Shugr 5X and Shugr 10X are the equivalent to five times and ten times the intensity of cane sugar, according to the Los Angeles based subsidiary of the Health Sciences Group.
Loren Miles, CEO of Swiss Research said that Shugr 5X and Shugr 10X were ideal formats for formulating cookies, desserts, beverages, baked goods and compressible tablets. The sweetener is said to dissolve easily and demonstrate good binding properties.
"Shugr tastes, cooks and bakes like sugar, and it rises, browns and caramelizes like sugar," said Miles.
Last week, the company announced that DNP International - an importer and distributor of raw materials to manufacturers in the food, beverage and nutritional supplement industries - would distribute Shugr.
The sweetener is said to be made from a proprietary blend of erythritol - a sugar alcohol that appears as an odorless white crystalline powder and is approximately 70 percent as sweet as sucrose and has a caloric value of 0.2 calories per gram - and tagatose to provide added sweetness and pre-biotic fiber to aid digestion.
Loren Miles, the company's CEO, told FoodNavigatorUSA.com at the product's launch that 99 percent of the sweetener is made from natural ingredients, meaning that the product is legally classified as natural. "We are not stating that the product is all natural, we are legally natural," said Miles.
In his eyes, the only other sweetener on the market that could be classed as "natural" is stevia, but this ingredient, unlike Shugr, is not certified GRAS.
However, it will have to prove to food manufacturers and consumers that natural is worth the extra cost. At $9.99 for 50 consumer servings, the ingredient is several times more expensive than its synthetic counterparts.
"An extra couple of pennies is not an issue for a consumer who is becoming aware of problems associated with synthetic products," said Loren. He admitted that price will be a problem to some, but added that the price could come down if demand is considerable.
"It has no after taste, a similar granular look and texture to sugar and a cool, light, sweet taste," said Loren.