Baking & Snack - November 2019 - 45

FORMULATION
Sugar Reduction

Reformulating for reduced sugar is a complicated puzzle.
by Joanie Spencer

After the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) finalized the Nutrition Facts Panel
in 2016 with a new mandatory declaration
of added sugars, the time of reckoning will
soon be upon the baking industry. The new
label comes out Jan. 1, and despite a recent
6-month extension for compliance, many
formulators for baked goods are still grappling with reducing sugar in their products so as not to fall prey to the added
sugar callout.
The new labeling requirements are just
one piece of the puzzle. Despite consumers' push for "real" ingredients, the vilification of sugar persists, and the added sugars
line on the Nutrition Facts Panel will likely
exacerbate it.
At the International Baking Industry
Exposition (IBIE) held in September in
Las Vegas, Corbion presented the results
of its consumer research that focused on
label-reading and purchasing habits.
After surveying 800 primary shoppers
online and interviewing 15 in person, the
company discovered that people with intent on reading labels were hyper-aware
of the label change for added sugars.
"What we saw was that, of those people
who were likely to look at the labels, almost a third of them systematically called
out that added sugar was something that
would impact purchase intent," said Marge
O'Brien, senior manager, global insights,
during the IBIE session, "Could Purchase
Intent Be Influenced by New Sugar
Label Regulations?"
This trend toward avoidance isn't new.
In 2017, the Hartman Group's "Health +
Wellness" study indicated that unnecessary
or "hidden" sources of sugar were of particular concern for their research participants.
For example, 45% of respondents indicated
trying to avoid or reduce refined sugar, and

48% said the same of artificial sweeteners.
This could leave many bakers stuck between a rock and a hard place in their formulations; consumers may be hating on
sugar, but they're not about to give up on the
flavor and quality they expect from baked
goods.
Meeting the demands of fickle consumers
is complicated enough, but reducing sugar
while balancing flavor and function requires
peeling back several layers of challenges.
Properly formulating for sugar reduction requires a holistic approach.

One challenge
bakers have with
sugar reduction
is matching the
perceived sweetness
of a baked good.
Kerry Ingredients

Know your audience
First, bakers must decide what direction to
go when reducing sugar. That requires fully understanding the preferences of their
core demographic. "A lot depends on the
customer base and what your consumer is
wanting," said Matt Gennrich, senior food
scientist, Cargill.
"If you're more concerned about clean
label, you'll want to focus on natural replacements," Mr. Gennrich added. "But
there are some products in which artificial sweeteners, high-potency sweeteners,
might be acceptable for the consumer. It
all boils down to what particular group of
consumers your product is targeted to."
Many suppliers can help bakers identify
consumer needs and preferences, which
help illuminate the formulating options.
"Once the consumer target is clear, it's
easier to reformulate successfully because
we can fully understand the perception
and expectations in that market," said
Deborah Waters, PhD, senior manager,
bakery applications and enzymologist,
Kerry Ingredients. "With the support
of our consumer insights team, we can
put forward several technical solutions,
which can be price- and label-tiered, al-

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