Sweeter Than Sugar: Incredo Rebrands and Raises $30M

Israeli food tech ingredient business Incredo LTD, formerly DouxMatok, announced it has closed a $30 million funding round this week which it will use to expand its research, development and commercialization strategy, as well as accelerate commercial partnerships across the U.S. and Europe. Alongside the raise, the company announced it has rebranded in order to bring its flagship Incredo Sugar product front and center.

The round was led by dsm-firmenich Venturing and Sienna Venture Capital with participation from new investor Teseo Capital and existing investors Pitango and BlueRed Partners. The round also saw participation from chocolate and confectionery corporation Ferrero. According to a spokesperson for Incredo, Ferrero is now a “strategic commercial partner” and currently evaluating its ability to use Incredo Sugar in new innovations.

“Ferrero is collaborating with Incredo to manufacture innovative solutions in the form of an ingredient,” the spokesperson said. “Ferrero strives for excellence and is constantly exploring new ways to develop innovative solutions.”

Incredo sugar is made by binding cane or beet sugar to “natural carriers” of sweetness on a molecular level through a proprietary process which results in a clean-label, low sugar ingredient that retains the same level of sweetness as a full-sugar product. According to the brand, Incredo Sugar delivers between 30% to 50% sugar reduction in food applications.

“Incredo has developed one of the most promising innovations in the food space we’ve seen – a delicious affordable and clean-label product that can reduce the sugar in foods without additives or changes to taste,” said Isabelle Amiel-Azoulai, managing partner at Sienna Venture Capital, in a press release. “Incredo has everything in the right place for Incredo Sugar to appear in products around the world, and our injection of capital will help support this mission-driven company to accelerate its growth.”

Last year, Incredo partnered with two manufacturers – The Blommer Chocolate Company and Batory Foods – and began expanding the ingredient’s availability on a commercial scale. It is now found in a handful of foods including apparel and bar brand Pangaia’s SuperSuper Bar. While the partnership with Ferrero is still in its early stages, a company spokesperson said the ingredient is also being tested by “dozens of companies.”

Incredo may be well positioned to meet those companies’ expectations. As alternative sweeteners, such as non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) and sugar alcohols, continue to come under fire for health-related side effects, consumer demand for low-sugar products has not wavered. Earlier this month, Sweegen secured Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status from the FDA for its new line of brazzein-based alt-sweeteners.

In February, a new study from scientific journal Nature Medicine found a possible link between alt-sweetener Erythritol to an increased risk of heart disease. Earlier this month the World Health Organization (WHO) published new guidance recommending against the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) for weight control and other disease-related mitigation; this includes aspartame, advantame, saccharin, sucralose and stevia as well as its derivatives.

“Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term,” said Francesco Branca, WHO director for nutrition and food safety, in a release. “People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages. NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value.”