Foodtech start-up B.T. Sweet Ltd. unveils Cambya, a plant-based, one-to-one drop-in sugar replacer for multiple food applications. The Cambya sweetening platform lets consumers have their delectable cake and eat it, guilt-free, without compromising on flavour or other organoleptic qualities – shortcomings common with other natural sugar-reduction methods.

The proprietary formula, based on soluble fibres, monk fruit and select botanicals, boasts a one-to-one equivalent to sugar both in body and taste, and offers a rich source of naturally derived beneficial fibres. Cambya delivers optimized sweetening capacity, without the need for masking agents. Most importantly, it does not leave any lingering aftertastes.

“While natural sweeteners are gaining popularity, the tendency for some of them to give off a bitter lingering aftertaste limits their use,” says Gil de-Picciotto, co-inventor of B.T. Sweet. “Cambya applies a unique process to overcome these organoleptic challenges by targeting the hydrophobic sites on natural sweeteners, rendering them less accessible to flavour receptors. This, in turn, delivers sugar-like sweetening and bulking effect.”

The breakthrough sweetening platform is the result of a three-year R&D campaign of mixing and matching a broad range of fibres, natural sweeteners and botanicals. The team also explored different development techniques to ensure high solubility and superior blending capacity for smooth integration into food and beverage products – all with minimal processing.