Sugars are integral to most food products, providing or enhancing taste, texture, and stability. Because of health concerns, consumers want products with less sugar but that still have great taste. Many sugar substitutes are available, but every product system has unique characteristics and trade-offs, and this can create uncertainty for the product developer. Design thinking approaches give product developers a way to consider how best to reduce sugar. This article, Part 1 of a 2-part series, discusses sugars and their role in foods. The design thinking framework of desirability, feasibility, and viability is introduced along with practical examples. A separate article, Part 2, will explore how the framework can be applied across a wide range of product examples.
