SIG and Oobli have formed a strategic partnership to showcase integrated, reduced-sugar beverage concepts to market. By combining Oobli’s sweet protein technology with SIG’s advanced aseptic filling expertise and diverse packaging options, the collaboration aims to deliver long shelf-life beverages that taste delicious and don’t require refrigeration.
What this collaboration brings:
- Proven combined capability: Oobli’s sweet protein technology enables significant sugar reduction without compromising taste, using plant-based proteins to deliver nutrition labels that align with consumer demand for healthier options.
- Shelf-stable, preservative-free solutions: SIG’s aseptic packaging allows long shelf life at ambient temperatures, supporting broad distribution and reduced supply-chain constraints without the need for refrigeration.
- Flexible formats and rapid development: SIG’s filling capabilities accommodate multiple packaging formats and volumes, backed by global innovation centers that provide access to equipment, expertise, and testing resources for product development.
Context and ecosystem
The partnership was formed at MISTA, the San Francisco–based global food innovation platform that connects companies across food, ingredients, and technology to address industry challenges. Both SIG and Oobli participate as active MISTA members, reinforcing their commitment to collaborative innovation in the beverage space.
The collaboration focuses on product concepts that demonstrate reduced sugar content, natural-protein-based sweetness, and shelf-stable formulation, while maintaining consumer appeal and brand integrity.
The partners are pursuing joint development projects, pilot runs, and consumer testing to validate performance, flavor, and shelf life across key markets.
About Oobli
Oobli is the pioneering sweet protein technology platform company focused on delivering tastier, reduced-sugar solutions across food and beverages. Sweet proteins have no glycemic impact or effect on the gut microbiome. Produced via fermentation, Oobli sweet proteins are both cost-effective as a sweetener replacement and climate friendly, saving massive amounts of land, water and carbon compared to farmed sugarcane. Through proprietary protein technologies and collaborations with leading brands, Oobli aims to redefine sweetness while supporting healthier, accessible consumer choices.
Döhler will exhibit at Marca Bologna 2026, Italy’s leading international trade fair for private label products, taking place on 14–15 January at BolognaFiere. The company will showcase a curated selection of beverage and snacking concepts designed to support retailers and brand owners in developing future-ready private label portfolios.
The concepts on display reflect the key trends shaping today’s retail market, including low- and no-sugar products, functional benefits, plant-based alternatives and non-alcoholic beverages, amongst others. They demonstrate how innovative ingredients and integrated solutions shape successful private label products that meet consumer expectations for better human nutrition.
Trend-driven beverage concepts for modern private labels
Visitors to the Döhler stand can explore a broad spectrum of ready-to-drink and functional beverage concepts, combining appealing taste profiles with contemporary positioning. Highlights include light juice drinks such as Multifruit Yellow and Multifruit Red, developed with reduced sugar while maintaining a refreshing sensory profile.
Tea-based innovation is represented by a sparkling Matcha-Lemongrass drink with natural caffeine, offering a balanced combination of flavour, functionality and energy. The growing demand for alcohol-free indulgence is addressed through Nocaholic mocktails, including Lime-Mint Virgin Mojito and Aperol 0.0 %, alongside a wine-mix RTD concept featuring passionfruit and peach on a wine base.
Further beverage innovations include energy drinks in flavours such as White Peach and a sugar-free Cherry-Cranberry variant without taurine, as well as sports and hydration drinks like Orange with natural caffeine and Strawberry-Watermelon with coconut water. Plant-based drink concepts such as Pistachio-Chocolate and Oat-Matcha complete the beverage portfolio, highlighting indulgence within a plant-based positioning.
Healthy snacking with added consumer value
In addition to beverages, Döhler will present healthy snacking concepts that align with clean label expectations and mindful consumption. These include freeze-dried fruits as well as a selection of nut spreads such as pistachio, peanut and coconut, offering versatility across private label snack ranges.
Supporting private label innovation
All concepts showcased at Marca Bologna 2026 are designed to inspire customised private label developments that balance taste, nutritional considerations and consumer relevance. Döhler’s expertise spans formulation, sensory optimisation and scalable solutions, supporting partners in translating trends into successful retail products.
The Plant Nursery Area, an exhibition of innovations in the plant nursery industry, will host four workshops on the new frontiers in genetic improvement at the 42nd edition of Macfrut, the international trade fair for the fruit and vegetable supply chain, to be held in Rimini next May.
The ‘Varieties International Project’ (VIP) is a series of focus sessions on genetic improvement and new varieties in modern fruit growing and will include four workshops with top experts in the field of breeding, as well as leading global companies specialising in genetics and variety development. The workshops will take place at Macfrut, the international trade fair for the fruit and vegetable supply chain, from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 May, as part of the Plant Nursery Area, the exhibition of innovations in the plant nursery industry.
The first two days of the trade fair will feature a total of four events. Apple and pear tree varieties will be discussed on Tuesday 6 May, with Actinidia in the afternoon. On Wednesday 7 May, the focus will be on new stone fruit and citrus varieties.
‘It is a unique opportunity to learn about the results of the world’s most important fruit and citrus breeding projects,’ explains Stefano Lugli, coordinator of the Plant Nursery Area at Macfrut 2025, ‘and a great opportunity to talk directly to those who are creating and developing these innovations: breeders, publishers, management consortia and plant nurseries.’
Breeding today is all about commitment, creativity, strategic planning and the sharing of roles and expertise across sectors to achieve a common goal, which is to create innovative and fully sustainable products across the industry in order to meet the current needs of producers, markets and consumers.
‘Creating new fruit varieties and turning them into a profitable business,’ adds Lugli, ‘requires combining scientific expertise in genetics and genomics with business skills and market insight, strategic cross-industry partnerships and the development of effective branding and marketing strategies. Only by following this approach, in addition to investing in innovative breeding programmes, conducting in-depth market research, securing intellectual property rights and developing effective branding policies, establishing strong partnerships and pursuing continuous innovation can we develop authentic new fruit varieties that meet consumer needs and stand out in the market.’
As objectives change, new technologies are providing breeders with more precise and effective tools to help them achieve these new goals.
‘Over the past few years,’ concludes Lugli, ‘fruit breeding has largely shifted from focusing on its traditional objectives to focusing on new ones. The development and selection of genetic innovations, including new varieties and rootstocks, is now more sensitive to critical issues such as environmental and cultural sustainability, adaptation to climate change and resistance to major pests. Recent advances in biotechnology, through genetic and molecular approaches, have enabled these priorities to be achieved more quickly and at a lower cost than was possible until recently.’
The VIP – Varieties International Project is organised by Macfrut and sponsored by SOI (Italian Society for Horticultural Science), CIVI Italia (Interprofessional Centre for Nursery Activities) and EUFRIN (European Fruit Research Institutes Network).
