FERMENTED INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS
Suzanne Callander reports on some of the innovative fermented ingredients that can help confectionery manufacturers create more sustainable and environmentally-friendly products, but not at the expense of flavour, texture and consumer experience.
F
ermentation is by no means a new technique, but the use of precision fermentation technology – biotechnology
processes that use genetically engineered microbes to produce a variety of specific functional ingredients – are now looking set to transform the confectionery sector, offering exciting new opportunities for product development teams. Precision fermentation is being used, for
example, to create alternative sweeteners and flavour compounds, with engineered microbes being used to produce rare sugars – such as allulose and tagatose – natural sugars with low glycaemic impact and fewer calories than traditional sucrose. These sugars can be used to reduce the sugar content in confectionery recipes, making them attractive to health-conscious consumers and regulatory bodies pushing for reformulated products. Fermentation is also being used to
create cocoa alternatives. Food-grade microbes are being used to ferment plant materials such as oats or legumes, which can mimic the complex flavour profile of cocoa, helping confectioners reduce their reliance on traditional cocoa, which has been often associated with both ethical
18 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • JULY 2025
and environmental concerns. These cocoa alternatives can support sustainability and also offer supply chain stability in a volatile market.
Sustainable chocolate flavour Fungu’it is a French foodtech startup, specialising in the production of natural flavourings through solid-state fungi fermentation. The company has harnessed the unique potential of filamentous fungi to transform agricultural by-products – such as flaxseed and sunflower press cakes, or legumes – into natural flavourings. Its resource-efficient fermentation method
is said to significantly reduce water and energy consumption when compared with to traditional fermentation solutions. One of its flagship ingredients is a
sustainable chocolate flavour that can reduce the use of cocoa in recipes by up to 25%. This not only lowers dependence on cocoa but also helps curb deforestation and reduces CO emissions linked to intensive cocoa production.
Anas Erridaoui, CEO at Fungu’it,
explains more about the processes used by the company to produce its chocolate flavour. “We use a solid-state fermentation process – a process distinct from the more
commonly used submerged fermentation (SmF),” she says. “We use a range of locally-sourced agricultural by-products, such as wheat bran, brewer’s spent grains, and press cakes, as fermentation material for the chocolate flavour. The fungi grow on the surface of moist solids without the presence of free water. This reduces contamination risk and eliminates the need for sterilisation under pressure. “In terms of energy and water efficiency,
our solid-state production method uses up to 10 times less water than SmF. It also requires between 35% and 50% less energy as there is no need for freeze-drying or intensive mixing. This can reduce the carbon footprint of the finished product by 92%, according to life cycle analyses.” As the fungi metabolise the substrates,
they generate complex flavour molecules. “Depending on the fungal strain, substrate, and fermentation parameters, we can develop a wide variety of flavour profiles – ranging from umami and roasted
fermented THE RISE OF
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