Key takeaways:
- Trehalose is gaining relevance because it helps products retain texture and stability as sugar reduction accelerates.
- Bakery and snacks are leading adoption, but use is spreading across dairy, beverages and confectionery.
- Rather than replacing sugar for sweetness, trehalose is being used to protect eating quality and shelf life.
Trehalose isn’t the kind of ingredient that arrives with hype. It doesn’t feature in front-of-pack claims; it isn’t trending on social media; and most consumers wouldn’t recognize the name. Yet inside formulation teams, it keeps coming up in conversations about how food is expected to behave in 2026 and beyond.
That’s why trehalose earns a place on the ingredients-to-watch list. Not because it’s new, but because several pressures that once sat separately are now converging. Sugar reduction hasn’t slowed. Texture tolerance is lower. Distribution chains are longer. Products are expected to hold their eating quality from first bite to last, often weeks after production.
That combination is pushing brands to take a fresh look at ingredients that don’t shout but solve.
Trehalose is a naturally occurring sugar found in small amounts in foods such as mushrooms, yeast, honey and some insects. In nature, it acts as a protective sugar, helping organisms survive dehydration, heat and other forms of stress. The trehalose used in food manufacturing, however, isn’t harvested from those sources. It’s produced at scale via enzymatic conversion of starch, typically derived from corn or tapioca. The process recreates the same trehalose molecule found in nature, but in a form that’s consistent, food-safe and suitable for large-scale use.
Chemically, trehalose is a disaccharide made up of two glucose units. Practically, it’s about 45%-50% as sweet as sucrose, which is why it’s rarely used as a direct sugar replacement. Its value lies in function: binding water; stabilizing proteins and fats; and helping protect structure under stress. In a reformulation environment where small texture failures can undermine repeat purchase, those properties are becoming increasingly relevant.
Why trehalose makes the 2026 watchlist
Trehalose hasn’t suddenly become available, but what’s evolved is how many formulation challenges it now helps address at once.
Globally, sugar reduction remains one of the strongest drivers of reformulation. Data from Euromonitor International shows that more than half of new food and beverage launches worldwide in 2024 carried some form of sugar-related positioning, whether reduced sugar, no added sugar or lower sweetness – a trend that has continued into 2025 and shows little sign of easing in 2026.
But the next phase of sugar reduction isn’t about claims. It’s about performance. Brands have already reduced sugar and are now dealing with the consequences. Lower sugar often means faster staling, weaker structure and thinner mouthfeel. Add protein, fiber or functional ingredients, and those effects tend to show up sooner rather than later.
Trehalose helps narrow that gap. Its ability to retain moisture and stabilize proteins allows products to hold their intended texture for longer. That matters most in bakery and snacks, but the same logic applies to dairy desserts, beverages and confectionery.
Scientific research supports this role. A 2022 review published in Frontiers in Nutrition described trehalose as a multifunctional carbohydrate capable of protecting food components against heat and dehydration stress. Earlier studies in Food Chemistry and the Journal of Food Science have shown that trehalose helps stabilize proteins and limit moisture migration in processed foods – effects that directly influence mouthfeel by preserving softness, reducing dryness, and maintaining a fuller, more rounded texture over shelf life. A 2023 study in Food Microbiology also noted trehalose’s role in limiting the growth of unwanted microorganisms under certain preservation conditions, reinforcing its value in maintaining both texture and product integrity over time.
Looking ahead to 2026, the question for brands has shifted. They aren’t asking whether they can reduce sugar. They’re asking how to stop products from falling apart once they do.
Bakery and snacks feel the pressure first
Bakery and snack categories tend to be the earliest stress test for reformulation strategies, and trehalose’s uptake reflects that. Soft-baked bars, cookies, crackers and cereal-based snacks face a growing list of demands: less sugar, more protein, added fiber, longer shelf life and consistent texture across distribution.
Sugar reduction alone can dry out crumb structure. Protein fortification accelerates firmness. Fiber changes water dynamics altogether.
Trehalose doesn’t fix every problem, but it helps manage several at once. By retaining moisture without increasing sweetness, it can slow crumb firming in soft-baked products and support structure in crackers and baked snacks. In frozen bakery, trehalose’s cryoprotective properties help preserve yeast activity and dough integrity through freeze–thaw cycles, an increasingly important factor as bake-off formats expand globally.
