Sugar reduction in bakery has long been a technical headache. Remove the sugar and you do not just lose sweetness - you lose moisture retention, foam stability and the plasticising effects that determine crumb structure, volume and shelf life.

Reformulation strategies that address sweetness alone routinely fall short, which is why most manufacturers have been cautious about how far they push the dial.

Ulrick + Short, a UK-based clean label functional ingredient specialist, has developed avante 25 to address the full functional profile of sugar, not just its taste. The ingredient is a blend of soluble maize fibre, wheat starch and wheat protein, formulated specifically for sweet bakery applications including muffins, brownies and madeleines.

Pressure from two directions

The timing reflects pressure from both regulation and the market. In the UK, the Nutrient Profiling Model places significant weight on free sugars and across Europe, Nutri-Score continues to shape reformulation priorities. Manufacturers working across multiple markets cannot afford to treat these frameworks as separate problems.

Consumer data adds further impetus. According to figures cited by Ulrick + Short, 46% of consumers are actively trying to reduce their sugar intake in baked goods, while 43% find high-fibre claims appealing in products such as muffins. Reformulation that can address both within a single ingredient has obvious commercial logic.

What the trials showed

In muffin trials, avante 25 matched full-sugar controls on aeration, crumb structure and colour. The ingredient maintains height and peaking and produces a consistent, homogeneous crumb. These are the characteristics most likely to be compromised when sugar levels drop. According to the company, it integrates into existing recipes without requiring significant process changes.

On the nutritional side, manufacturers can achieve up to 30% sugar reduction whilst adding up to 4g of fibre per 100g, sufficient to support both reduced sugar and source of fibre label claims. The soluble fibre component also contributes to a lower glycaemic response compared to sugar and starch-based replacers. This is a meaningful differentiator in a category where many alternatives simply swap one refined carbohydrate for another.

The gut health angle

Soluble fibre is fermented by gut bacteria, producing short-chain fatty acids that support the intestinal environment. This is distinct from the more commonly cited digestive transit benefits of insoluble fibre and reflects a broader scientific interest in the relationship between dietary fibre, microbiome composition and metabolic health.

Fibres are becoming a well-earned hot topic in the industry at the moment. Fibre is incredibly important to us nutritionally, not just for intestinal performance, but for gut health and heightened hormone secretion too, so being able to decrease sugar and increase fibre with just one ingredient is incredibly useful.

Abi Sharp, R&D Technologist and Registered Nutritionist, Ulrick + Short

Into production

Ulrick + Short positions avante 25 as part of a broader reformulation support offer. The company works with bakery manufacturers on scalable strategies that protect product quality whilst improving nutritional performance. An approach that acknowledges reformulation as an ongoing process rather than a single product swap.

The ingredient was showcased at the company's Break Down the Bake technical masterclass, where product developers could assess how sugar functionality is replicated in practice.