Truvia brand and Freshens, the largest frozen yogurt and smoothie company in the U.S., have collaborated to create a new frozen yogurt base formula sweetened with Truvia rebiana that has no sugar added and is both fat-free and lower in calories compared to the original formula. The latest Truvia rebiana sweetened formulation marks a new milestone for the company, as it replaces Freshens' 25-year-old original recipe in all menu offerings available to consumers nationwide.
"We challenged the Truvia brand to create an alternative base for yogurt and smoothies that would be identical or better than our current formulation with 25 percent fewer calories," says Ed Redmond, senior vice president at Freshens Quality Brands. "What they came back with exceeds our expectations so much that all original base mixes will change over to the naturally-sweetened base with Truvia rebiana."
"The applications team at Cargill brings unparalleled knowledge and know-how to change a recipe to reduce calories and sugars while maintaining its taste and quality," says Simon Almaer, product line director, Truvia ingredient for Cargill Health & Nutrition. "The introduction of Freshens' new product line is another example of the innovative solutions the Truvia brand helps food and beverage companies develop."
Freshens has always used natural yogurt ingredients with live and active probiotic cultures and is the only retail concept that fortifies each smoothie mix with 100 percent of vitamins A, C, D, E, and 25 percent calcium. Freshens’ original frozen yogurt base is sweetened with cane sugar. The brand will launch its new Truvia-based products with a related messaging campaign to communicate the dedication to natural ingredients, while highlighting the better-for-you nutritional changes to their loyal customer base, which primarily consists of 18-24 year-olds living on college campuses.
"Our consumers want frozen yogurt and smoothie offerings with fewer sugar carbohydrates," Redmond says. "We're eager to post the new formulation's calorie count on our menu boards and to discuss how the Truvia brand has helped us reposition our product to appeal to more health-conscious consumers.”
Just over two years on the market, the Truvia brand continues to set the trend in the sugar substitute category. As the number two sugar substitute, Truvia natural sweetener has achieved a 12.7 percent share of U.S. retail sales of the sugar substitutes category, surpassing Merisant's Equal (aspartame) for the past 17 months and Sweet'N Low for the past 12 weeks.
