Against a backdrop of persistent economic pressure, evolving regulations and growing consumer expectations, R&D teams in the confectionery sector face a significant challenge: reconciling innovation, nutritional value, and industrial performance. The revision of the criteria for Nutri-Score (a nutrition label based on the British Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system) is pushing manufacturers to rethink their recipes through a systemic approach. The goal: improve the score without sacrificing the sensory experience or formula stability—often through innovative functional ingredients.

Revised criteria that put sugar back at the center of decision-making

The updated Nutri-Score grids reward fiber density, protein content, and plant-based ingredients, while lowering the thresholds for sugars, salt, and saturated fatty acids. This shift is part of a broader drive to prevent type 2 diabetes and obesity—two major public health challenges with considerable socio-economic consequences.

For the confectionery sector, this paradigm shift is particularly significant: previously, reducing fat was the priority, sometimes at the cost of compensatory increases in sugar and texturizing agents such as starch. Today, it is sugar itself that is under scrutiny.

Reducing sugar in confectionery: a multi-parameter challenge

Sugar is a multifunctional ingredient at the heart of confectionery matrices: it structures, texturizes, provides gloss, controls water activity, and ensures the microbiological stability of finished products. Reducing or partially substituting it can affect all of these parameters—particularly when the formula has already been optimized on other fronts.

This is the context in which acacia gum establishes itself as a leading functional substitute. Its properties allow it to partially offset sugar reduction across several key levers:

• Water retention: it helps maintain a soft or moist texture, limiting product drying out over shelf life.
• Bulking agent: it provides volumetric density comparable to that of sugar, helping to preserve production format consistency.
• Film-forming properties: its filmogenic characteristics optimize mouthfeel—a critical criterion in fine confectionery.
• Nutri-Score impact: with a polysaccharide composition comprising 90% fiber, acacia gum directly improves the nutritional score—and can be labelled as "acacia fiber" when used for non-functional nutritional purposes.
• Low viscosity: it integrates easily into matrices without significantly altering process parameters or the sensory profile of the finished product.

Fiber and digestive tolerate: anticipating the needs of sensitive consumers 

While fiber enrichment is beneficial for the Nutri-Score, it raises the question of digestive tolerance—a growing concern for brands mindful of their reputation. Certain fibers ferment rapidly in the colon and can cause discomfort, particularly for consumers suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The complex branched molecular structure of acacia gum gives it a slow and progressive colonic fermentation profile. It is therefore compatible with low-FODMAP diets (limiting fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols), making it a suitable ingredient for ranges targeting consumers with sensitive digestive systems—a rapidly growing segment.

Formulating for Nutri-Score and beyond: a forward-looking approach

Confectionery manufacturers must now develop solutions that simultaneously meet nutritional requirements, production constraints, and sensory expectations. The key challenge: identifying functional ingredients that can be integrated into complex matrices while preserving—or even enhancing—the organoleptic profile of the finished product.

As consumers increasingly seek out clear labels and high nutritional scores—whether the Nutri-Score in continental Europe or the HFSS classification in the United Kingdom—a thorough understanding of ingredient functional properties becomes a decisive competitive advantage. Anticipating reformulations also reduces exposure to future regulatory restrictions and their potential economic consequences for manufacturers.

As a natural, plant-based ingredient, acacia gum also aligns with the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria to which industry players are increasingly held accountable.

Adapting formulas today means building the standards of tomorrow.

Related: Tate & Lyle, Manus launch sweetener brand