Whether it is to adopt a vegetarian diet, out of concern for the environment, to combat intensive farming, or out of religious conviction, an increasing number of consumers are looking for products formulated with plant-based ingredients to substitute those of animal origin. This is one of the challenges facing the food industry, and in particular manufacturers of confectionery, jelly sweets and marshmallows.
Syndeo® Gelling, a new texture agent developed by Alland & Robert, provides an innovative and multifunctional solution. Syndeo® Gelling enables the reformulation of several types of traditional gelatin-based products, including the “famous” jelly confectionery.
What are its benefits? Its composition based on 100% plant-based hydrocolloids and gum acacia, whose combined properties provide a compromise between gelatin and pectin. This means that while gelatin provides high elasticity and reduced stickiness, pectin helps achieve firmer, stickier textures with little or even no elasticity. Syndeo® Gelling offers both low hardness and higher elasticity than pectin, without creating any stickiness.
Being of plant origin, Syndeo® Gelling improves the image of confectionery without altering the sensory characteristics of sweets. It offers thickening, stabilising, bulking and binding qualities to formulations such as jelly sweets and marshmallows. Its versatile formulation is suitable for a wide range of confectionery applications, and even for other textured products with gelatin such as mousses or creams. It preserves the tasting experience and feels pleasant in the mouth. Syndeo® Gelling therefore offers an alternative choice for vegan sweet recipes and health supplements such as gummies.
The Alland & Robert R&D team has already expanded its research into texturing and the development of mousses; dairy specialties and cream desserts (both plant- and non-plant-based) will be among the next areas of development. Founded in 1884, Alland & Robert is a French family-run business and a pioneer in natural tree exudates.