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Ingredients and formulation solutions for sugar reduction in food systems
- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Who we are
- Q&A
Have questions about this request?
Get them answered by the team at pladis.
Background
Consumer demand for reduced-sugar products continues to grow, yet delivering indulgent baked goods and confectionery with less sugar remains technically challenging. Sugar plays a multifunctional role in food systems, contributing not only sweetness but also bulk, structure, browning reactions, mouthfeel, moisture management, flavor modulation, and overall sensory perception.
Reducing sugar in products such as biscuits, cakes, chocolate, and confectionery often compromises sensory quality and consumer acceptance. Traditional approaches relying on polyols or high-intensity sweeteners alone frequently fall short of delivering a clean-label, satisfying experience.
Naturally-derived ingredient systems that address the full functional role of sugar, as well as digital or AI-enabled tools that model sugar functionality and guide reformulation could enable products that preserve indulgence and key functional attributes while meaningfully reducing sugar.
What we're looking for
We are looking for naturally derived ingredients that enable significant sugar reduction in baked goods and confectionery, as well as digital or AI-enabled formulation tools that support effective sugar replacement while maintaining product quality and functional performance.
We are particularly interested in partners with strong food formulation expertise who can deliver scalable ingredient solutions and collaborate toward commercially viable reduced-sugar products.
Solutions of interest include:
- AI-driven formulation optimization tools
- Fermentation-derived natural sweetener systems
- Natural flavor modulators and taste modification systems (e.g., bitterness blockers)
- Natural rare sugars and functional carbohydrate platforms
- Novel high-intensity natural sweetening systems
- Structured carbohydrates or fiber matrix platforms
- Sweet proteins
Our must-have requirements are:
- Potential to enable meaningful sugar reduction in food applications
- Ingredient-based solutions must be naturally derived and compatible with clean-label positioning
- Digital or AI-based solutions must demonstrate technical feasibility using relevant food formulation data
Our nice-to-have's are:
- Contributes to functional attributes such as texture, structure, browning, or flavor modulation
- Demonstrated performance in baked goods, confectionery, or comparable applications
- Provides additional nutritional benefits beyond sugar reduction
What's out of scope:
- Solutions that introduce significant negative sensory attributes at intended use levels
Acceptable technology readiness levels (TRL):
Levels 3-9
What we can offer you
Eligible partnership models:
Co-developmentFee-for-serviceLicensingSponsored researchSupply/purchase
Benefits:
Sponsored Research
Open to funding collaborative development and validation projects to advance promising solutions. Initial funding may be available up to £100k for a 6–12 month project, depending on scope, maturity, and deliverables. Additional follow-on funding may be considered for scale-up, pilot validation, and commercialization activities. Specific terms will be defined based on project needs and partner typeExpertise
Partners may collaborate with cross-functional experts in food formulation, process engineering, sensory science, regulatory affairs, and commercial strategy. Dedicated technical contacts may be assigned to support development and integration into relevant product systems.Compounds and Reagents
We may provide relevant benchmark ingredients or sample materials necessary
to support collaborative testing and optimization efforts, subject to confidentiality and agreed project scope.Data
Under appropriate confidentiality agreements, we may share relevant historical trial learnings or performance benchmarks to support solution development and validationFacilities and Services
We may evaluate selected solutions through internal formulation trials and
application testing in relevant product systems and share structured performance data and technical feedback to support further optimization.Networking
Exposure to senior R&D and innovation stakeholders and the opportunity to build strategic relationships within our company’s network.Market Access
Successful collaborations may lead to broader commercial opportunities, including potential supply agreements, co-development partnerships, or expansion across multiple product lines and markets within our portfolio.Reviewers
TI
Tim Ingmire
VP Global R&D Innovation
QH
Qi He
Snr Ingredient and chocolate scientist
JA
Jo Akeju
UK&I R&D Director - Sweet Product Development
TM
Taryn-lisa Molle
VP R&D
LC
Lucio Cicerelli
Director of Strategic Projects and Products
Q&A with pladis
The Q&A is now closed.
Sort by:
Most upvoted
Q.
Hi I would like to send this call for proposals through our university but would need more information of the grant agreement to be signed if there is an award. Can the university publish freely research results? What are the conditions for intellectual property protection. Can students be part of the project. Do you recognized indirect costs for research and if so, to what percentage.
RC
Rina Cohen, Research Development, McGill University
March 25, 2026
6
A.
Hi Rina,
apology for my late reply,
I am afraid University/Students won't be able to publish the results. This is a private call and the Company would own the IP create from the collaboration.
Lucio
LC
Lucio Cicerelli, Director of Strategic Projects and Products, pladis
April 13, 2026
Is this response helpful?
0
0
Q.
Hi,
I'm wondering whether precision fermentation solutions are acceptable to produce a natural product? Would these be considered "clean label" as long as the GM organism was separated from the final product?
5
A.
Hi Erin,
yes, precision fermentation is intended as gene editing vs GMO. it is still classified as novel food but more acceptable by Regulatory Depts. Not sure what you mean the GM organism separated from the final product, though.
Lucio
LC
Lucio Cicerelli, Director of Strategic Projects and Products, pladis
April 13, 2026
Is this response helpful?
0
0
A.
Thank you very much, Lucio. Our process involves fermentation to produce a secreted product. After production, the yeast biomass will be removed, typically by centrifugation or similar methods, so no yeast cells remain in the supernatant containing the final product.
1
A.
Hi Erin,
that makes perfectly sense, i wonder what the Regulatory stands is on this product. Just checked your best site, we should connect?
LC
Lucio Cicerelli, Director of Strategic Projects and Products, pladis
April 13, 2026
Is this response helpful?
0
0
A.
Hi Lucio, yes we would be very happy to chat at your convenience. Please feel free to email me with some suggested days/times: egilchrist@renaissancebioscience.com. Thanks again.
1
Q.
Greetings, Pladis team, I’m Tihomir with GrabIT, a Data & AI consultancy with enterprise experience across Europe. Would you be open to having us join this initiative as a consulting/technology partner?
TG
March 25, 2026
3
A.
Dear Tihomir, open to have an initial conversation on a team call to understand what you offer, ie. case studies, expertise in pladis' areas of interest, demo?
Lucio
LC
Lucio Cicerelli, Director of Strategic Projects and Products, pladis
March 26, 2026
Is this response helpful?
1
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