Worldwide, bakers are facing historically low margins due to rising raw material costs, including for one essential ingredient: sugar. 

Since 2019, sugar prices have soared by more than 50%¹, leaving the baking industry challenged. As a result, formulators and bakers are left with the options to change their recipe, and compromise on quality – or ultimately, have consumers pay the price. 

With Optiva LS Prime from Novonesis, a global leader in biosolutions, formulators can help bakers reduce the amount of sugar in their formulation and still achieve the same sweetness level, making them less dependent on the crucial ingredient. Optiva LS works by converting starch into sugar, resulting in improved sweetness with less added sugar, without compromising taste or quality. 

Same high quality and better margins

Cost and quality are top of mind for nearly half of consumers when choosing bread², while 72% of consumers remain concerned about increasing everyday costs³. 

Optiva LS Prime can help formulators manage their customers' volatile raw material prices, improve their margins – and according to sensory tests⁴ – achieve the same high sensory quality that consumers expect. 

"With the ongoing increase and fluctuations in raw material costs and consumers expecting affordable baked goods with high sensory quality, bakers are facing tough decisions. With Optiva LS Prime, we're introducing a breakthrough solution that helps reduce reliance on sugar without sacrificing sweetness or quality. This innovation not only creates a robust bottom line for bakeries but also meets the growing demand for high quality baked goods”, says Adam Benjamin Vestergaard Diggle, head of Baking.

^1. London International Financial Futures Exchange. Measure of sugar #5 Futures

^2. Innova Category Insights 2024

^3. Euromonitor Top Global Consumer Trends 2025

^4. Independent study by ISI Sensory 2025