The beverage category is a key segment for sweeteners. Every year, more carbonated soft drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, flavored bottled waters, and juice drinks are launched with sugar-free and reduced sugar formulas. Soft drinks accounted for more than one in five new products introduced in 2018 globally with sugar-related claims.

When looking at US product launches with sugar-related claims in 2018, over 44% of new energy drinks used the “sugar free” claim, as did 35% of new flavored bottle waters. The “no sugar added” labeling was the most popular sugar-related claim for new plant-based water, as well as juices and nectars at 28%.

As more consumers look for low- and no-calorie beverages that offer healthful, flavorful refreshment, this segment will continue to grow. Our new flavor modulator capabilities are a fantastic opportunity to complement your sweetener system and bring your beverage development to the next level.

Reducing sugar content while maintaining the texture, flavor, function and shelf life of baked goods is possible with the range of sweeteners available from Apura. A variety of sugar free, reduced sugar, or no sugar added cookies, cakes, pies, and pastries are available in stores and from online retailers.

Baked nutritional bars is another segment where sugar-free or reduced sugar products are growing. These items appeal to consumers who want to control their calorie and carbohydrate intake.

As more shoppers gravitate toward these products for diet and health reasons, Apura Ingredients is ready to assist manufacturers in producing baked products with the taste and texture consumers demand.

This segment includes the growing low sugar or sugar-free products in nutrition and protein bars, ready-to-drink meal replacements, and dry mix supplements. These products, along with sugar-free chewable and liquid vitamins, supplements, and diet aids, not only appeal to keto and low-carb dieters, they offer low-glycemic alternatives for diabetics as well.

The growing senior-care meal replacement segment is another category where sweeteners from Apura Ingredients play a role in reducing sugar and improving palatability. These new high-protein, lower-carb meal replacement shakes help diabetic seniors maintain a healthy diet.

Sugar-free chewing gum is one of the largest segments for xylitol and other natural, zero-calorie sugar alcohols from Apura. Xylitol not only offers zero calories; it can help prevent tooth decay and re-mineralize tooth enamel.

Manufacturers of sugar-free hard candy, gummies, breath mints, and chocolates use sweeteners such as monk fruit, stevia, and erythritol from Apura to make confections that appeal to consumers who want to manage their weight and medical conditions without giving up sweets altogether.

In the past few years, there has been an explosion of new plant-based dairy items, including flavored milks, creamers, yogurts, ice cream, and frozen novelties, launched throughout the country. Many of these plant-based dairy products are sweetened with Apura’s ingredients.

The popularity of keto and other low-carb diets has been a driver in the creation of new fresh dairy products and frozen dairy desserts. Made using stevia, monk fruit, sucralose, and erythritol, these products offer sugar-free, reduced sugar, or no added sugar alternatives that appeal to people who want to indulge in ice cream and still manage their weight or health conditions.

Tomato-based condiments and sauces, such as ketchup, salsa, and barbecue sauce, often contain sugars and syrups to enhance the flavor and balance the acidity. Utilizing sweeteners from Apura can help manufacturers produce these popular items in sugar-free versions.

This is beneficial for consumers managing their diabetes or controlling their weight, as many of these products can be a hidden source of unnecessary sugar intake. Sugar-free condiments, sauces, and salad dressings appeal to consumers on low-carb diets as well.

Many personal care items—such as mouthwash, toothpaste, breath strips, and breath sprays—are sugar free and made with sugar alcohols such as xylitol. The antimicrobial properties of these sweeteners make them naturally beneficial for oral care. Xylitol and other sugar alcohols are used in moisturizing mouth sprays and artificial saliva lozenges for the same reason.

To improve palatability, many cough syrups, throat lozenges, and therapeutic hot liquid powders also contain high intensity sweeteners from Apura Ingredients.