While working for Geektime, we get to write about our fair share of startups, and many times we write about technological developments not yet ripe for the market, or not intended for the average consumer. So, when we finally get a chance to try out a product that’s aiming to revolutionize an industry, we assure you that we won't pass it up. But how do you test a product of a company that develops sugar-based sweetener alternatives? Let us get a pot of coffee going, and we’ll tell you.
Initial product line hitting the shelves
Israeli foodtech startup DouxMatok, which is a combination of the words for soft and sweet in French and Hebrew, has developed a sort of alternative sugar called “Incredo Sugar”, which aims to combat global obesity. The company’s “super sugar” is based on a more efficient flavor delivery system of sugar molecules to our sweet taste buds, which helps reduce up to 40% of sugar content without impacting its sweet taste, and without a synthesized chemical sweetener aftertaste. In the end, it’s sugar made from sugar canes, so it should retain its sweetness. The company explains that in order to prevent sugar molecule manipulation, the mineral payload is uploaded onto a carrier that goes directly to the taste buds and ‘offloads’ a targeted and longer-lasting sugar payload.
As we reported at the end of last month, the company achieved a unique milestone by partnering with Canadian Rogers & Lantic Sugar to produce and distribute the Israeli company’s “super sugar”. This strategic partnership will help accelerate DouxMatok’s go-to-market, which has already hit the shelves in an Israeli bakery franchise - Piece Of Cake - which launched a variety of Incredo sugar based cookies, and gave us a taste of some freshly baked vegan chocolate chip cookies.
Obviously, this is not my first time trying the usually horrid alternative sweeteners, so I approached my first bite into the cookie with caution. And the bottom line is that the cookies taste as sweet as ever, without any weird alternative aftertastes. I tasted no difference from regular cookies (except the fact that the cookies were vegan, which from the get-go have a pretty different texture).
While feeling a bit surprised that I couldn’t taste any difference, I asked the bakery what is the difference between cookies prepared with DouxMatok’s sugar in comparison to the vegan chocolate chip cookies that were baked there before. So if you though that this is just a gimmick, the bakery owner himself explained to me that he was able to reduce 32% of sugar content in the dough in contrast to the previous DouxMatok-less batch of cookies (which made me wonder why it’s still consifdered a high sugar product).
In addition, DouxMatok also let me taste some gluten-free biscottis and a few vegan “health” cookies. Again all of them tasted fine, and without the chemical sweetener aftertaste. Me not noticing any difference in taste and especially in sweetness is what I think makes the company’s development standout the most.
DouxMatok was founded by Prof. Avraham Baniel, and his son and CEO Eran Baniel. For this sweet discovery, Prof. Baniel received last Novemebr, Israel’s Prime Minister award for innovation 2018. The celebratory event came just one month after the Professor celebrated, wait for it, his centennial birthday.
With DouxMatok’s much needed sugar reduction technologies and the aforementioned distribution ties in North America, the U.S. market seems primed and ready for sugar reduction. The company notes that it is working with food companies around the world on new development of cookies, cakes, spreads, chocolates, and different candies. DouxMatok is preparing for a pretty sweet future, if all goes according to plan, and a place on every shelf in the supermarket.
