The Coca-Cola Company is giving $1 million to anyone who can find a sugar substitute that’s natural, safe, low on calories and tastes like real sugar when cooked.

For the major confectionary and beverage companies, finding the perfect replacement for sugar has become vital to continue growing. Demand is down in the West over health concerns, and all the ‘diet’ sweeteners available so far have their downsides, from health effects to bad after taste.

Why are sugar substitutes the holy grail of the processed food industry? Because natural sugar is more than just a sweetener. It has amazing properties that make it invaluable in the food industry, but are also hard to replicate.

An article in Quartz points out: “Sugar is used not only for sweetness, but also for its functional qualities: It provides structure, texture, and moisture control. And when heat is applied to it in baked goods, the sugar browns to create additional flavour.” Those are not properties that saccharine or aspartame, or even the current favourite, stevia, have.

John Fry, who works on sugar substi- tutes, says, “The sad thing is that the perfect sugar substitute probably doesn’t exist, and decades of research has failed to provide us with one.” He doesn’t expect anyone to win the Coca-Cola prize for at least another decade. And then, whoever finds it is unlikely to give up the formula for a mere million dollars when it means so much to the $4.8-trillion food packaging industry.