As the world gravitates to healthier food choices, the popularity of alternative sweeteners continues to surge. Gourmet Pro has listed Next Gen Sweeteners as one of its top food trends for 2024 and according to Whole Foods Magazine, the shift in tastes will be towards natural flavors and ingredients. For consumers, the demand for healthy options with a lower calorie content will also continue to drive tastes.

According to Sarah Diedrich, Marketing Director at Global Sweetening & Texturizing, ADM, the alternative sugar trend is being driven by the fact that 80% of U.S. adults are actively engaged in sugar reduction, while 57% of U.S. consumers are taking specific actions to manage their blood sugar.

But almost as viral as the shift towards alternative sweeteners, is the movement refuting their safety. Scientific articles on artificial sweeteners have been growing at an annual rate of 6.28%, with an average of close to 8000 authors per year.

So which sweeteners are poised to dominate the alternative sweetener market in the months and years to come, and how safe are they? Here are a few.

This alternative sugar has gained appeal for its application in foods for young

children. Environmentally friendly and hypoallergenic, it is considered to be a healthy alternative to plain sugar. It is also sweeter and has fewer calories than sugar, with a high nutrient and vitamin profile. Swicily, organic grape sugar from Sicily, based in the UK, is a liquid sugar made from organic grapes. According to Swicily, its “naturally high sweetening power smoothly melts with food, offering an absolutely balanced sweet experience with fewer calories per serving and lower glycemic load.”

Named as one of the top food trends for 2023 by Whole Foods, dates were most recently popularized for having sold for a staggering 40,000 riyals in Saudi Arabia for a single carton. The drive towards dates as a sweetener and as a food has been driven by consumer interest in natural and clean products. Dates are a good source of fiber, potassium, calcium, and antioxidants. A 2009 study of 12 different sweeteners found that date sugar has the highest antioxidant content. 2020 research confirmed that dates are high in anthocyanins, a pigment found in dark berries and fruit that’s chock full of antioxidants. This nutrient profile makes whole dates a great option to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Dates also make a terrific alternative for refined sugar in sauces and desserts. You can easily blend whole dates into a batter or liquid. Companies make this process even easier by selling date paste, date syrup, and date sugar (which is made from dehydrated and ground dates). Since these options still have the same nutrients found in whole dates it makes for a very healthy sugar alternative.

Stevia is one of the more popular safe and natural alternatives to sugar, having earned it FDA approval in 2008. Stevia originates from the South American stevia plant, and can be consumed in powder or liquid form and is calorie-free, 100 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, but does not impact blood sugar like sugar. Having been around for slightly longer than some other natural sugar alternatives, the global market for Stevia grew to approximately $761 million in 2022 and is expected to grow further at a CAGR of 10.8% between 2023 and 2028.

Also known as Luo Han Guo, monk fruit is gaining popularity as a non-caloric, natural sweetener. Monk fruit extract comes from a sweet melon grown in Southeast Asia and is used as a traditional herbal remedy in China for coughing and sore throats, as a longevity aid, and as a sweetener.

Like stevia, monk fruit is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar. One benefit of monk fruit is it lacks the bitter aftertaste associated with stevia. This makes it more appealing for many consumers looking for a low-calorie option that won’t spike blood sugar.

Preliminary research also shows that monk fruit contains antioxidants that in turn could support the immune system, digestive tract, and respiratory system. In terms of safety, The FDA has also declared monk fruit extract as safe.

Allulose is an emerging sweetener, naturally occuring in fruits such as figs and raisins and has received more controversial reviews than the other alternative sweeteners on this list. Structurally similar to regular sugar but about 70% as sweet and with 90% fewer calories, scientists have only recently discovered how to produce allulose on a larger scale, making it the new kid in town, as far as alternative sweeteners go.