IN Brief:
- Sweetec combines MartinBauer's botanical Sweetcode approach with HIFOOD's Meltec fibre technology.
- The partners claim up to 50% sugar replacement in suitable beverage recipes, with performance dependent on formulation.
- Potential applications include spirits, aperitifs, lower-alcohol and alcohol-free beverages; no customer production rollout was disclosed.
MartinBauer and HIFOOD, part of the Nexture ingredients group, have introduced Sweetec, a combined botanical and vegetable fibre system intended to reduce sugar in alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages while retaining body and mouthfeel. The partners say the technology can replace up to 50% of sugar in suitable formulations, although they have not supplied independent performance results across all proposed drink categories.
The ingredient combines HIFOOD’s Meltec fibre technology with MartinBauer’s Sweetcode botanical sweetening system. The two components perform different roles: the fibre is intended to help replace the body and texture supplied by sugar or syrups, while the botanical system contributes sweetness and flavour balance. The companies are targeting spirits and aperitifs as well as lower-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks.
Sugar contributes more than sweetness to many beverage formulations. The concentration of dissolved solids influences density and viscosity, while sweetness can alter the perception of acidic and bitter ingredients. Removing a substantial proportion can therefore change the way a drink pours and feels in the mouth, even if another ingredient is added to make its sweetness appear similar.
High-intensity sweeteners can supply sweetness at much lower ingredient concentrations, but they do not necessarily replace the physical mass or viscosity of the sugar removed. Manufacturers seeking a lower-sugar formulation may need a separate ingredient system for texture. Sweetec addresses this division by combining a sweetening component with a fibre-based system designed to reproduce some of sugar’s structural contribution.
Meltec is a patented vegetable fibre technology derived from legumes and cereals. HIFOOD presents it as an ingredient for replacing some of the body supplied by conventional syrups and sugars. Its contribution to texture depends on the amount used and how it behaves alongside water, alcohol and the other constituents of the drink. No universal dose or viscosity result has been published for the combined Sweetec system.
Sweetcode contributes the botanical component. MartinBauer says it is intended to balance sweetness and flavour in reformulated products rather than relying on the fibre to perform both tasks. That separation gives formulation teams scope to adjust the sensory and physical characteristics individually, although changing the proportion of either component can influence the finished beverage.
Spirits and aperitifs are a central application because some products combine alcohol with significant quantities of sugar. Alcohol contributes its own sensory characteristics, so reducing both alcohol and sugar can produce a more substantial difference from the original recipe than sugar reduction alone. A replacement system must be evaluated against the target product, not simply tested in a neutral liquid.
The partners also identify vermouth, bitters, wine-based drinks, cider, sake, whisky, sparkling products and seltzers as potential applications. These categories cover very different alcohol concentrations, acidity levels and processing arrangements. Sweetec’s appearance in an application list does not establish that customers have introduced it commercially or that a 50% sugar reduction has been demonstrated in every format.
Carbonated drinks create additional questions because dissolved carbon dioxide contributes acidity and influences how a beverage behaves during filling and consumption. Ingredient compatibility, clarity, foam behaviour and stability must be assessed with the intended carbonated formulation. Similarly, a botanical component that tastes balanced in an aperitif may produce a different result alongside the flavour compounds present in a fermented drink.
Introducing a fibre system can also change processing behaviour. Viscosity affects pumping, mixing and dosing, while dispersion can influence batch uniformity. Producers need to establish that the ingredient remains suitable through their chosen preparation, filling and storage conditions. The announcement does not provide an equipment compatibility matrix, a quantified processing cost comparison or shelf-life results for named commercial applications.
Lower sugar content does not automatically establish a permitted nutrition claim. For products sold in the EU or UK, declarations and claims depend on the composition of the finished drink and the applicable regulatory conditions. The addition of vegetable fibre also does not mean that any chosen serving contains enough fibre to qualify for a particular claim; the completed formulation must be assessed against the relevant thresholds.
HIFOOD has already developed Meltec for other food applications, including bakery and desserts, so Sweetec brings an existing fibre platform into a combined beverage formulation offering. MartinBauer and Nexture have not disclosed new manufacturing capacity or named customer production contracts associated with the collaboration. The current development is an ingredient system available for formulation work, with its commercial performance to be established in individual beverage recipes.
