Ingredients firm Tate & Lyle has launched a Clean Label Mayonnaise Solutions Toolkit to help manufacturers reduce oil and egg in mayonnaise and dressings without losing the texture and stability shoppers expect. The launch targets producers dealing with shorter ingredient lists, nutrition goals and rising pressure on formulation costs.
What is in the toolkit
The package brings together three elements: the company’s Sensation sensory and formulation tool, Claria functional clean label starch and Nutrava citrus fiber. It begins by identifying the texture consumers prefer, then matches ingredients to the product brief and the maker’s manufacturing conditions.
Why reformulation is getting harder
Alisson Borges, senior manager for Soups, Sauces and Dressings & Dairy Application at Tate & Lyle, said manufacturers are rarely reformulating for a single reason anymore.
“They may need a cleaner label, lower oil or egg, better nutrition, and a formulation that helps manage cost and supply exposure within the same brief,” she said. Looking at one challenge in isolation, she warned, can create trade-offs elsewhere.
The company says cutting oil or removing egg changes far more than the ingredient list. Manufacturers must rework formulations to keep emulsion stability, viscosity and mouthfeel intact, which can add development time and processing complexity.
Texture comes first
Tate & Lyle said its Sensation research in the UK and Germany found that mayonnaise preference is linked to moderate viscosity and a stronger elastic structure, rather than viscosity alone. The work builds on the firm’s focus on sensory-led reformulation, which uses consumer preference mapping to preserve mouthfeel when fat, sugar or additives are reduced.
In the toolkit, Claria starch supports viscosity and structure. Nutrava, a certified upcycled ingredient made from citrus peels, helps bind water and keep emulsions stable during high-shear processing, according to the company.
A dressing with 10% oil and no egg
In one customer project, a regional food manufacturer wanted a vegan, clean label salad dressing with far less oil and no egg. Early prototypes fell short on structure, creaminess and eating quality.
Combining the starch and citrus fiber with the Sensation tool produced a dressing with 10% oil and no egg that delivered the required stability, texture and flow, Tate & Lyle said. The formulation could also replace up to three traditional texturizers.
The project is part of wider validation work across systems containing 50%, 30% and 10% oil. Ingredient choice and processing will vary depending on oil content, egg reduction targets and the customer’s production setup.
Earlier consumer evidence
At Food Matters Live Rotterdam 2025, participants in a Tate & Lyle tasting chose a reduced-fat mayonnaise containing xanthan gum over a full-fat version in a blind vote, the company noted.
Beyond ingredient cost
Tate & Lyle said affordability should be judged beyond the price of ingredients in the recipe. Savings, it said, must be weighed against processing demands and whether the finished product delivers an eating experience that brings shoppers back.