HTBA Launches Citrus-Based High-Intensity Sweetener

HealthTech Bio Actives (HTBA), a specialist in citrus bioflavonoids for foods and beverages, announced the launch of Citrose, a high-intensity sweetener developed to support zero and reduced-sugar beverages, shakes, powders, dairy alternatives, baked goods, and more.

 Consumers are widely looking to limit sugar. However, reduced-sugar products often suffer from bitterness, lingering aftertastes, and poor mouthfeel, and alternative sweeteners are often perceived as artificial in ingredient lists, impacting consumer acceptance and repeat purchase.

Citrose is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, and, according to HTBA, doesn’t have the drawbacks of artificial sweeteners.

Citrose is a patented sweetener complex sourced from immature bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) fruits that have fallen to the ground and are collected, sundried, and processed. The result is an Upcycled Certified Ingredient that can be declared in the U.S. as ‘citrose.’ The ingredient is designed to produce a smoother, more balanced, and cleaner sweetness profile in challenging applications, delivering fast-onset sweetness, fewer off-notes, and less lingering aftertaste, especially when blended with other sweeteners.  

Citrose was perceived favorably as a name in consumer studies, ranking ahead of acesulfame-K, stevia, sucralose, and aspartame. When it came to sensory performance, consumers rated citrose as comparable to stevia in naturalness, and it scored higher for authenticity of taste, the company reported. Citrose-sucralose blends earned top ratings on key taste attributes, while citrose-stevia blends were perceived as virtually identical to stevia-sugar.

“Food and beverage manufacturers are under pressure to reduce sugar, but taste remains the deciding factor for consumers,” said Emily Wagener, global product manager for taste modulation. “Citrose can help producers to improve sweetness quality without the tradeoffs, which is why we’re incredibly excited to introduce this new offering to product developers, R&D teams, and procurement professionals … The timing is right, with the industry’s focus on sugar reduction and the growing influence of GLP-1 users who are more sensitive to artificial tastes.”