DouxMatok, developer of targeted flavor delivery technologies, has announced $8.1 million in funding to commercialize its patented sugar reduction solution by the end of 2018. Tests conducted by food and beverage multinationals have confirmed that, when using DouxMatok sugars, they can reduce up to 40 percent of the sugar content in their products while retaining the same taste profile. The funding round was led by Israel’s largest venture capital fund, Pitango, with the participation of existing shareholders, including Gil Horsky and FoodLab Capital.
By maximizing the efficiency of sugar delivery to the taste buds and enhancing the perception of sweetness, DouxMatok significantly reduces the caloric value and sugar levels of products. Perception of sweetness is stronger and lingers longer, resulting in higher satisfaction and reduced craving for sweetness. Unlike sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners, DouxMatok carries no aftertaste and is produced using sustainable green chemistry principles while being fully compliant with FDA and EU regulations.
Following successful sensory validation and pilot testing, the company is currently working closely with leading food and beverage multinationals to scale up and commercialize the first consumer products with DouxMatok’s sugar reduction technology.
“This round of financing facilitates speeding up our scale-up and commercialization,” says DouxMatok co-founder and CEO Eran Baniel. “We hope that DouxMatok will become a trusted leading brand in the efforts to reduce sugar consumption to healthier levels, so we can continue to enjoy the foods we love. Given all the investment opportunities they explore, we’re proud that Pitango chose DouxMatok and are already contributing to our speedy progress. We are grateful to Gil Horsky and FoodLab Capital, our existing investors, for their continued support.”
“The potential of DouxMatok’s technology is immense,” says Ittai Harel, managing general partner with Pitango. “Having been tested independently by third-party evaluators, as well as by major food manufacturers, the company has proven its ability to achieve desired sweetness level with significantly reduced sugar content. Major food manufacturers are actively seeking healthy, viable alternatives to the high levels of added sugar currently in use, and we are confident DouxMatok will become an enabler and trusted partner to the industry and for consumers in this mission.”
“The obesity and diabetes epidemics and their broader societal consequences are shifting the way consumers and policymakers are thinking about food,” says Gil Horsky, an executive in the food industry. “They are expecting food companies to be part of the solution by reducing the amount of sugar in their products … DouxMatok enables food manufacturers for the first time to provide their consumers with the exact same taste they know and love, but with significantly lower sugar content; that is game-changing for the industry.”