Beyond sugar: The new wave of alternative sweeteners transforming CPG

From rare sugars to sweet proteins, innovative alternatives are changing how we satisfy our sweet tooth without the health consequences of traditional sugar.

My lifelong dance with traditional sweets began—and persisted into my 30s—as something like break dancing. Antic, energetic and fun. Then sugars—mostly cane sugar and corn syrup but also honey and maple syrup—began interfering with my health. The dance-floor groove continued, but it became more controlled, formal and tied to specific occasions—the waltz.

But today the relationship doesn't even launch into a simple two-step. We've separated, bid goodbye to the toxic tango. My brain still loves the stuff, but my body freaks out when I indulge.

So, I've been exploring alternatives, with much hesitation. I never liked stevia. Some of the other common ones come bearing health warnings. None of them satisfied my caramel cravings.

Food science innovations, however, may reunite me with a measure of dulcet satisfaction. A new wave of alternatives is starting to take over the world of CPGs. In this emerging space, flavor meets fermentation, fiber whispers sweet nothings and sugar itself gets reinvented.

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Demand for alternative sweeteners has ripened a market now worth as much as anywhere between $5.1 billion (IMARC) and $10.5 billion (Arizton) in 2024. Analysts project solid growth, with a CAGR of between 4%-6%.

Consumers, of course, are driving the momentum. Many, like me, reject sweets for health reasons. A growing number, too, steer clear due to adherence to diets such as keto and paleo. The "clean" eating movement also vilifies sweeteners.

For years, the choices meeting the growing demand for sugar-free options didn't steer far from a handful of well-known compounds. But that's changing.

From prebiotic potential to sweet proteins, click here to learn more about the next wave of sugar alternatives.