content. Nutrition labels now display added sugars in both grams and as a percentage of recommended daily value, directly influencing purchasing decisions. Approximately half of consumers report they would be less likely to buy a product based on the amount of added sugars listed.³

Market data reveals the tangible impact of these shifts. New product launches with "no added sugar" claims show a compound annual growth rate of 4.24% globally from 2020 to 2023.⁴ The beverage category leads this transformation, with low sugar and no added sugar claims increasing significantly since 2019.⁵

Plant-based sweeteners have gained remarkable acceptance as the preferred alternative to both sugar and artificial sweeteners. Stevia leads this category, with nearly 75% of consumers considering it the most acceptable sweetener across nutritional beverages, alternative dairy products and sports energy drinks.⁶ This acceptance has increased 15% from 2020 to 2023,⁶ indicating growing consumer comfort with plant-based sugar reduction solutions.

Manufacturing challenges at scale in reduced-sugar products

Manufacturing at scale with reduced sugar presents unique technical and operational challenges that extend far beyond laboratory formulation. The complexity multiplies when brands attempt to maintain consistent taste and texture across high-volume production runs while managing cost pressures and supply chain constraints.

Meeting consumer taste demands requires a level of understanding of the sweetener tools as well as the sweet taste expectations of a specific brand or customer segment. Stevia-based sweeteners and taste modulators can be used at scale to give a clean and satisfying taste, whether looking to replace or reduce sugar or artificial sweeteners.

In addition to sweetness, sugar contributes significantly to the functional properties of food and beverages. When removing sugar, it is important to maintain the eating experience and preserve the texture, along with sweetness and taste.

For instance, when making a sweet indulgence like ice cream, sugar and corn syrup help modulate the freezing point and maintain a creamy texture as they interact with water and dairy in the system. To retain the joyful experience, it’s critical to build back sugar’s functionality with a variety of low- or no-calorie bulk sweeteners — and potentially texturizers — to round out the mouthfeel and deliver the texture consumers expect.

Supply chain complexities can also present challenges. Although Stevia can be grown all over the world, geopolitical and economic factors make rigorous controls and collaboration essential to ensure supply security and consistency. Additionally, it's important for manufacturers concerned with ethical farming practices and sustainable agriculture to work with their suppliers to ensure the products deliver on their individual brand promises and are backed by verifiable traceability.

Cost optimization presents yet another hurdle as brands balance ingredient costs, processing efficiency and market pricing expectations. Sugar continues to be targeted with taxes and front-of-pack warning labels, increasing the costs of manufacturing and promotion. While working to address consumers’ health-driven demand for sugar reduction, there is a need to keep costs and prices manageable. Smart formulation can use sugar-reduction tools to achieve total cost-in-use parity, or even savings, when compared to sugar.

While price remains important to about a quarter of shoppers, Ingredion’s proprietary ATLAS consumer research shows that 45% are primarily motivated by nutrition, ingredients and wellness. Notably, 14% of consumers are willing to pay up to 30% more for sugar-related claims such as “no added sugar” or “reduced sugar,” underscoring the value of health-forward positioning.⁷

Solutions for reduced-sugar products

Sugar-reduction solutions have evolved significantly over the last 10 years, driven by advances in plant-based sweetener technology and deeper understanding of consumer taste preferences. Modern approaches emphasize complex sweetener systems rather than single-ingredient solutions, and research shows that complex sweetener solutions outperform individual sweeteners in consumer taste tests.⁸

Stevia-based solutions lead the market in both acceptance and performance. PURECIRCLE™ Clean Taste Solutions represent a breakthrough in addressing traditional stevia limitations, delivering on the sweet taste expectations of today’s consumers. These solutions use more of the stevia plant through proprietary processing techniques, improving taste performance across partial to complete sugar reduction formulations.

Rebaudioside M (Reb M) stands out as the most sugarlike molecule found in stevia leaves to date. Through innovative bioconversion processes, this steviol glycoside can be produced at scale, enabling zero added sugar formulations with exceptional taste quality. The bioconversion technology significantly improves sustainability profiles compared to leaf-extracted alternatives, reducing environmental impact while increasing supply availability.

