A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
YOUR SWEETENER BUYING GUIDE
By Adriane Campos
MEET THE BRANDS
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​In my continuous quest to discover all sweeteners in stores across the United States, I found hundreds of brands which are listed below
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Beet and cane sugars are the most widely available sweeteners; forty forms of cane sugar are sold under eighty brand names
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Stevia (pure leaf extract, liquid, powder) is sold in almost twenty different ingredient combinations and about a hundred brand names
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Honey, with more than three hundred varieties, and maple syrup have the most brand names of all sweeteners
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Looking for organic sweeteners? Find below USDA's organic seal displayed on the lower right corner of organic options
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Looking for fair trade sweeteners? Find below fair trade seals displayed on the lower left corner of fair trade options
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Looking for flavored sweeteners? Options are overwhelming! Popular flavors: vanilla, chocolate (cocoa), caramel, hazelnut, and fruit
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Brand names of sweeteners with storefronts on Amazon are listed below, from small to big sellers. Click here for flavored options.
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There is A LOT to see here as some companies own many brands. Scroll down to explore all brands or make your selection below:
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Julian Bakery Pure Monk
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MonkSweet (Steviva)
A-B SWEETENER BRANDS
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Aunt Patty's brand is part of GloryBee, a family-owned and operated company in Eugene, Oregon. GloryBee brand specializes in honey varieties from small local beekeepers. Aunt Patty's is a brand of a variety of caloric sweeteners in liquid, powder, and granules form. About half of their sugars and syrups are available in organic version. The company is transparent in how their sweeteners are produced and sourced. Their website is very informative.
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Billington's brand of cane sugars is sold in the U.S. by Wholesome Sweeteners. Billington's is one of Europe's leading brands of imported traditional unrefined and raw cane sugars sourced from sugar mills in Mauritius, Malawi and Brazil. Owned by The Associated British Foods Group (AB Foods), an international food, ingredients and retail group. AB Foods owns 26% of Wholesome Sweeteners (see W- sweeteners below) and British Sugars (producer of beet sugars). AB Foods sugar division is called AB Sugar.
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Bob’s Red Mill is an employee-owned company that started by selling whole grains milled the traditional way. Currently distributes over 400 food products under the brand Bob's Red Mill sold all over the United States. It was founded in 1978 by Bob Moore, that now is in his 80s and is the face you see displayed on every single bag of product they sell. It is based in Milwaukie, Oregon. The company packages and distributes seven caloric sweeteners: cane, date, and coconut sugars.
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Born Sweet is a brand of stevia and agave owned by American Sugar Refinery or ASR Group. The brands C&H, Domino Sugar, Tate & Lyle Sugars, Lyle's Syrups, and Florida Crystals are also part of ASR and distributed by Domino Foods. Born Sweet Blue Agave is available in two forms: raw (heated at a much lower temperature, more full-bodied flavor, rich amber color) and golden (filtered more times, mild taste). Born Sweet line of stevia is called Zing and contains stevia leaf extract (organic or not) and glucose.
C-E SWEETENER BRANDS
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C&H is the most well known brand of refined sugar on the West Coast. It is sold since 1906. C&H cane sugars are refined in the U.S. from imported and/or domestic raw sugar at the C&H Sugar Company Refinery, located in Crockett, California. C&H and Domino are brands owned by American Sugar Refining or ASR Group, the producer of about 60% of the total refined cane sugar in the country. C&H sugars are kosher certified and Non-GMO Project Verified.
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Domino Sugar and C&H are sister brands, that sell essentially the same sugars. Domino is the most well-known brand of refined sugar on the East Coast, where it is predominantly sold since 1901. Sugars are refined in the U.S. from imported and/or domestic raw sugars. Domino Sugars Refineries are located East of the Mississipi River: two on the coast in Yonkers, NY & Baltimore, MD, and one near cane plantations close to New Orleans in Arabi, LA. Their sugars are kosher certified and Non-GMO Project Verified.
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Equal brand, known for its little blue packets, was the first aspartame sweetener sold in the U.S. It is owned by Merisant, based in Chicago, IL, a company that manufactures and sells sweeteners in more than 90 countries. Besides Equal, Merisant also owns Whole Earth Sweetener Co. and PureVia, which are brands of stevia-based sweeteners. Today, Equal is a brand of a variety of sweeteners, not only with aspartame, but also with saccharin, sucralose and stevia. Equal Plus is a new line of sweeteners with vitamins and minerals that came out in 2019.
F-H SWEETENER BRANDS
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Florida Crystals brand of cane sugars and syrups is owned by Florida Crystals Corp., which pioneered organic sugar farming in the country and is America’s only producer of certified organic sugar. Sugars are produced in two sugar mills in South Florida and a sugar refinery that refines raw sugar from domestic sources. Owned by the Fanjul brothers, a Florida-based Cuban American family, that in 1998 partnered with the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida to create American Sugar Refining (ASR).
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GloryBee brand is owned by GloryBee, a family-owned and operated company in Eugene, Oregon. It includes honey varieties from small local beekeepers in the Pacific Northwest, and imported organic honey from cooperatives of small beekeepers. GloryBee sweeteners in a straw called HoneyStix, with many flavored versions, and AgaveStix are practical on the go options. The company has a very informative website. It also owns the Aunt Patty's brand of sweeteners referred above.
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Health Garden brand is a full line of gluten-free, non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher, and low glycemic sweeteners. Owned by Health Garden, a company launched in 2010 and based in Spring Valley, NY. Health Garden claims to be the leading brand of natural sweeteners in the U.S.
I-K SWEETENER BRANDS
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In The Raw brand is owned by Cumberland Packing Corporation, which packages and distributes sweeteners sold under the brands Sugar In The Raw, Agave In The Raw, Stevia In The Raw, Honey In The Raw, and Monk Fruit In The Raw. The company, family-owned and based in NY, is known for their saccharin tabletop sweetener sold under the brand Sweet'N Low, introduced in the U.S. almost 60 years ago. Cumberland's other brands include: NatraTaste, Sweet One and Sweet Magic.
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India Tree brand of sugars are sourced and distributed by India Tree Gourmet Spices & Specialties, based in Seattle, WA. It includes three fair trade certified cane sugars: two unrefined sugars (light and dark muscovado) and a raw sugar (demerara); all imported from Mauritius, a volcanic island off the Southeast Coast of Africa. Two of India Tree sugars are refined sugars from cane with very small crystals: Caster and Fondant/Icing. Check out my blog posts on India Tree Dark Muscovado and Light Muscovado.
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KAL brand was founded in 1932 as one of the first line of dietary supplements. Today, it has a variety of supplements, including sweeteners. In 1995, KAL joined the enormous family of brands owned by Nutraceutical, based in Park City, UT. KAL's line of stevia sweeteners are sold under the brand SURE Stevia as dietary supplements. One is certified organic. KAL monk fruit sweeteners are available in liquid and powder form.
