DOLCE consortium adds two food categories

22-Nov-2016 - Last updated on 22-Nov-2016 at 09:41 GMT

The DOLCE consortium has added to food categories to its program, including snacks. Pic: ©iStock/Marilyna

Research into sugar reduction in food and beverages has been given a boost with the inclusion of two major food categories in DOLCE.

The DOLCE consortium was created to develop the next generation of natural sweetening solutions.

Last year, three major corporations – bioeconomy company BRAIN AG, natural product specialist AnalytiCon Discovery and speciality food ingredients provider Roquette – established the platform to give consumer product goods companies (CPGCs) the know-how to develop natural sweetening solutions that can reduce sugar and calorie content.

The research partners have subsequently been in discussions with many Fortune 500 CPGCs, resulting in two food categories, namely "morning foods" and "snacks", joining the program.

A wide open avenue

According to results released by Lux Research and www.marketsandmarkets.com, last year the sugar substitute market account for 22% of the total sweetener market, valued at around $13.26bn. It’s expected to reach $16.5bn by 2020.

However, natural sweetener alternatives represent only 1%.

With consumers demanding more natural and healthy ingredients, natural alternatives have the potential to replace between 2% and 25% of total sucrose in categories such as bakery and cereals.

Thierry Marcel, VP of R&D at Roquette, said the DOLCE consortium is addressing this presently unmet market need for natural sweetening alternatives.

With the input from its three partners and various CPGCs, the consortium covers the complete value chain from discovery and development, to formulation and production, and marketing and sales.