Different product categories require tailored approaches to sugar reduction. The key lies in identifying the optimal combinations of sweetener components for specific applications, taking into account processing requirements, shelf stability and cost considerations.

Scaling up efficiently: Strategies for brands

Taking a formulation from pilot-scale to full-scale commercial production requires a systematic approach that addresses technical, operational and quality assurance challenges.

The scale-up process should follow structured phases:

• Bench-scale optimization: Establish your baseline formulations and identify critical variables
• Pilot plant validation: Run controlled tests under real-world conditions to confirm your process parameters and quality metrics
• Commercial trial runs: Move into limited production to validate equipment performance, consistency and cost assumptions
• Full-scale launch: Put quality monitoring systems in place and commit to continuous improvement once you’re in market

Each phase requires careful documentation of processing conditions, ingredient specifications and quality parameters to ensure reproducible results at commercial scale.

Moreover, sugar reduction formulation solutions often require careful consideration related to processing, such as:

• Temperature control: High-intensity sweeteners can be sensitive to heat, so pasteurization and cooking temperatures may need adjusting
• Mixing protocols: Some sweeteners need longer mixing or different sequences to fully dissolve and distribute
• pH management: Flavor and stability can change with pH, so close monitoring is key
• Storage conditions: Finished products may need tighter control over temperature and humidity to stay stable

Consistency across markets starts with solid systems — standardized specs, well-defined process controls, ongoing sensory testing and rigorous cost tracking.

Ingredion provides hands-on support during each of these phases, from bench-scale optimization through to post-launch troubleshooting. Manufacturers can benefit from not just Ingredion’s sweetener portfolio but also its global consumer research, processing expertise and cost-in-use analysis, ensuring that reduced-sugar products can scale profitably.

Sustainability and supply chain innovations

Sustainable sourcing practices have become an essential part of sugar reduction technology for manufacturers, driven by both regulatory requirements and consumer expectations. Modern supply chains require full visibility from farm to finished product. Enter advanced traceability systems, which enable brands to:

• Verify ingredient origins and farming practices
• Monitor quality parameters throughout the supply chain
• Respond quickly to potential contamination or quality issues
• Provide consumers with transparency about ingredient sourcing

Digital platforms now offer real-time tracking capabilities, allowing brands to trace ingredients back to specific farms and production lots. Bioconversion technologies represent a significant advancement in sustainable sweetener production. Compared to traditional leaf extraction methods, bioconversion processes offer:

• Reduced land use requirements
• Lower water consumption
• Decreased energy inputs
• Minimized transportation needs

Life cycle assessments demonstrate that bio-converted Reb M shows substantial environmental impact improvements compared to leaf-extracted alternatives across climate change, land use, water scarcity and cumulative energy demand metrics.⁹

Geographic diversification reduces supply chain risks while supporting global agricultural development. Leading suppliers are developing agriculture programs across multiple continents, including South America, Africa and Asia. This approach provides:

• Risk mitigation against climate events and geopolitical disruptions
• Opportunities for year-round harvesting in tropical regions
• Support for local farming communities
• Enhanced supply security for global brands

Category applications in action

Beverages are the leading source of sugars in most consumers’ diets. This and the dynamic and rapid adaptability of the beverage market make the beverage category the lead for sugar reduction innovation. In a proprietary beverage study with formulations containing PURECIRCLE™ Clean Taste Solutions, consumer and sensory data showed that achieving 50% sugar reduction while maintaining consumer preference scores equal to or better than full-sugar or artificially sweetened products.⁸

Key success factors include:

• Clean taste delivery: Sweet taste expectations vary depending on the type of consumer, but ultimately sweetness shouldn’t come with undesired baggage
• Flavor compatibility: Sweetness performs a vital function in flavor release. A shift from sugar or artificial sweeteners requires the proper application of natural-based sweeteners as well as a rebalancing of flavor technologies, which in turn opens up the potential for additional stevia-based taste modulator tools.
• Processing stability: Maintaining sweetness and quality throughout production and shelf life is essential. In beverages, solubility is key — which is why we launched our Clean Taste Solubility Solution last year.

