According to industry data, the global sugar substitute market reached $22.1 billion in 2024, marking an 8.1% year-on-year increase. China’s market, meanwhile, stood at RMB 10.1 billion, with a growth rate of 20.9% — far exceeding the global average. In terms of penetration, sugar substitutes accounted for only about 10% of the global sweetener ingredient market in 2019, indicating substantial room for expansion. The current ratio between natural and artificial sweeteners is roughly 4:6, but as health awareness deepens and new natural sweeteners are developed, the penetration of natural options is steadily rising.
Among the many natural sweeteners, allulose stands out as one of the most promising newcomers, thanks to its taste profile, which closely resembles that of sucrose, and its excellent functional properties. Allulose is about 70% as sweet as sucrose but contains only 0.3% of the calories. It does not participate in human glucose metabolism and causes no significant fluctuations in blood sugar or insulin levels. Studies have also shown that allulose offers a range of physiological benefits, including neuroprotection, blood sugar regulation, and lipid reduction, while being better tolerated by the digestive system compared to sugar alcohols.
Notably, allulose is the only sugar substitute capable of undergoing the Maillard reaction — the chemical process responsible for the golden-brown color and appealing aroma of baked goods like breads and pastries. Traditional sweeteners cannot replicate this effect. As a result, allulose is expected to help expand the application of sugar substitutes from beverages into a wider array of food categories, including baked goods, confectionery, and condiments.
To date, allulose has been approved as a food ingredient in several countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Singapore. The global allulose market was valued at approximately 200 million in 2024 and is projected to reach 500 million by 2030. In China, the approval process has been advancing steadily. In 2021, the National Health Commission (NHC) accepted the application to classify allulose as a new food ingredient. In 2024, D-allulose-3-epimerase was approved as a food processing enzyme. Finally, on July 2, 2025, the NHC and the State Administration for Market Regulation officially approved allulose as a new food ingredient — a milestone that opens the door for its application in the domestic market.
In terms of downstream applications, sugar-free beverages remain the dominant segment for sugar substitutes. China’s sugar-free beverage market reached RMB 57.05 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% between 2019 and 2024. However, the penetration rate for sugar-free beverages in China is only about 10%, far lower than in developed countries such as Japan. Sugar-free tea and carbonated sugar-free drinks are the two main categories, with sugar-free sparkling water gaining rapid popularity thanks to the “zero sugar, zero calories” concept, driving demand for sweeteners like erythritol. With the growing adoption of allulose, both the taste and health profile of beverages are expected to improve further.
Looking at consumer demographics, young women are the primary buyers of sugar-free beverages. Their top concerns are product taste, health and fat-reduction benefits, and ingredient composition. This suggests that consumers are less price-sensitive and more focused on balancing health with flavor — a favorable environment for novel sweeteners like allulose, which satisfy taste needs while offering functional health benefits.
From an industry chain perspective, only a handful of companies worldwide have achieved large-scale allulose production. Among domestic players, Bailong Chuangyuan was the first in China to commercialize allulose, with current crystal allulose capacity of 15,000 tons, and is building an additional nearly 20,000 tons of capacity at its factory in Thailand. Their products include resistant dextrin, polydextrose, oligosaccharides and so on.
In international markets, the application of allulose is growing rapidly. Between 2017 and 2021, the number of new products containing allulose in the Asia-Pacific region surged by 1,300%. Major brands such as Coca-Cola, Suntory, and Uni-President have launched allulose-containing beverages. Allulose is also showing broad potential in confectionery, condiments, sports nutrition, weight management, and even diabetes-specific foods. For example, Halo Top in the U.S. offers a low-sugar ice cream combining allulose and inulin, which preserves taste while reducing fat absorption. Japan has included allulose in its list of foods for diabetic patients, with studies showing it can suppress post-meal blood sugar spikes by up to 25%.
Source from: Sohu