Since 2022, a total of ten companies have publicly revealed plans to develop and launch allulose production projects. Around that time, industry statistics showed that most of these companies had capacities ranging roughly between 100 and 1,000 tons—relatively modest and scattered, reflecting a cautious approach to scaling up. However, once allulose gained regulatory approval, many of these same players announced ambitious expansion plans, targeting annual outputs in the tens of thousands of tons.

Take Jinhe Industrial as an example. In 2022, the company mentioned on its investor relations platform that it had an annual allulose production capacity of 1,000 tons and was in the market promotion phase. [8] Then, near the end of 2025, a company representative shared in an interview that Jinhe had essentially completed construction of a flexible production line with an annual capacity of 9,800 tons—effectively reaching 10,000 tons per year. [9]

Yet, amid this flurry of production activity, products containing allulose remain relatively hard to find on store shelves.

In fact, much of the news about food and beverage brands entering this space has come from allulose manufacturers themselves. For instance, Liang Yonghong, Executive Vice President of COFCO Biotechnology’s Starch Sugar Division, noted in an interview that at a September 2025 press conference, companies including Dexin Food, Qiulin Beverage, Mengniu, and Bawangchaji signed letters of intent for cooperation on the spot. [3] Still, only a handful of brands have confirmed using allulose in products already on the market. Even six months after approval, adopters remain few—though, much like on the production side, consumer-facing brands are eager to claim “first-mover” status. In September 2025, Nayuki announced that its core product “Little Green Bottle” had been upgraded, making it the first tea beverage in China to incorporate D-allulose post-approval. [10] Three months later, Yoyi C stated that its zero-sucrose series had taken the lead in reformulating, becoming the first probiotic beverage brand in China to apply D-allulose on a large scale. [11]

However, FBIF found that several brands that had signed cooperation agreements with manufacturers have yet to launch products on their official channels that explicitly list allulose on the label. Bawangchaji’s quality director mentioned in an interview that the company has started testing allulose in its first wave of product development and is actively conducting trials, though a clear launch timeline hasn’t been finalized. [3]

Why is the consumer market so quiet despite the buzz?

“Since the approval in July, the industry has actually been quite active behind the scenes,” Hao Yuxing, a senior executive at allulose producer Micro-Element Synthesis, told FBIF. “But many companies may not have completed their internal project approvals yet, so it’s normal not to see obvious movement in the consumer market for now.”

That “activity” is largely happening on the business-to-business side.

He shared a telling comparison: before allulose was approved, only a few dozen customers had shown clear interest in Micro-Element Synthesis; after approval, that number jumped to several hundred.

But “interest” doesn’t automatically mean “immediate adoption.” From raw material approval to corporate project kickoff, product development, stable production, and finally market launch, there is an inevitable cycle. Yet that’s only part of the story. The more fundamental barrier remains cost—a factor almost every company weighs carefully when evaluating allulose.

At present, allulose is still significantly more expensive than traditional sugars.

“Allulose is undoubtedly a good product,” said Hao Yuxing. “But for large-scale use, costs must come down. Even in the United States, where allulose has been approved for over 15 years, it’s still mainly used in higher-end, price-insensitive applications.”

Data from Zhongda Hengyuan shows that the international price of allulose once reached 40,000–48,000 yuan per ton. With domestic producers entering the market, prices have since dropped to around 20,000–24,000 yuan per ton. Even so, erythritol costs about 10,000 yuan per ton, while white sugar sits at roughly 6,000 yuan per ton.

It’s worth noting, though, that comparing sweetener costs isn’t as simple as looking at price per ton. In practice, food manufacturers care more about cost-per-sweetness—the amount needed to achieve the same sweetness level and the resulting formulation cost.

Yet even when adjusted for sweetness equivalence, allulose still struggles to compete on price. That’s because its sweetness is only about 70% that of sucrose, so in most applications, it doesn’t offer a significant usage advantage. As a result, the cost of allulose typically ends up being three to five times that of white sugar.

