ZERO-CALORIE SWEETENER

Cargill’s Zerose erythritol can be added to many reduced-sugar dairy applications, including ice creams and frozen desserts. The zero-calorie sweetener provides a sweet, sugar-like flavor profile, while also helping to replace some of sugar’s bulk. Erythritol pairs well with stevia and other high-intensity sweeteners, rounding out their flavor profiles and providing a boost of upfront sweetness while also offering key benefits. In ice creams, for example, it helps create scoopable textures thanks to its freezing-point-depression properties. Alongside its sweet taste and functional contributions, erythritol also offers good digestive tolerance, making it an excellent choice for indulgent dairy products.

800-932-0544; www.Cargill.com/Zerose

LOW-GLYCEMIC SWEETENER

Organic Blue Agave Syrup from Global Organics is a low-glycemic sweetener with a neutral, sweet flavor profile and a light amber color. Sourced from Mexico, it is derived by the extraction and purification of carbohydrates naturally found in the agave plant. Also known as agave nectar, it is commonly perceived as having a sweeter taste compared to cane sugar, allowing for the use of smaller amounts to achieve the desired level of sweetness, the company says. Agave syrup can be used to sweeten ice cream, yogurt, flavored milks and other dairy-based desserts like puddings. 

781-648-8844; www.global-organics.com

CLEAN-LABEL SWEETENER

Icon Foods' KetoseSweet line of allulose sweeteners is ideal for flavored sweetened dairy products, frozen desserts, plant-based dairy alternatives and more. Providing sweetness without calories or added sugar on the nutrition facts panel, allulose is a rare sugar that occurs naturally in wheat, figs, raisins and jackfruit. Since KetoseSweet is made through biological processes of enzyme conversion and without chemicals, it can be used to support a clean-label claim. The KetoseSweet portfolio enhances frozen dessert texture, palatability and scoopability by depressing the freezing point and slightly increasing overrun, the company claims. Non-GMO and kosher, it is available in 60 mesh, ultra- and supreme-powdered versions, as well as liquid syrup forms.  

310-455-9876; www.iconfoods.com/

CUSTOM SWEETENER SYSTEMS

IFPC’s LegacySWEET systems enable dairy producers to significantly reduce the sugar content in their products without compromising on taste, says the company. Its custom sweetener systems are tailored to meet the unique needs of each producer, utilizing sweeteners such as monk fruit, stevia, sucralose, and erythritol. These alternatives offer the sweetness consumers desire while offering a healthier profile. Furthermore, the company says its Ingredient Technology & Applications (IT&A) team leverages deep industry knowledge to ensure seamless integration and optimal results for its customers. 

800-227-8427; www.ifpc.com

COCONUT MILK POWDER

iTi Tropicals offers its coconut milk powder that is 100% coconut with a fat content of 55%, and is produced through spray drying. It serves as a convenient alternative to liquid coconut cream or milk, providing versatility in applications and an extended shelf life. With its pure coconut composition, it stands out as a clean-label ingredient, meeting the demand for transparency and simplicity in product formulations. The product provides a richness and convenience, and is a testament to quality and innovation in the realm of coconut-based products, according to the company.

609-986-0550; www.ititropicals.com

MONK FRUIT EXTRACTS AND JUICE CONCENTRATES

Crafted exclusively from premium, fresh monk fruit, Monk Fruit Corp.’s extracts and juice concentrates offer a 100% natural, zero-calorie, and low-calorie solution for sugar reduction and a clean label consumer-friendly solution. The company’s monk fruit ingredients serve as all-natural, non-caloric sweeteners, delivering a sweet taste without any bitterness, according to the company, for a variety of product applications including ready-to-drink beverages, powdered mixes, dairy products, and more. Monk fruit ingredients can seamlessly be incorporated into formulations at FMP (flavorings with modifying properties) levels and labeled as natural flavor, to modulate and improve flavor, the company adds. The monk fruit extract products offer exceptional taste, solubility, and stability, maintaining their quality across a wide range of pH and temperature conditions, says the company.

847-367-6665; www.monkfruitcorp.com

HONEY IN DAIRY OPTIONS

According to the National Honey Board, dairy manufacturers are using honey for its variety of benefits. Honey is 1.1 to 1.5 times sweeter (on a dry weight basis) than sugar, the board reports. The key to honey’s sweetness lies in the fructose-to-glucose ratio, it says. The combination of these sugars produces an ingredient that is naturally sweeter than sucrose because fructose is slightly sweeter than sucrose, and glucose is less sweet than sucrose. When using honey, formulators generally can use less of the ingredient than sugar to attain the same desired sweetness. Organic acids present in honey, such as gluconic acid, also contribute a depth of flavor to dairy formulas that extends beyond what traditional sweeteners deliver. Its composition of carbohydrates, acids and minerals imparts unique complex flavors not found in most other flavoring ingredients. Finally, honey has the ability to play a significant role in the marketing of a dairy food. 

303-776-2337; www.honey.com

NATURAL SWEETENER SYSTEMS

Osage Flavors has developed and commercialized a line of optimized natural sweetener systems, delivering targeted sweetness and functionality for product developers, according to the company. Its SolvSweet natural sweetener systems are made from the newest generation of natural sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit. They come with and without bulking agents to offer various sweetness levels and inclusion rates, and are flavor-optimized by leveraging the company’s natural bitter-blocker and masking-agent technologies. They can be used to optimize sweetening solutions in new product formulas or to optimize a recipe, including the flavors.

636-390-9477; www.osagefood.com

STEVIA SWEETENER

Tate & Lyle recently expanded its sweetener portfolio with Tasteva Sol stevia sweetener. The internationally patent-protected product in stevia technology is a premium-tasting stevia that has more than 200 times the solubility of Reb M and D products on the market, the company claims. It solves solubility challenges often found in dairy fruit preparations and sweet syrups at high sugar reduction levels. Tasteva Sol provides sugar-like taste and can be used alone or in combination with Reb M stevia sweeteners for high sugar replacement. It offers exceptionally good solubility, readily dissolving in concentrates, and remaining soluble at low pH.

847-396-7500; www.tateandlyle.com