DouxMatok is combining its Incredo Sugar, which enables up to 50 percent sugar reduction, with Hi-Food’s Meltec semi-solid fiber to offer an end-to-end nutritional solution for reformulating manufacturers.

“The joint effort with Meltec is the first partnership we have explored with a fiber ingredient company,” Ari Melamud, CEO of DouxMatok, tells FoodIngredientFirst. 

He continues that the “significant” step delivers on more than just reducing sugar content. 

“We can provide a full nutritional platform that delivers the scalability and functionality needed for food developers and food production, as well as the sweetness and mouthfeel that consumers have come to expect,” adds DouxMatok’s chief technology officer, David Tsivion. 

The companies have developed product prototypes across a range of applications, including cakes, cookies, chocolate, candy, protein bars, energy bars and snacks, although the combination cannot be used in beverages. 

Products using the solution are expected to launch in early 2022, with the partners currently focused on targeting partners in the US and Europe. Melamud adds that they are already in conversation with a number of food brands. Incredo Sugar allows room for nutritional ingredients such as fibers and plant-based proteins.

Unpacking the ingredients
Incredo Sugar, which officially launched last year and is now commercially available in the US, improves the efficiency of sugar delivery to taste receptors to enhance the perception of sweetness.

Meanwhile, Meltec is a semi-solid ingredient similar to syrup that is based on vegetable fibers from corn and chickpeas. It is suitable for all sugar-free or low-sugar applications and acts as a humectant, texturizing, thickening, filling, cryoprotectant agent. It also reduces the freezing point in a wide range of foods.

Meltec, which is produced in Italy, also improves structural properties in food products, is neutral in taste and does not alter odors or colors.

Harnessing textural synergies
The companies have been working together for over a year to test the ingredients in combination, with Melamud emphasizing the synergies. 

“When reducing 30%-50% of sugar in an application by using Incredo Sugar, beyond the sweetness, there can be a gap in other qualities of the application, such as texture, viscosity and mouthfeel.”

Incredo Sugar works best with as little free water as possible in the formulation. When removing syrups, honeys and other types of sticky sugar-filled ingredients, Meltec provides the texture necessary to reduce the sugar with “undetectable” differences between the full sugar recipe and the reduced.

“Meltec’s water is predominantly bound by fiber, and it is more viscous than other liquid fibers commercially available, providing a syrupy filler with the additional benefit of fiber to complement Incredo,” explains Melamud. 

Complementary across applications
Melamud continues that Meltec’s binding abilities, neutral to slightly sweet taste, and brown color make it a unique fiber to work with, complementing many of the applications Incredo Sugar is used in.

For example, in making bars, the viscosity and binding ability of Meltec help bind the ingredients together without using a sugar-based syrup. This is while maintaining the sweetness of the bar by using Incredo. 

When reducing sugar in a bakery application, the Maillard browning can be less effective, so the coloring of Meltec helps make the reduced version less distinguishable from the full-sugar version.R&D teams at both companies have been working together for over a year. 

Sugar reduction in demand
Industry is under increasing pressure to reduce sugar while bolstering functional attributes. In Europe, for example, the World Health Organization is rolling out a Sugar and Calorie Reduction Network, to be led by the UK. 

The Food and Drink Federation also recently launched Action on Fibre to help UK consumers boost their fiber intake. 

Across the board, consumers have become increasingly aware of ingredient labels and what goes into the foods they’re consuming, observes Melamud. As a result, they have started opting for better-for-you products.

For example, four in ten consumers in Innova Market Insights’ global Health and Nutrition Survey in 2020 said they decreased their sugar consumption over 12 months.

“We’ve seen significant demand for products with less added sugar and increased nutritional value. That said, global research consistently indicates that taste is the first consideration when consumers make their choices, so maintaining that delicious taste is a must.”

Another selling point of the ingredients is its sustainability credentials. The companies say that it helps to reduce the environmental impact of overconsumption of sugar while exploiting the use of high-quality raw materials from well-controlled legumes and cereals supply chains.

Scale-up in sight
While Melamud brands the solution as a “game-changer” for food developers, he acknowledges that it may still require the reformulation of products considering the reduction of sugar overall. 

“As we continue to work with partners and test product use cases with food developers, we’ll continue to learn in this space and be able to work toward long-term scalability and cost savings of sugar reduction overall.”

DouxMatok will continue to leverage its patent estate to research technology-based solutions and potential new applications for overall better nutrition in a variety of food categories. “We’re also focused on continuing fundraising efforts to scale up the organization,” concludes Melamud. 

In April, DouxMatok released its first direct-to-consumer product featuring in the form of two limited-edition Incredo Spreads.