TL
Tate & Lyle
Allulose at 70% the sweetness of sugar and a tenth of the calories.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
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Updated Sept 30, 2026
Functional food development covers building a health benefit into a food, and taking something out of it. On Halo, the solutions cover sugar reduction, health actives with a clinical claim, clean-label texture, and delivering an active through a food. Sign up to search the full network and post your specific need.
Sugar reduction
TL
TL
Tate & Lyle
Reb M, the steviol glycoside that tastes closest to sucrose, at 200 to 300 times the sweetness.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
CA
Cargill
Erythritol at 70% the sweetness of sucrose and no glycemic impact.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
CA
Sorbitol and other polyols, which also hold moisture and do not cause decay.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
Bonumose (Tagatose producer)
Tagatose, a rare sugar with a lower glycemic response, produced at scale.
Co-developmentIn marketStartup
Fermentation-derived sweetness paired with an enzyme platform launched in 2025.
Co-developmentIn marketSupplier
CA
A cocoa powder that reads sweeter, taking 15 to 30% of the sugar out of chocolate.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
Health actives with a clinical claim
CA
Cargill
Plant sterols with an FDA-authorized claim for lowering LDL cholesterol.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
SY
Symrise
Cranberry extract standardized to 15% proanthocyanidins for urinary tract health.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
SY
Fruit polyphenols and cartilage extracts with clinical work across ten health areas.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
DF
DSM-Firmenich
Human milk oligosaccharides cleared in more than 170 countries for infant formula.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
CA
Cargill
A yeast fermentate with clinical work behind it and the widest formulation use.
Supply/purchaseIn marketSupplier
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Who is working on functional food development
Organizations in functional food development
Universities, startups, and suppliers with solutions in functional food development.
Functional food development companies
Innovators in functional food development
Researchers and inventors advancing functional food development.
Functional food development expertsAbout functional food development
Reduction is the largest theme on Halo by some margin. Sweeteners, taste modulators and sodium systems outnumber everything else, health actives with a clinical claim behind them come next, and a third cluster exists to hold texture once the sugar or the salt has been removed. On Halo it spans six groups, including sugar reduction, health actives with a clinical claim, and clean-label texture.
Stage of development. Work on functional food development on Halo comes mostly from companies. 40% of the solutions are in market. Co-development and sponsored research are the usual partnering routes, and about 33% of the solutions that state terms offer pilot engagements.
Three trends in functional food development on Halo
The work is subtraction. Eleven entries take something out: eight sweeteners and sweetness systems, a sodium technology claiming half the salt, compacted salt flakes that dissolve faster, and a taste balancing platform for sugar, salt and fat at once. Four separate suppliers sell a stevia or a rare sugar. The formulation problem they all solve is an absence.
Texture is the bill for reduction. Seven entries restore what a reformulation costs: clean-label starches that perform like modified ones with no such declaration, pectins for gelling, an enzyme that takes the grit out of high-protein yogurt, and integrated systems of hydrocolloids and modulators. Sugar and fat were doing structural work, and something has to do it after they leave.
A claim, or no sale. The health actives name their evidence, not their mechanism: an FDA-authorized claim on plant sterols, 15% proanthocyanidins by a named assay method, oligosaccharides cleared in over 170 countries, a postbiotic ranked first globally by finished products. The regulated claim is the product, and the ingredient is how it gets delivered.
1,250organizations
1,513solutions listed
85%from startups and companies
40%in market
Frequently asked questions
What is functional food development?
Functional food development covers building a health benefit into a food, and taking something out of it. It spans sweeteners and systems for sugar reduction, salt and fat reduction, health actives carrying a clinical claim, the clean-label starches and pectins that hold texture once the sugar has gone, the delivery work that gets an active through a product intact, and bioactives drawn straight from a plant.
What are examples of functional food development?
Five examples of functional food development solutions on Halo include:
- Allulose at 70% the sweetness of sugar and a tenth of the calories. (Tate & Lyle)
- Plant sterols with an FDA-authorized claim for lowering LDL cholesterol. (Cargill)
- Tapioca and corn starch performing like a modified one with no such declaration. (Tate & Lyle)
- Coacervation with high-bloom gelatin holds probiotics through low pH. (Blue California)
- Fermentation-derived taste technology taking up to half the sodium out. (Kerry)
Which companies and suppliers are developing functional food development?
There are 1,250 organizations with functional food development solutions on Halo, 249 of them universities and research institutions. Among them are Tate & Lyle, Cargill, and Bonumose (Tagatose producer). Most offer co-development or sponsored research. Sign up to see every organization working in the area and to send them your specific need.
How do I find functional food development research partners?
Browsing functional food development solutions on Halo is free. Sign up to search the full network and save the ones you want. Post your specific need to get exact matches. Organizations reply directly on the platform.
What are R&D teams looking for in functional food development?
Over the past 12 months, R&D teams on Halo have posted these functional food development needs:
Related food & nutrition research areas
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