Spark Change brands satiate sugar cravings with healthy alternatives

The Product Discovery Zone at Spark Change provides a great firsthand look at many of the brands exemplifying the trends and macro forces that will shape the natural products industry for years to come.

This Spark Change-inspired series shines the spotlight on some of these brands by highlighting a different trend each week.

Trend of the week: Sugar Vilified

Brands exemplifying the Sugar Vilified trend take a multipronged approach to replacing sugar in their product lines through the use of low glycemic food-based sweeteners, zero calorie alternatives or by redefining the sensation of sweet cravings with new flavors (savory, bitter) and formats (sparkling).

1. Lily's Sweets

Lily's Sweets uses stevia to sweeten its line of delectable, Fair Trade certified chocolate snacks and baking ingredients. Consumers can find everything from birthday cake-flavored white chocolate to butterscotch baking chips to milk chocolate-covered almonds. And the lack of refined or processed sugars makes these products perfect for those following a keto, paleo or low-glycemic diet. Find Lily's Sweets in the Product Discovery Zone.

2. Just Date

Need an organic, whole food sweetener with a low glycemic index? Look no further! Just Date is capitalizing on consumers' emerging interest in alternatives to sugar that aren't necessarily the zero-calorie lab concoctions prevalent in diet culture. Drizzle the date-based syrup in coffee, on pancakes or in a mocktail in place of simple syrup to deliver all the sweetness with an added boost of nutrients. The company also recently launched an Organic Pomegranate Molasses derived from (you guessed it) pomegranate juice. Find Just Date in the Product Discovery Zone.

3. Amore Congelato

Amore Congelato's date-sweetened sorbet and gelato come in many enticing flavors like Honey Butter Pecan and Oatmilk Peach Cobbler. The company is owned by a Black, female veteran who wanted to make eating ice cream as healthy an experience as she could for her young daughter. Amore Congelato's products contain 16 essential vitamins and minerals and far more fiber, iron, potassium and calcium than your average scoop of ice cream. Find Amore Congelato in the Product Discovery Zone.

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