Sugar-related health and wellbeing concerns are high on consumers’ radar, especially amongst Millennials and health-conscious adults. They all have one thing in common: the search for good food with a better nutritional profile that doesn’t force them to compromise on taste. 

Nowadays, 49% of global consumers are trying to limit their sugar intake. Healthy alternatives for snacks and meals are a worldwide growing trend that Barry Callebaut is addressing through its continuous investments in R&D. In fact, the company offers a complete range of five wholesome sugar solutions for chocolate and also has a toolbox of sugar substituting technologies ready for customer-specific developments.

“Consumers want to enjoy food without feeling guilty and without compromising on taste,” notes Bas Smit, global and EMEA marketing director for Barry Callebaut. “It is all about healthy indulgence. This trend is spreading through Europe and the world. Years of research at Barry Callebaut have resulted in relevant solutions for our customers to satisfy the consumer’s needs.”

“Since 2007, we have been working on chocolate reformulation”, adds Leen Allegaert, head of Barry Callebaut’s Wholesome Choice innovation program. “Throughout the years, we have built a proven track record in sugar reduction. We developed a toolbox of sugar substituting technologies that is ready for customer-specific developments as well as a complete range of chocolate and filling recipes that are either reduced in sugar or free of added sugar.”

Barry Callebaut used the recent Food Ingredients Europe exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany to showcase sugar reduction solutions.

Solution One / Sugar Reduction: Barry Callebaut’s first solution is to reduce sugars by at least 30%. In general, a product should contain at least 30% less sugar than a similar product in the market to be labeled sugar-reduced. Barry Callebaut’s sugar reduced dark and milk chocolate contains a dietary fiber blend that replaces part of the sugar content. The chocolate keeps it sweet-tasting flavor even when a significant amount of sugar is taken out. This sugar-reduced chocolate has a balanced taste profile, a good workability, and is also digestive tolerant.

Solution Two / Free of Added Sugar: Barry Callebaut also offers a series of recipes that do not contain any added sugar. This range is available in a variety of dark, milk and white chocolates with maltitol as a one-on-one sugar replacer. Maltitol is a polyol: a sugar alcohol that is used as a bulk sweetener that contains fewer calories but preserves 90% of a product’s sweetness.

Solution Three / Without Added Sugar and No Potential Laxative Effect: Barry Callebaut also offers chocolates without added sugar and without the requirement to declare the laxative effect, which can be caused by a polyol such as maltitol. The declaration of the laxative effect is not required for recipes using maximum 10% polyols combined with dietary fiber.

The range consists of dark, milk and white chocolates with sweeteners, stevia for a great tasting profile, and an added unique fiber blend. The range was patented in2009. The blend contains inulin, a fiber of natural occurrence that is most present in the chicory root and that brings intestinal health benefits. Stevia, in turn, is a high intensive sweetener. It is sweeter than sucrose and a natural replacement containing zero calories. This means only a small quantity of it is needed.

Solution Four / Sugar Free: Barry Callebaut also has a series of recipes that contain zero sugar. For these sugar free chocolates, Barry Callebaut uses maltitol and stevia as sweeteners and takes all sugar out. The result is a zero sugar chocolate, with maltitol and stevia that keep the superb chocolate taste and texture.

Solution Five / Gradual Reduction: A last option is to gradually reduce sugar in your chocolate year-on-year by 10-20%, without adding polyols. Barry Callebaut offers support with product reformulation and regulatory advice.

Visit Barry Callebaut’s website.