Matsutani Partners with Ingredion to Produce Sugar Replacer in Americas

Ingredion Incorporated has announced new partnership with Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd, which will manufacture ASTRAEA Allulose in Mexico and market it across the Americas. Available in 2019, the sugar replacer will enable food and beverage manufacturers throughout the Americas to reduce calories from sucrose and other caloric sweeteners in a wide range of products, including beverages, dairy, bakery and confectionery items.

“Reducing sucrose is an emerging global trend and can be a challenge for manufacturers, who are looking to match the sweet taste of sugar while achieving the same functional benefits in their products. By combining our manufacturing network and global footprint alongside Matsutani’s pioneering work in rare sugars, we will bring exciting opportunities grounded in innovation to meet the needs of the evolving food industry ahead of sugar labeling changes,” said Tony DeLio, senior vice president of corporate strategy and chief innovation officer at Ingredion.

These actions support the company’s goal to grow its specialties business to USD2bn in annual sales by 2022. “We are growing our trend-connected engine of innovation by expanding our footprint in Mexico and adding allulose to our diverse portfolio of sugar reduction solutions. We look forward to leveraging Ingredion’s Idea Labs and applying our technical expertise to help manufacturers find the right solutions and create reduced sugar and better-for-you products with optimal texture and performance,” said Rob Ritchie, president and general director of Ingredion Mexico.

“Matsutani spent more than 15 years developing, researching and refining the world’s first rare sugars including ASTRAEA Allulose. Matsutani has also produced more clinical studies and conducted more research on rare sugars than any other allulose supplier. We are excited to see Ingredion bring ASTRAEA Allulose to food and beverage formulators across the Americas,” said Yoshinobu Matsutani, executive vice president at Matsutani.

ASTRAEA Allulose is a sweetener that tastes and functions like sucrose and is in the family of rare sugars. Allulose is absorbed by the body but not metabolized, making it nearly calorie-free. Allulose is one of the many types of monosaccharides that exists in nature in small quantities and can be found in certain fruits, including figs, raisins and jackfruit. Allulose has a texture and performance behavior similar to sucrose providing comparable bulk, sweetness and functionality (e.g., browning, freeze point depression). These properties make allulose an ideal ingredient for formulators as they look for ways to reduce calories from sucrose in the products they develop.