Innovation in the ingredient world is not as fast as sports nutrition products on the consumer side, but when it does happen, it’s incredibly exciting. The better-for-you brand Oobli, which makes a catalog of more health-conscious chocolates, has one of those innovations on its hands in oubli fruit. It is something that could not only be utilized by sports nutrition companies, but more importantly, functional food creators, giving them the ability to add more flavor without sugar.
Oobli uses brazzein, a naturally occurring sweet protein found in the oubli fruit of West Africa. Unlike artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols, brazzein is a protein that activates sweet taste receptors and doesn’t contribute any sugar. Using precision fermentation, Oobli can now produce brazzein at scale without relying on the fruit itself, offering a highly concentrated sweetener that’s up to 5,000 times sweeter than sugar by weight and fully digestible as protein.
Brazzein’s protein structure allows it to bypass the metabolic effects of traditional sugars and sweeteners, so no blood glucose spike, insulin impact, or lingering bitterness. In practical use, it enables up to 90% sugar reduction in various food and beverage applications, including dairy, snacks, and baked goods. Oobli’s fermentation method is not only scalable and cost-effective, it also delivers significant environmental benefits by reducing land, water, and carbon use.
Oobli heavily uses the innovative oubli sweet protein in its variety of better-for-you chocolates, and does result in lower sugar and carbohydrates compared to regular chocolate. We feel dedicated nutrition brands could push things even further, and Oobli does work with other companies. To use its breakthrough sweetener, there is a page on its website for brands to reach out, get their hands on more information, and put the ingredient to use in their own innovations.