The assortment includes a sophisticated mix of sugar-free hard boiled candies igniting the senses with both a stunning visual appearance and great taste, thanks to BENEO’s unique sugar replacer, ISOMALT.
The latest developments enable manufacturers to create a variety of innovative sugar-free hard candies or boilings, while responding to the latest consumer trends, such as enhancing sensorial sensations.
ISOMALT is the only sugar replacer derived from sugar beet and it has a mild, natural sweet taste.
This means there is plenty of room for other flavours and allows for unique taste combinations. BENEO’s ISOMALT has received EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) health claims for both its low glycaemic and tooth friendly characteristics.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved a dental health claim. Both of these open up new marketing possibilities for confectionery producers.
BENEO’s new Sweets Collection includes the following sugar-free candies:
- Mango Sticky Rice Delight: this side-by-side candy concept is based on a very popular dessert in Asia and has been developed in direct response to the growing demand for 'ethnic authenticity' in the market. Figures from Innova Market Insights show the number of new product launches with an ethnic positioning has nearly doubled in the past 4 years. As more people travel abroad, consumers, particularly millennials are increasingly looking for products with high authenticity and special ingredients to remind them of the exotic flavours enjoyed in holiday destinations such as South-East Asia.
- Fruit Veggie Twister: this swirl candy includes a perfectly balanced combination of fruity and spicy flavours, tapping into the trend for vegetables in new categories. According to Innova Market Insights, “the green light for vegetables” started with the rise of smoothies and juices combining fruits and vegetables. Since then, they have moved into dairy applications such as yoghurts and are set to stimulate innovative ideas for the candy market with launches of new flavours and a healthy image.
- Hot-Cool-Booster: this stamped candy-in-candy is characterised by combining two opposite flavours with a thin chilli-fruit layer covering the lemon-menthol core to create the ultimate sensorial experience. This innovative hot and cool flavour combination is the perfect answer for consumers increasingly searching for new taste sensations.
BENEO’s ISOMALT helps improve the manufacturing of traditional candies such as:
- Rock Candy: an artisan candy with pleasing visual appearance. Until now the candy was only available with sugar included. With ISOMALT the Rock Candy is not only sugar-free and healthier, the technical properties of ISOMALT also facilitate its manufacturing. ISOMALT has a higher heat capacity than sugar, which means that cooling down takes longer and manufacturers have more time to process and mold the product into Rock Candy. What is more, thanks to mild, natural sweet taste of ISOMALT, if a sugar-like sweetness is desired, it is possible to combine intense sweeteners as well, using ISOMALT to perfectly mask any undesired aftertastes that may occur when including such sweeteners.
Thomas Schmidt, Marketing Director at BENEO, said: “As a leading ingredient manufacturer, BENEO is committed to delivering high quality ingredients, as well as new inspiration to the market through our innovation concepts. With our new Sweets Collection, we want to stimulate the worldwide candy market with creative ideas that are in line with current consumers’ trends and at the same time appeal both in terms taste and appearance. Our new concepts will open the door to new and exciting possibilities for our customers, revitalising this very important market segment.”
