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Allulose made affordable for food producers
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Tuesday, 21 April, 2026, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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Food producers sell more than sweetness. They deliver taste, texture, and indulgence — the qualities sugar has provided reliably for over a century. In India, where lifestyle diseases are surging, cutting sugar is the easiest lever in any recipe to improve nutrition without forcing consumers to give up pleasure.
Yet reformulation has been difficult. Polyols and high-intensity sweeteners deliver sweetness but fail to match sugar's complete functionality: browning, bulk, texture, preservation, crystallisation, and osmotic behaviour. Replacing sugar's multiple technical roles has remained a stubborn challenge.
The health stakes are well-known. One in three Indian adults now meets the criteria for metabolic syndrome, and 83% carry at least one major risk factor — prediabetes, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidaemia, or hypertension. An ingredient that can replicate sugar's performance at a fraction of the calories would let manufacturers improve nutritional profiles while keeping taste and processability intact.
Allulose is that ingredient. It is a single, well-defined molecule — unlike variable stevia glycosides or cooling erythritol. It replicates sugar across six critical dimensions: 70% sweetness, full Maillard browning, 1:1 bulk, texture, crystallisation, and preservation. At only 0.4 kcal/g, it has no aftertaste and blends cleanly with other sweeteners.
Sensory research ranks allulose among the closest matches to sucrose in dose-response behaviour and potency, earning it classification as a fourth-generation sweetener. It is the first to close the gap between major calorie reduction and full sensory performance at scale.
The game-changer is price. Until recently, allulose cost over Rs 600 per kg in India. Today, local suppliers including Hexicose Foods offer it at around Rs 400/kg — a level where mainstream reformulation becomes commercially viable for dairy, bakery, mithai, and beverages.
FSSAI granted its first Novel Food approval in October 2024; five approvals are now active. The US FDA excludes allulose from 'added sugars' on labels, and FSANZ assigns it the highest safety rating (ADI not specified).
At these price levels, allulose is no longer a laboratory curiosity. It is a practical, predictable tool that delivers near-sugar performance with roughly 90% fewer calories. For Indian food manufacturers, the only remaining question is how quickly to embrace it to create the indulgent-yet-healthier products consumers actually want.
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