13 Jul Alternatives to sugars and oils and fat
Consumers are paying more and more attention to their health today. They are are notably concerned about products that contain oils, fats and sugars. To find products on store shelves, consumers are relying on nutritional analysis tools. Among them, they are using the Nutri-score and applications such as Yuka.
To answer the call for the best scores, today the market is offering products with reduced sugar, oil and fat. Ennolys joins you in creating these products which present a number of issues.
A market of alternatives to sugar, oils and fats
The health aspect maintains an important role in the food choices of consumers. In fact, 82% of French consumers make an effort to eat healthy1. In addition, 7 out of 10 consumers find it
important that brands offer health and well-being attributes2. In order to adopt a healthy diet, consumers research a balanced one by limiting an excess of products they consider to fatty or sugary
for example.
On the industrial side, production aims to reduce a product’s sugar, oil and fat content. This allows for better nutritional scores as well. In addition, they are able to distinguish themselves from the
competition by citing on their packaging things such as3:
– « Sugar-free» : less than 0,5 g of sugar per 100 g/ml.
– « Low sugar», « Low oil and fat» : at least 30% less sugar, oil and fat than similar products on
the market.
– « Low in oil and fat»: no more than 3 g of lipids per 100 g or 1.5 g per 100 ml.
Industry impact
Sugar, oil and fat reduction is, above all, a public health issue. In fact, 20-30% of French people have a sugar intake that exceeds 100 g/day, the maximum recommended limit4. However, this sugar excess has many health impacts: weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, increase in triglycerides, etc.
In the same way, trans fatty acid intake 2% above the total energy intake is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk.
These health challenges are accompanied by challenges on the industrial side. In fact, this change in the make-up of their products leads to organoleptic modification. The taste and the texture, for example, are directly impacted.
Foods with reduced sugar, oil and fat can be conserved less time.
In order to continue to satisfy consumers by combining enjoyment and health, it is thus important to adapt the formulation of reduced products. And for this, new ingredients are appearing on the market. The ingredients that allow, among other things, for sugary and smooth mouth sensations, like natural fermentation-induced flavours.
Ennolys’ solutions: linking health, flavour and smoothness
Strong in fermentation expertise since 1992, Ennolys offers fermantatio-based natural flavour molecules.
Among these molecules, the Ennalin Solutions and Mixes line answers the formulation needs of products low in sugar, oil and fat. In fact, they allow for an improved nutritional profile of the products by bringing out their sweet, buttery and creamy taste. Thanks to the use of some of these molecules, butter content can be reduced by 30% in a formula.
In addition, they mask eventual off-notes occuring with the reduction in sugar content. They smooth the cacao note in chocolate for example.
Mixes in this line have many qualities:
– The Ennalin Mix allows for maintaining the sweet sensation in a reduced-sugar product, while bringing a vanilla flavour (ex: fruit preparations),
– The Coco Mix increases sweet sensations while bringing a notable coconut flavour. This Mix could be used in a coconut muffin with reduced sugar content.
– The Ennalin Butter Mix brings buttery and caramel notes allowing for brioches with reduced oil and fat content.
Finally, beyond the nutritional qualities they bring, the Ennolys solutions are natural, durable and entirely Made in France.
1 IPSOS, Baromètre shopper, 2020.
2 IBM Institute for Business Value, Meet the 2020 consumers driving change, 2020.
3 Santé Publique France, « Comment décoder les allégations nutritionnelles sur les emballages ? », 2021.
4 Anses, Sucres dans l’alimentation, 2018.