The high cost stems from the production process itself.

According to China’s National Health Commission, D-allulose is mainly produced through two methods: one using E. coli fermentation, the other using enzymatic conversion.

The fermentation route uses glucose or sucrose as feedstock, processed through fermentation, purification, and drying with E. coli AS10. Micro-Element Synthesis employs its self-developed one-step fermentation biosynthesis process, using the AS10 strain and corn starch to produce stable, high-purity allulose.

Currently, the most widely used method in the industry is enzymatic conversion. But under this technical route, the enzyme preparations themselves pose a barrier for many companies. Liang Yonghong once noted in an interview that most enzyme suppliers lack early-stage technological reserves and are unlikely to achieve market supply in the short term.

Today, only a few firms have achieved independent R&D of core enzyme preparations—COFCO Group being one of them. Some companies source enzymes from universities or research institutes, like Zhongda Hengyuan, which obtains its enzymes from the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. [3] Others enter production through cooperation with patent holders, such as Fukuan Biotechnology’s collaboration with COFCO Group.

Regardless of the technical route, allulose isn’t like other mature sugars or sugar substitutes, where costs can drop quickly through simple capacity expansion. “Glucose, fructose, and allulose are essentially isomers—they share the same molecular formula and differ only subtly at a single carbon position,” Hao Yuxing explained. “The challenge is separating them from a pool of nearly identical substances.”

So even though allulose has won industry recognition for its functionality, taste, and application potential, cost remains a hurdle it must overcome before entering the mass consumer market.

Not a “sugar substitute,” but a “sugar”

Cost, relatively speaking, limits allulose’s large-scale application for now.

Some insiders predict it’s more likely to first enter niche markets where consumers are less price-sensitive but have clear demand for “healthy sugar,” rather than immediately replacing white sugar across the board.

That doesn’t mean allulose’s application space will be narrow, however.

It’s worth noting that in the National Health Commission’s “Announcement on 20 New Foods Including D-allulose,” allulose was categorized as a new food ingredient. In contrast, the popular sweetener erythritol is listed as a permitted food additive under the GB 26404-2011 standard, allowed in candies, beverages, dairy products, and more as needed.

In fact, food ingredients and food additives are not the same—they differ in definition, usage, and regulation under national standards.

This means that, from a regulatory standpoint, allulose belongs to the same category as white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, not limited to the “artificial sweetener” or functional sweetener category like erythritol.

“Simply put, allulose is ‘sugar’,” Hao Yuxing said. “It can be used anywhere sugar is used.”

From an application perspective, that “anywhere” isn’t limited to beverages. According to Hao, allulose behaves differently in different food systems—its sweetness, mouthfeel, and overall performance vary in water, milk, or complex beverage and baking matrices.

As a result, categories that rely more on sugar’s structural functions and flavor integrity—such as baked goods, pastries, ice cream, yogurt, and other dairy products—are likely to be among the first application scenarios for allulose.

This also suggests that allulose adoption won’t be concentrated in a single category.

Judging from the application directions disclosed by producers like Micro-Element Synthesis and Zhongda Hengyuan, besides beverages, baking, ice cream, yogurt, and dairy have all been included in key exploration plans. These categories rely on sugar for structure and have higher demands for sweetness authenticity, making it easier to leverage allulose’s advantages.

When allulose finally reaches consumers in a bigger way, its path may differ from erythritol’s, which was propelled by a few breakout products. Instead, allulose may spread in a more decentralized and diversified manner.

“What becomes available to consumers will be truly diverse—covering almost everything you can imagine,” Hao Yuxing reflected. “All kinds of application scenarios, expected and unexpected, will emerge.” He offered a vivid illustration: “You might be in the middle of something and suddenly think—if only we could replace the sugar here with allulose. And by 2026, you might find someone has already done exactly that.”

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