It’s no secret that zero-sugar beverages have gained massive popularity due to shifting attitudes around health and wellness. This surge is largely driven by consumers looking for better-for-you options, with 72% of surveyed consumers aiming to limit or avoid sugar altogether, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2023 Food and Health Survey.
However, while consumers are actively seeking out low- or no-sugar beverages, the majority still prefer the flavor of sugar over high-potency sweeteners. In fact, 38% of consumers from the same survey say that their preference for sugar is all about flavor. This preference comes down to sugar’s unique role in flavor, taste, and texture — especially in beverages, where mouthfeel is equally as important as taste and flavor.
But as beverage brands race to meet the growing demand for sugar-free options, they’re faced with a critical dilemma: How do we maintain the full sensory experience consumers crave while reducing or eliminating sugar? The solution lies in selecting the right combination of high-potency sweeteners and using innovative tools to enhance flavor and reduce the common aftertaste challenges associated with alternative sweeteners.
Sugar Reduction and Challenges for Formulators
As more consumers limit their sugar intake for a variety of health reasons — ranging from weight management to blood sugar control — beverage formulators are tasked with developing reduced-sugar or zero-sugar products that taste good and feel familiar. This shift toward alternative sweeteners represents a golden opportunity for brands to capture market share, but it also introduces significant challenges when it comes to maintaining the consumer’s experience.
Sugar doesn’t only provide sweetness. It also contributes to the overall body, mouthfeel, and texture of a beverage. When you remove sugar from a beverage, you not only lose its sweetness but also the sensory balance it brings to the experience. High-potency sweeteners are the prevailing solution, but they can come with their own set of challenges — particularly when it comes to taste.
Understanding High-Potency Sweeteners
A product formulator has a myriad of choices when developing reduced or zero-sugar beverages. There are eight high-potency sweeteners approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including advantame, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose, neotame, stevia, and monk fruit. Blending these sweeteners alone offers many potential combinations. With this many options, formulators can come up against unique challenges when selecting or blending high-potency sweeteners.
While these sweeteners provide sweetness at a lower caloric cost, they are not without drawbacks. Chief among them is their aftertaste — lingering sweetness that can distort the flavor experience. Additionally, balancing the temporal profile of sweetness is a challenge. If you don’t start with a clean-tasting sweetener, like aspartame or advantame, you’ll spend a lot of time and resources trying to mask those off flavors fighting for the spotlight.
Aside from taste, there are several other important considerations when choosing a high-potency sweetener, such as stability during processing and throughout the product’s shelf life, solubility, and cost. The complexity of managing these factors quickly adds up for beverage formulators who are trying to achieve a sugar-like taste while maintaining the integrity of their product.
The Benefits and Challenges of High-Potency Sweeteners
The main advantage of high-potency sweeteners is their ability to significantly reduce calories and sugar content while maintaining the desired sweetness of a beverage. Sweeteners like stevia and advantame are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, which means that very small amounts are needed to achieve the same level of sweetness, significantly cutting calories and sugar content.
In some beverage applications, reduced sugar can result in a thinner mouthfeel, which many consumers might prefer, finding it to be more crisp and refreshing compared to the fullness of sugar-laden beverages. However, a larger segment of the population wants reduced or zero-sugar beverages with the same sensory experience as a full-sugar beverage. If formulators want to provide that fuller mouthfeel, solutions are available for those who need them.
Alternative sweeteners do come with some inherent challenges. One of the most persistent issues is their aftertaste — often described as a lingering sweetness that can distort the overall flavor experience. Sugar provides a clean, short-lived sweetness, but high-potency sweeteners tend to linger longer on the palate, which may be unpleasant and can affect consumer adoption because taste is paramount. Additionally, achieving sugar’s temporal profile is no easy task. Sugar has a well-balanced sweetness that hits quickly and fades smoothly, while high-potency sweeteners tend to deliver sweetness a little differently. To properly mimic sugar’s temporal profile, formulators often need to use blends of two or more sweeteners, but this is an incredibly nuanced process that requires the expertise of experienced flavor scientists.
A Solution for Flavor Formulation
Tannic acid is a natural flavor modulator that can help reduce the lingering aftertaste of high-potency sweeteners without compromising the overall flavor profile. This makes it an ideal tool for beverage formulators looking to deliver a cleaner, more balanced sweetness experience.
Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition’s brand of tannic acid, Tanal 02, a gallotannin extracted from gallnuts, is a prime example of how tannic acid can be harnessed for beverage applications. Tanal 02 is FEMA GRAS-approved for use in beverages, and its natural extraction process ensures high purity and consistency. Tannic acid is cost-effective and, at low concentrations, can be labeled as “natural flavor” while having no flavor of its own — making it an appealing solution for formulators working on clean-label products.
By reducing the sweet linger of high-potency sweeteners, tannic acid allows the primary flavors of the beverage — whether they’re fruity, citrusy, or botanical — to shine through. In beverages like zero-sugar sodas, flavored waters, and plant-based protein shakes, tannic acid can restore balance to the flavor profile, ensuring a satisfying finish without the lingering sweetness. At higher concentrations, tannic acid can introduce mild astringency, which is advantageous in certain beverages like teas and juice drinks, adding complexity and depth for a unique sensory experience.
Tanal 02 is not just a solution to aftertaste. It’s a critical tool for improving the overall sensory experience in reduced-sugar and zero-sugar beverages. The versatility of tannic acid means that it can be used in a wide range of applications, from soda to plant-based drinks, helping formulators meet the growing demand for healthier beverages without compromising on taste.
Consider, for example, a zero-sugar energy drink. The intense sweetness from high-potency sweeteners can often clash with the functional ingredients, leading to an overly sweet or unbalanced flavor. Tannic acid helps smooth out this sweetness, allowing the bold, refreshing flavors to come forward while still maintaining the benefits of a sugar-free formula.
Collaborative Innovation With Flavor Scientists
Flavor scientists play a vital role in creating balanced, great-tasting beverages, particularly when working with complex ingredients like high-potency sweeteners. Collaborating with a team of experts allows formulators to develop tailored solutions that harmonize sweetness, flavor, and mouthfeel — with the help of tools like Tanal 02. As the sugar-free market grows, getting flavor right matters, and partnering with a team like Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition ensures brands can stay competitive while giving consumers what they want most in a zero- or low-sugar beverage.
Working with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition opens up opportunities for innovation. Using the company’s extensive portfolio of flavor-enhancing solutions, brands can tap into more than a century of expertise in sensory science to explore unique flavor profiles and create standout products that meet consumer expectations and preferences.
Contact the Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition team to learn more about solutions like Tanal 02 and how they can help you create standout products that consumers come back for time and time again.