Commercial supply remains relatively concentrated. Global ingredient companies such as Cargill distribute food-grade trehalose into multiple markets, while Japanese producers, including manufacturers associated with Nagase & Co, remain key players in trehalose production. That concentration has kept trehalose positioned as a specialty carbohydrate rather than a commodity sugar, with pricing tied to functional performance rather than sweetness equivalence.
For manufacturers, the trade-off is often worth it. Trehalose may add cost, but it can reduce reliance on additional stabilizers, shorten reformulation cycles and protect eating quality over shelf life.
Relevance is widening
Although bakery and snacks dominate current use, trehalose’s relevance is spreading across food categories.
In dairy desserts and frozen treats, trehalose helps manage ice crystallization and texture stability, supporting smoother mouthfeel over time. In beverages, particularly reduced-sugar or functionally positioned drinks, it can help round sweetness perception and protect sensitive ingredients.
Confectionery manufacturers are also exploring trehalose, especially in chocolate and sugar confectionery designed for portion control or slower consumption. Here, the goal isn’t sweetness reduction alone, but texture consistency and controlled flavor release.
Industry estimates place the global trehalose market on a mid-single-digit compound annual growth rate, with Asia-Pacific remaining the largest production and consumption hub, and North America and Europe showing steady growth driven by bakery, confectionery, dairy and beverages.
From an editorial perspective, trehalose stands out not because it’s disruptive, but because it fits where food formulation is heading. Fewer silver bullets. More ingredients that quietly make products work better.
A functional role by design
Trehalose isn’t built for consumer-facing storytelling. It doesn’t lend itself to bold claims or education campaigns – and that isn’t a weakness.
As skepticism toward big functional promises grows, ingredients that work in the background are gaining value. Trehalose allows brands to improve texture, stability and shelf life while keeping messaging focused elsewhere.
For bakery and snack manufacturers, it offers a way to protect eating quality as reformulation pressures intensify. For dairy, beverages and confectionery, it provides flexibility as sugar strategies evolve.
Trehalose isn’t about what food says it does. It’s about how food behaves. In 2026, that distinction matters.
Trehalose 101
What it is: A naturally occurring sugar made up of two glucose units, used primarily for its functional properties rather than sweetness.
Where it comes from: Found in nature in small amounts in mushrooms, yeast, honey and other organisms. Commercial food-grade trehalose (a colorless, odorless crystalline powder that is soluble in water) is produced via enzymatic conversion of starch, typically from corn or tapioca, creating the same molecule found in nature but at scale.
Sweetness: Roughly 45%-50% as sweet as sucrose.
What it does: Helps retain moisture, stabilize proteins and fats, protect structure and support texture and shelf life.
Applications: Bakery and snacks, frozen bakery, confectionery, dairy desserts and selected beverage applications.
How it’s used: It’s typically used at 10%-30% as a substitute for sucrose, depending on the application and the desired balance between sweetness, texture and stability. In specific formats, such as dry meringues, trehalose can fully replace sugar without compromising structure. Formulators account for trehalose’s functional characteristics, including a solids content of around 95%, a relative sweetness (POD) of approximately 45%, and a freezing point depression (PAC) of about 100%, to ensure correct application across baked, frozen and shelf-stable products.
Regulatory status: Approved for food use in the US, EU and major global markets.
Why it matters now: Helps offset texture and stability losses linked to sugar reduction and functional reformulation.
Studies:
Chen A, Tapia H, Goddard JM, Gibney PA. Trehalose and its applications in the food industry. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2022 Nov;21(6):5004-5037. https://doi.10.1111/1541-4337.13048
Li, L.; Wang, P.; Xu, Y.; Wu, X.; Liu, X. Effect of Trehalose on the Physicochemical Properties of Freeze-Dried Powder of Royal Jelly of Northeastern Black Bee. Coatings 2022, 12, 173. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12020173
Zhongpeng Guo, Moying Li, et al. Trehalose metabolism targeting as a novel strategy to modulate acid tolerance of yeasts and its application in food industry, Food Microbiology, Volume 114, 2023, 104300, ISSN 0740-0020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2023.104300
