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The food industry has witnessed significant advancements in texturization and stabilization technologies, with hydrocolloids transforming applications from dairy products to sauces and baked goods. Their ability to enhance texture, stability, and mouthfeel has fueled a thriving global market. Now, a parallel opportunity may exist in the form of oleogels: Oleogels provide functionality and sensory attributes of conventional fats used in different food products.
Oleogels function similarly, using a gelator to structure oil into a gel-like consistency. While research has explored oleogels for decades, their adoption in large-scale food manufacturing remains limited. Main barriers include oxidation risks leading to off-flavors and shorter shelf life, difficulty replicating key confectionery characteristics (e.g., snap, melt behavior), and the limited availability of scalable structuring agents. Looks like oleogels could offer tapped/untapped functional benefits in various food applications including confectionery.
To transition from academic research to real-world food applications, advancements in oleogel formulation are required. We are interested in using oleogels in various food applications including confectionery, also interested to tap their functionalities in structuring and beyond.
We are looking for collaborations with experts to advance the practical use of oleogels in food applications, with a primary focus on confectionery. Our goal is to develop oleogel formulations using widely available ingredients that not only match the functionality and sensory profile of existing fats but also ensure that the final product maintains its expected texture, mouthfeel, and stability.
We are particularly interested in applications where oleogels can replace traditional fats, offering clear advantages in sustainability, health, or cost. We are also focused on more challenging uses, such fully replacing confectionery fats in compound coatings while maintaining key sensory and crystallization properties.
While confectionery remains the primary focus, we welcome proposals exploring oleogels as viable replacements for traditional fats and structuring agents in bakery products, pastries, breakfast spreads, and meat alternatives, food service, frying and other applications.
- Oleogel formulations made from commodity oils and widely available ingredients
- Final product formulations containing oleogels for nut butters, chocolate spreads, fillings, pastries, ganaches, bakery glazes and compound chocolates
- Oleogels for fat replacement with nutritional (e.g., less saturated fat) and sustainability benefits
- Final products must maintain texture, mouthfeel and stability comparable to versions made with conventional fat-based systems or structuring agents
- Formulations must use readily available oleogelators (e.g., sunflower wax, pectin, lecithin)
- Production methods with strong scaling potential for industrial feasibility
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Costs comparable to traditional commodity oils/fats current cocoa butter or cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) prices
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Impact of oleogels on the sensory & functional properties of chocolate
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Techno-economic assessment of production methods with estimated operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) (±50% accuracy)
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Consideration of oxidation stability and how it impacts final product shelf life
- Non-food applications of oleogels
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