Dairy applications

Dairy products run the range from indulgent to healthful and each sub-category has unique challenges:

• Dairy protein compatibility: Cheese, yogurt and ice cream all rely on proteins for different functionalities, and sweeteners can impact that performance
• Mouthfeel: Maintaining the texture associated with dairy products — whether it's the melt of ice cream, the creaminess of yogurt or the rich indulgence of chocolate milk — is key; sweeteners should complement or enhance these sensory expectations
• Fermentation considerations: Ensuring sweeteners don't interfere with beneficial bacteria in yogurt and other fermented products
• Shelf stability: Maintaining sweetness intensity throughout the product's shelf life

Supply chain resilience has also become a top priority. Because citrus fiber is made from citrus peels and readily available in regions where citrus is processed, it’s less vulnerable to geographic or climate-related disruptions. This gives it a sourcing advantage over ingredients tied to narrow growing regions or seasonal availability.

Bakery applications

Baked goods require sweeteners that can withstand high-temperature processing while contributing to texture, browning and moisture retention.

Successful strategies include:

• Functional replacement: Addressing sugar's role in structure, browning and preservation
• Texture optimization: Maintaining desired crumb structure and mouthfeel
• Shelf-life extension: Ensuring products maintain quality and freshness over time
• Processing adaptation: Modifying mixing, baking and cooling protocols as needed

Savory applications

Reduced sugar solutions in savory products focus on balance and flavor enhancement rather than primary sweetness.

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Applications include:

• Sauce and dressing formulations: Balancing sweet, sour and savory notes
• Prepared meal enhancement: Subtle sweetness to complement savory
• Seasoning system: Integration with salt, acid and umami
• Clean label alignment: Supporting simple ingredient lists consumer expect in savory products

The balance of sweet and salty is key, especially as many manufacturers are working to reduce both to meet consumer health demands and comply with regulatory pressures.

Future outlook: Reduced-sugar product trends shaping manufacturing

Innovation in sweetener technology focuses on improving taste quality while reducing costs and environmental impact. Technologies include:

• Advanced bioconversion processes: These enable more efficient production of rare steviol glycosides, a process that relies on a fundamental understanding of the inputs, not just the desired outputs
• Precision fermentation: Development of novel sweetening compounds through biotechnology
• Taste modulation: Focused utilization of existing and emerging technologies that amplify sweetness perception without increasing the amount of sweetener
• Global regulatory frameworks continue developing around sugar reduction and sweetener use. Anticipated changes include:
• Expanded labeling requirements: More detailed disclosure of sweetener types and sources
• Health claim regulations: Standardized approaches to sugar reduction health claims
• International harmonization: Alignment of sweetener approval and labeling standards across markets
• Sustainability reporting: Requirements for environmental and social impact disclosure

Advance your sugar reduction initiatives with Ingredion

The transformation toward reduced-sugar products represents both a significant challenge and unprecedented opportunity for food and beverage brands. Success requires comprehensive strategies that address consumer trends, manufacturing scale-up, supply chain sustainability and evolving market dynamics.

Brands looking to succeed in this transformed marketplace should view sugar reduction not as a constraint but as an innovation opportunity. Ingredion offers comprehensive technical support, sustainable sourcing practices and proven scale-up expertise to help brands deliver reduced-sugar products that meet consumer expectations while supporting business growth objectives.

Meet the expert

Related content and resources

In a world where consumers crave healthier choices without compromising on taste, Ingredion is leading the charge with cutting-edge sugar reduction ingredient solutions. From revolutionizing sugar reduction with specialty sweeteners and functional build-back technologies to unlocking the clean, indulgent sweetness of stevia through PureCircle™ Clean Taste Solutions. Click below to learn more.

References:

1. International Sweetener Association, 2023

2. NPD Group, 2023

3. Ingredion proprietary research, Added Sugars Nutrition Labels Research, March 2017

4. Innova Database, 2023

5. Innova Market Insights

6. Ingredion proprietary research, ATLAS, 2023

7. Ingredion proprietary consumer research study, ATLAS, 2025

8. Ingredion proprietary research, Proprietary Beverage Study, 2024

9. Ingredion proprietary research, Life Cycle Assessment, 2022

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