Samyang SPECIALTY INGREDIENTS

Clean Label Reformulation: Redesigning the Functions Left Behind

The Next Evolution of Clean Label

Although there is no universally accepted definition of “clean label,” consumers increasingly prefer shorter ingredient lists and ingredients they can easily recognize. While early clean label initiatives focused mainly on reducing the number of ingredients or removing specific additives, the concept has evolved to include how effectively taste, texture, and nutritional value can be delivered through a simpler formulation.

The real challenge of clean label reformulation is to ensure that taste and product quality are maintained even after ingredients are removed or replaced.

• Remove: Reduce sugar, calories, and ingredients consumers prefer to avoid

• Rebuild: Restore the taste, body, viscosity, and texture affected by reformulation

• Add Value: Enhance nutritional value through dietary fiber fortification

Samyang proposes a Clean Label Reformulation solution that addresses sweetness, taste, viscosity, and nutritional value together—functions that can be lost during sugar reduction.

Source: Mintel GNPD, February 2021-January 2026​

Replacing sugar with high-intensity sweeteners alone may result in bitterness or a lingering aftertaste, while failing to provide the functional properties originally delivered by sugar.

Nexweet® Allulose provides approximately 70% of the sweetness of sugar, together with a sugar-like sweetness profile, making it suitable for developing products with reduced sugar and calorie content.As a bulk sweetener, it can also contribute to moisture retention, browning, and body, helping compensate for the taste and textural properties that may be lacking when high-intensity sweeteners are used alone.

In products such as sauces, bars, and caramels, corn syrup provides not only sweetness but also viscosity, binding, and moisture retention.

Nexweet® Blend CS 42 is a blend solution designed to deliver both the sweetness and functional properties traditionally provided by corn syrup.

It can reduce the development burden associated with selecting and combining multiple ingredients to achieve the desired texture, while enabling more efficient formulation of corn syrup-free products with reduced sugar and calorie content.

Reducing sugar while maintaining the taste and quality consumers expect is critical. This requires more than simply replacing one sweetener with another. The entire syrup system used in a product must be redesigned. This is the value that Allulose can offer in the clean label era.

Enhancing Dietary Fiber and Product Quality at the Same Time

Today’s clean label products must offer more than a simple ingredient list. They must also provide nutritional benefits that consumers can recognize and appreciate.From this perspective, dietary fiber can support both nutritional enhancement and texture improvement in sugar-reduced products.

Fiberest® Resistant Dextrin an be used to increase dietary fiber content while supporting body, moisture retention, and flavor balance. In beverages and sauces, it can help restore body and flavor that may be weakened by sugar reduction. In bakery and dairy products, it can support moisture retention and texture improvement.

Fibernova® Crystalline Kestose is a crystalline dietary fiber ingredient containing more than 99% fructooligosaccharides. With approximately 30% of the sweetness of sugar and a low sugar content of around 1%, it supports both sugar reduction and dietary fiber fortification. Its crystalline form can support uniform dispersion and help create a smooth, less sticky texture. It may also reduce reliance on additional bulking ingredients, allowing greater flexibility in product reformulation.

“Approximately 69% of US consumers say they often check ingredient labels before purchasing a product.”

Source: Mintel, Free-from/Ingredients to Avoid – US – 2025

The key to clean label reformulation is not simply reducing the number of ingredients. It is about efficiently rebuilding the functions previously provided by the ingredients that have been removed.

Through an integrated sweetener–texturizer–flavor formulation approach based on Samyang’s specialty ingredient portfolio, manufacturers can reduce development complexity while achieving sugar reduction, nutritional enhancement, and desirable taste and texture.

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