UK-based flavors producer Synergy Flavours is releasing an ingredient tipped as making significant fat and calorie reductions in baked goods, such as muffins, cookies and biscuits. 

The company says its “next-generation” ingredient effectively replicates the taste and texture of common baked goods while reducing calorie content.

Synergy says its team formulated the ingredient so that food manufacturers can easily reduce fat content in their baked goods with minor recipe adjustments. 

“We are fully committed to improving dietary health by using our flavor technology and our taste modulation platform to support reformulation of lower-calorie products,” remarks Ian Butler, innovation director at Synergy Flavours. 

“This new, innovative technology can help manufacturers in achieving the challenging goal of reducing calories while maintaining the flavor and indulgence that consumers expect.”

Retaining sensory properties
Tests showed that in a reduced-fat muffin recipe, the calorie reduction solution enabled a 37 percent reduction in fat, a 22 percent reduction in saturated fat and a 14 percent reduction in calories. 

A sensory panel also said it delivered comparable sensory qualities expected of a full-fat bakery product. 

The sensory panel made comparisons between the full fat, reduced fat control and recipe with the solution, scoring on indulgence, sweetness, creamy mouthfeel and overall aroma.

Synergy driving reductions
The new product launch follows Synergy’s range of solutions for sugar reduction in biscuits and cookies, which was launched in 2017 and is now expanding according to consumer demands. 

Its current natural flavor portfolio can help manufacturers achieve up to 30 percent sugar reduction in biscuits and up to 50 percent reduction in bakery-style cookies.

Innova Market Insights reports that the sweet bakery segment in North America is thriving, with 40 to 50 percent of US adults buying baked goods purely for their taste and indulgence. “Taste is still king,” says the market researcher. 

Meanwhile, the obesity epidemic sweeping the US and other parts of the world creates an equal demand for the responsible reformulation of products such as sweet and baked goods. 

This presents producers with a challenge, as reformulating products with healthier ingredients cannot come at a sacrifice to taste and texture. 

Boosting health in bakery
Last year, FoodIngredientsFirst reported from ISM and ProSweets in Cologne 2020 on innovations in the baked goods segment to maintain product sweetness while increasing natural and healthy ingredients content. 

The use of ingredients such as fruit, hemp and lavender were showcased as leading replacements for sugar and artificial sweeteners.

German milling group GoodMills Innovations also recently released a high-fiber product for baked goods aiming to boost consumers’ immune systems and address concerns of flu and viruses.

Plant-based to dairy 
Synergy’s latest bakery ingredient follows a series of product developments aimed at boosting flavors in functional foods. 

The company has been formulating solutions for vegan dairy bases that can bring yogurt and desserts to the plant-based market and vegan proteins for novel flavors like caramel.

An expansion last year also saw the completion of Synergy’s Thai division, growing capacity and allowing the company to produce blended powder flavors and mixes to address the growing demand in Asia for sports nutrition beverages, infant formula and sweet flavored functional mixed drinks.