Comprehensive Ingredient Scouting of Heat-Stable Sweet Proteins for Next-Gen Beverage Applications

A well-known industry player approached Stellarix for an in-depth ingredient scouting assessment to identify heat-stable sweet proteins suitable for beverages. Our strategic intelligence enabled the client to determine suitable ingredient suppliers and make informed decisions regarding potential collaborations.

Client Background:

The client wants to conduct an ingredient scouting study to identify heat-stable sweet proteins that can be used at UHT processing (130 °C for 15–20 seconds) in beverage applications.

Engagement Objective:

This engagement covered the following objectives:

• Identification of sweet proteins/peptides with high sweetness intensity and demonstrated thermal stability of interest.
• In-depth analysis of identified sweet proteins.
• Benchmarking of identified ingredients to obtain top promising and emerging sweet proteins.
• Primary research of the identified ingredients for validating data obtained from secondary research.
• Recommendations and suggestions.

Client Impact:

• The engagement helped the client identify ingredient suppliers specializing in heat-stable sweet proteins/peptides. The resulting study offers strategic recommendations for incorporating suitable ingredients into products subjected to ultra-high-temperature processing.
• It further highlights that while recombinant production of sweet proteins is technically more feasible, gaining regulatory approval in the European market poses greater challenges than in the United States. In contrast, naturally extracted proteins—despite being less thermally stable—are permitted for use in both the US and European markets.

Outcome Snapshot: