By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Local health food entrepreneur Brent Hauver has a new business and a new product that he feels everyone should know about. Hauver started the company Lakanto nearly three years ago, marketing sugar-free products.
Lakanto means “sweet fruit” and the company markets a zero calorie, zero glycemic index, non-GMO erythritol sweetener made from an Asian fruit called monkfruit. In addition the company offers products sweetened with monkfruit-derived sweetener.
“The sweetness in most fruits comes from fructose,” Hauver explained. “But the sweetness in monkfruit comes from natural mogrosides that are 300 times sweeter than sugar. Modern research has shown that monk fruit extract does not elevate blood sugar or insulin, making it a perfect sweetener for blood sugar and weight management.”
Monkfruit sweetener’s main claim to fame is its great taste and the fact that it is a natural substance, without the calories and glycemic index of sugar. “Everyone is looking for something natural these days, not artificial sweeteners,” Hauver said. “And monkfruit is a natural product that tastes just like sugar with no aftertaste. Even kids love it.”
In fact, Lakanto was given the Superior Tasting Natural Sweetener award by America’s Top Chefs.
Hauver’s monkfruit sweetener is currently found in about 3,000 stores and its availability is growing. It can be found at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Safeway, Albertsons, many big box stores, Amazon, and some products can even be found at Sage Health in Overton or on the Lakanto website.
“Monkfruit is taking over the planet since everyone has realized how bad sugar can be for you,” Hauver said. “In fact, these days sugar is the new tobacco.”
Monkfruit sweetener is also gluten-free and vegan and can be used just like sugar in recipes in direct proportions, making it very easy to cook and bake with. The Lakanto website has many recipe examples that substitute their sweetener for sugar in recipes like apple pie and cinnamon rolls.
In addition to the sugar substitute, the company also sells many sugar-free products made with the monkfruit sweetener. They sell maple syrup, drinking chocolate mix, matcha latte mix, and several kinds of chocolate bars. They are currently developing a sugar-free Nutella-like substitute called Katella that will be released soon. Katella was formulated for Lakanto by Moapa Valley native Nancy Glazier and will be sugar-free and high in fiber.
Hauver is understandably very excited about his new business and the products they sell. He says the mission of his company is, “Increasing the sweetness and well-being in your life by creating the best-tasting, healthiest, low-calorie, low-glycemic, all-natural foods and sweeteners on the planet.”
For more information on Lakanto or the products they sell, their website is lakanto.com. They can also be found on Twitter at @LAKANTO and on Facebook at fb.me/LAKANTO.
