High-Intensity Sweeteners

Ace-K

Acesulfame Potassium, often abbreviated as Ace-K or Acesulfame K, is a calorie-free artificial sweetener. It is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar).

  • Food & Beverage: Ace-K is commonly used in a wide range of low-calorie and sugar-free food and beverage products, including soft drinks, flavored water, dairy products, desserts, candies, and chewing gums. It can be used in baked goods such as cakes, cookies, and pastries to reduce sugar content while maintaining sweetness.

    Ace-K is often found in condiments like sauces, salad dressings, and marinades to add sweetness without adding extra calories.

    Ace-K can be found in sugar-free chewing gums to provide sweetness.

  • Nutraceutical: Ace-K is sometimes used in pharmaceutical formulations to mask the bitter taste of certain medications or to sweeten oral syrups, chewable tablets, and lozenges. It may be used in some powdered or chewable vitamins and dietary supplements to improve taste.
  • Personal Care: Ace-K is used in some oral care products to enhance sweetness without promoting tooth decay.

Aspartame

Aspartame is a low-calorie artificial sweetener used as a sugar substitute in a variety of food and beverage products. It is made up of two amino acids, aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). Aspartame is not heat-stable, so it is not suitable for use in baking or cooking applications where it will be exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods. It is soluble in water, making it suitable for use in both liquid and powdered food and beverage products.

  • Food & Beverage: Aspartame is a popular sweetener in diet or low-calorie soft drinks and carbonated beverages. It is used in powdered drink mixes, including flavored water, iced tea, and fruit-flavored beverages.

    It is used in various desserts, such as sugar-free puddings, gelatins, ice cream, and frozen desserts, as well as in candies and chewing gum.

    Aspartame is used in flavored yogurt, dairy-based desserts, and other dairy products to provide sweetness without added calories.

  • Nutraceutical: Aspartame may also be used as a sweetener in certain pharmaceutical products, such as chewable tablets, syrups, and lozenges, to improve palatability.

Monk Fruit

Monk Fruit extract has gained popularity as a natural sweetener alternative due to its zero-calorie and low glycemic index properties. The sweetness of monk fruit comes from natural compounds, which can be up to 250 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). Monk fruit extract is incredibly sweet, with sweetness derived from mogrosides rather than fructose or glucose. Having a Low Glycemic Index, it contains no calories or carbohydrates, making it suitable for those seeking to reduce calorie intake or manage blood sugar levels. Making it suitable for individuals with diabetes or those following low-carbohydrate diets.

  • Food & Beverage: Commonly used to sweeten beverages such as teas, coffees, flavored waters, and fruit juices. It can be used as a sugar substitute in baking and cooking, although its intense sweetness may require adjustments to recipe proportions.

    Monk fruit extract is used in sugar-free or reduced-sugar desserts, including cakes, cookies, puddings, and ice creams.

    It can be added to yogurt, milkshakes, and other dairy-based products to provide sweetness without added calories.

    Monk fruit extract can be used to sweeten condiments such as ketchup, barbecue sauce, and salad dressings.

  • Nutraceutical: Monk fruit extract can be used in nutraceutical products, including dietary supplements and functional foods, to provide sweetness without added sugars. It may be included in formulations targeting various health benefits, such as weight management, blood sugar control, or overall wellness.

    Monk fruit extract may be used as a sweetener in certain pharmaceutical formulations, such as chewable tablets or liquid medications.

Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is approximately 600 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). It is derived from sucrose through a process that substitutes three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with chlorine atoms, resulting in a stable sweetening compound.

  • Food & Beverage: Sucralose is commonly used as a sweetener in a wide range of beverages, including soft drinks and carbonated beverages, flavored water, fruit juices and juice drinks, energy drinks, and powdered drink mixes.

    Sucralose can be used in baked goods and desserts as a sugar substitute, including cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, pastries, ice cream, frozen desserts, puddings, and custards.

    Sucralose is used in various dairy products to provide sweetness without the added calories, including flavored milk, yogurt, yogurt drinks, ice cream, and frozen yogurt.

    Sucralose may be used in condiments and sauces to add sweetness, including ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressings, syrups, and toppings.
    Sucralose can be used in snack foods as a sweetening ingredient, including granola bars, snack bars, breakfast cereals, and sweetened nut and seed mixes.

  • Nutraceutical: Sucralose may also be used as a sweetener in certain pharmaceutical products, such as chewable tablets, syrups, and liquid medications, to improve palatability.

Stevia

Stevia is a natural sweetener and sugar substitute derived from the leaves of the plant species Stevia Rebaudiana, native to Brazil and Paraguay. The sweetening compounds in stevia are called steviol glycosides, primarily stevioside and rebaudioside A, which are up to 300 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) but contain zero calories. Due to its natural origin and its ability to provide sweetness without the added calories or the glycemic response associated with sugar, Stevia is an attractive option for people looking to reduce sugar intake or manage diabetes.

  • Food & Beverage: Stevia is used in flavored milk, yogurt, ice cream, especially in products marketed as low-sugar or sugar-free.

    Stevia’s heat stability varies among different formulations such as cookies, cakes, and pastries, particularly in products designed for people managing their sugar intake.

    Sugar-free candies, chewing gums, and chocolates often use stevia as a sweetening agent.

    Stevia is widely used in soft drinks, carbonated beverages, zero-calorie or reduced-sugar soft drinks, flavored waters, tea, coffee for ready-to-drink tea and coffee products, as well as in powdered or liquid sweetener form for home use.

  • Nutraceutical: Stevia is used in powdered or liquid supplement formulations, especially in those targeting weight management or blood sugar control. Stevia is also found in certain health bars, protein shakes, and meal replacement shakes as a low-calorie sweetener.

    It can also be found in pharmaceutical products, such as cough syrups and chewable tablets, using stevia as a sweetener to improve taste without the need for sugar.