As interest in sugar reduction continues to grow, new innovations in sweetness are bridging the gap between consumer taste preferences and wellness goals.
Added sugar is top of mind for today’s consumers. About three in four Americans say they want to limit added sugar.1 Yet taste is the top food and beverage purchase driver for 85% of consumers, even ahead of factors like price, convenience, and healthfulness.1
Reducing added sugar is often seen as a trade-off, and the majority of consumers have concerns about the sweetening alternatives available today. 75% of Americans wish there were better tasting non-caloric sweetening options.2 There is also growing demand for naturally derived ingredients across all categories, including sweetening ingredients. In trying to meet all these needs simultaneously, brands have had a limited number of tools.
However, new innovations in the sweet ingredient space are challenging the assumption that there needs to be a compromise when formulating clean-label, better-tasting, and better-for-you food and beverages.
Sweet proteins offer a refreshing new approach
The answer to the sugar reduction conundrum may come in an unexpected package: sweet proteins. Sweet proteins are naturally occurring molecules found in plants and fungi. They taste sweet – often thousands of times sweeter than sucrose – enabling the ability to create naturally derived, non-carbohydrate sweetening ingredients.
For years, the key challenge has been with scale. Manufacturing sweet proteins by extracting them from their natural source is resource-intensive and impossible on a commercially viable scale.
Now, commercial production of sweet proteins as a sweetening ingredient has become a reality with advanced fermentation: a consistent, reliable, and scalable production method that doesn’t bring vulnerabilities like geographic constraints, climate, or contamination. This opens the door for new great-tasting food and beverages without the need for added sugar.
Innovating with honey truffle sweet protein
Within the new category of sweet proteins is honey truffle sweet protein. Derived from the honey truffle, it is a remarkably sweet type of fungi primarily found in Hungary. Uniquely, the characteristic sweetness of the honey truffle is imparted by a sweet protein, which MycoTechnology scientists discovered, identified, and isolated.
Using advanced fermentation practices, MycoTechnology is able to develop and produce honey truffle sweet protein at scale, creating a new sweetening ingredient that meets the demand for naturally derived, clean label alternatives.
Unlike some other sweetening ingredients, honey truffle sweet protein delivers good taste. It provides a uniquely clean taste profile, without bitterness, metallic off-notes, or unpleasant aftertastes. It is also fully digestible and does not have a negative impact on the gut microbiome. As a protein, it breaks down into common amino acids within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.3
Honey truffle sweet protein brings 500 to 2,500 times the sweetness of sucrose (depending on application) and has an extremely low usage level, saving resources along with calories. It can be used as a single sweetener or in combination with other sweetening options to achieve an overall profile that is similar to sugar. Ideal application areas include ready-to-mix functional beverages such as sports nutrition powders, protein shakes, and powdered supplements; protein and energy bars; and chocolates.
MycoTechnology is introducing this new sweetening solution as ZukoraTM, a name inspired by the Hungarian word for sugar. Adoption of honey truffle sweet protein continues to gain traction in new food categories as chefs, product developers and formulators incorporate the ingredient into their culinary toolbox.
What’s next in the future of sugar reduction?
As consumers seek both delicious and nature-based sugar alternatives, sweet proteins are uniquely able to meet consumer needs without compromise.
Honey truffle sweet protein goes beyond creating food and beverages that are both delicious and healthy – it provides a solution that is cost-effective and sustainable.
MycoTechnology recently achieved US regulatory self-affirmed GRAS status (generally recognized as safe) for honey truffle sweet protein, submitted a dossier to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and published the positive safety evaluation in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.4 The new ingredient is now commercially available at scale, a landmark moment for meaningful advancement in sugar reduction and improvement to the food supply.
Author: Ranjan Patnaik, PhD, chief technology officer at MycoTechnology
References
- International Food Information Council. 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: The Full Report. January 2026.
- MycoTechnology Consumer Research, 2024
- McFarland, C.; et al. Discovery, expression, and in silico safety evaluation of honey truffle sweetener, a sweet protein derived from Mattirolomyces terfezioides and produced by heterologous expression in Komagataella phaffii. J Agric Food Chem 2024; 72(35):19470-19479.
- Potter, S.; et al. Safety Evaluation of Honey Truffle Sweet Protein Produced from Komagataella phaffii. Food Chem Toxicology. 2026 Feb 2;211:115987.