As demand for reduced-sugar products continues to grow, Cargill is investing $45 million to add soluble fibres to its European portfolio of starches, sweeteners and texturisers.
While the move marks the company’s first entry into the European soluble fibre market, Cargill is already a significant player in the sugar-reduction space, with a full line of sweeteners – ranging from full- to no-calorie.
The new soluble fibres round out that portfolio, enabling the company to offer customers complete sugar-reduction solutions.
“Unlike most of the soluble fibres currently available, our new offerings were specifically designed to address the unique challenges facing food manufacturers as they aim to improve the nutritional profiles of their products, with fewer calories and less sugars,” said Manuj Khanna, business development manager for fibres.
“Our soluble fibres shine in these complex applications, providing great performance in terms of taste, appearance, digestive tolerance and mouthfeel – all critical to consumer satisfaction.”
Based on micro-reactor technology developed in partnership with Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, for which Cargill has secured both an exclusive license and granted patents, the soluble fibres enable sugar reduction up to 30%, and support calorie reduction and fibre enrichment in confectionery, sweet bakery, fillings, cereals, ice cream and dairy, whilst helping to maintain desired appearance, taste and texture.
Product benefits extend to food manufacturing, as Cargill’s new soluble fibres can offer improved stability, easy handling, and scalability, enabling formulators to gradually increase the degree of sugar substitution with limited changes to their recipes.
Customer trials with Cargill’s new soluble fibres are already underway.
