Polyols

Deliver sweetness and functionality without the calories

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Replace sugar and reduce calories with polyol sweeteners

Sugar-free can be even better than sugar-sweetened with the right ingredients. Go beyond what’s expected with polyol sweetener solutions from Ingredion. Deliver a sugar-free nutrition bar, a refreshing mint or even a light, frozen dessert that’s designed for diabetics.

Polyols, also known as polyhydric alcohols or sugar alcohols, are carbohydrate systems with about half the calories of sugar and the same bulk. In formulations, polyols impart a balanced sweetness and can help you achieve consumer-preferred label claims, such as “sugar-free,” “reduced-sugar” or “reduced-calorie.”

When you work with Ingredion, you’re gaining a full-service partner with tested experience and formulation expertise. As consumers demand more low- and no-sugar products, our teams of technical and market experts can help you to achieve the right balance of sweetness, texture and functionality in your formulations. That goes for everything from yogurt drinks to confections, using polyols as sugar replacements or blended solutions.

Find out how our broad portfolio of in-demand ingredients can give you a sweet edge in the market and make your sugar reduction goals a reality.

Key polyol functionalities and attributes:

Ingredient
Properties
Application
Erythritol
70% as sweet as sucrose with only 0.2 calories per gram and functional bulking properties.
Reduce sugar and calories in your food and beverage applications while maintaining a delicious, sweet eating experience and consumer-preferred texture. Erythritol is part of Ingredion’s polyol family and is not counted as part of the total and added sugars in a product. In formulations, the non-GMO erythritol sweeteners provide a clean, sweet taste and functional bulking and freeze-point depression similar to sucrose, but with no grams of sugar.
Sorbitol
Sugar-like taste and performance with a low cooling effect.
Sorbitol is often used in conjunction with high-intensity sweeteners to replace sucrose. Sorbitol is an excellent humectant, freeze point depressant, crystallization inhibitor and excipient in food applications. A variety of crystalline sorbitol granulations are available to support applications such as frosting, icing, chewing gum, mints and tablets.
Maltitol
Sugar-like taste and performance with a low cooling effect.
Maltitol is 90% as sweet as sucrose and with fewer calories. Maltitol is often used in confectionary, bakery and ice cream applications, which often allow for 1:1 replacement of sucrose and corn syrup solids for reduced-sugar and reduced-calorie formulation and labeling.
Mannitol
Non-hygroscopic and inert properties providing stability and protection in finished products.
Mannitol powder is used primarily in confectionery and pharmaceutical applications. It has a cool, sweet mouthfeel and will not pick up moisture, which makes it a beneficial dusting agent in sugar-free gum.
Performance systems
Blends of polyol(s) with high-intensity sweeteners, glycerin and other ingredients.
Cost-effectively maximize the benefits of polyols and other sweeteners. Performance systems are easy to use and offer the convenience of single-ingredient manufacturing with a uniform dispersion, ensuring consistency from batch to batch.

WINNING POLYOLS FOR KEY APPLICATIONS

Bakery

With Ingredion’s extensive line of polyols for baked goods — such as breads, cookies, cakes, icings, crèmes, chocolate coatings and chips — your products can have less calories, sugars and glycemic impact than their full-sugar counterparts.

Confectionery

Custom formulate sugar-free and reduced-sugar confectionery products ranging from hard candy, chewing gum and panned confections to caramels, marshmallow, chocolate and pressed mints. Our teams of technical and market experts can help you brainstorm new products or troubleshoot formulation challenges. We can also provide detailed characterization of shelf life changes related to moisture pickup in response to differences in relative humidity and/or temperature.

Dairy

Improve the flavor and texture of no-sugar-added dairy products. We have developed ingredients to replace sugars in ice cream, frozen novelties, yogurts, milkshakes and yogurt drinks. These dairy products offer reduced calories, sugars and glycemic impact versus their full-sugar counterparts, while delivering exceptional taste and texture qualities.

Consumer health

Ingredion offers a variety of sweeteners, excipients and low ethylene glycol solutions to help balance and improve products made for health-conscious consumers. Our broad portfolio of in-demand ingredients provides solutions for cough and cold syrup, medicated hard candies and lozenges, gel caps, medicated gummies and chews, functional chewing gums and tablet applications.

Personal and oral care

In oral care, sorbitol solutions and maltitol syrups provide a soothing mouthfeel, mild sweetness and a refreshing, cool taste to toothpaste and mouthwash. These ingredients also provide resistance to dental caries. Sorbitol provides humectancy, lubricity and hygroscopicity, which make it an integral ingredient in cosmetic creams, hair care products and lotions.

Animal and pet nutrition

Our polyols can provide important functionality in a variety of product categories, such as pet foods, treats and other pet care applications. Polyols can provide exceptional control of humectancy, water activity, moisture balance, sweetness and mouthfeel.

Let’s make your goals a reality

Agile collaboration. Deep formulation expertise. Broad portfolio of in-demand ingredients. Market research and consumer insights. Let’s make your goals a reality.

Contact the SOLUTION GURUS™