This Chocolate Won't Spike Your Blood Sugar—And It's Made From Farm Waste

On a recent Tuesday at 9 a.m., I did the unthinkable. I ate a milk chocolate bar for breakfast. Breaking off square by decadent square in the morning light felt rebellious, and I braced myself for a sugar high, an upset stomach, a day-long headache. But the crash never came. That's because the bar I was eating wasn't made from normal sugar or sugar substitute, but Supplant—a new type of sweetener made from plant fiber waste.

Supplant founder Thomas Simmons, Ph.D., first got the idea to start his company four years ago while working as a plant scientist. He was one of many researchers looking into ways to transform agricultural fibers1—the structural parts of plants that protect the seeds inside—into usable products.

As it stands now, we eat a relatively small portion of the food that we grow. Ninety percent of the time, plant fibers like the cobs of corn or the stalks of wheat are thrown away, burned, or used around the farm for things like animal bedding.

These tough fibers1 are composed of sugar molecules that are held together in a way that is impossible for humans to digest, making them pretty worthless to us. But Simmons wondered if it was possible to give this material new value by breaking it down into edible sugars.

He proved it's possible with Supplant. The product is made by physically crushing the plant fibers (sourced from farms in Europe) into smaller pieces—then recruiting fungi to break them down even further. These fungi produce enzymes that are uniquely equipped to break down the fiber on a molecular level, into chains that are short enough to resemble the sugar we're used to.

The result is a white powder that tastes and acts just like table sugar but has half the calories. And, unlike other low-calorie sugar substitutes, it retains the natural properties of fiber (which most Americans2 aren't getting the recommended daily intake of): It's prebiotic with a relatively low glycemic index, meaning it's less likely to spike blood sugar than a typical sweet treat.

Making edible treats like Supplant is just one way we can repurpose fiber waste on farms in the future. Other companies are also starting to do so for things like sustainable biofuels and building materials. But, as Simmons tells mbg, plant fiber is "the most abundant renewable resource we have on the planet" and the more ways we can find to use it, the better.

As far as the possibilities for sugars made from fiber, he says "The scale is sort of limitless." For starters, they make for a delicious chocolate bar. And as I saw during a four-course tasting dinner at high-end restaurant Per Se, where Supplant is featured on the menu, they're versatile: Even more savory dishes like baked beans and onion tarts benefited from the subtle sweetness.

Simmons hopes to continue to roll out the sugar in restaurants and Supplant branded products while also starting to replace the sugar currently in brand-name treats people reach for daily—cereals, cookies, etc.