Tasted Better produces the lowest-GI flour

“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food,” Hippocrates once said. While people often rely on medication to cure illness, it is ultimately a healthy lifestyle that prevents disease and maintains well-being—with diet playing a key role. In today’s world, some of humanity enjoys unprecedented abundance in food choices, but overconsumption of carbohydrates and sugars has become a growing issue. To foster a healthier life, something fundamentally needs to change.

Thailand-based startup Tasted Better is leading that change by creating flour with a revolutionary low GI index*. Founder Perrada Suponpun embarked on this journey six years ago to help her husband lose weight by baking bread without flour or sugar. This act of love resulted in the invention of flour with a GI index as low as 1.6. Researchers at Mahidol University, a national comprehensive university in Bangkok have validated the flour’s functionality. According to Perrada, the GI index of 1.6 is equivalent to drinking water. Eating ciabatta made with Tasted Better’s flour would cause a similar blood sugar reaction to drinking plain water.

*GI Index: The Glycemic Index (GI) measures how quickly and by how much a certain food raises blood glucose levels. Foods with a high GI cause rapid spikes in blood sugar, while those with a low GI result in slower, more gradual rises. Typically, foods with a GI index of 55 or below are considered low.

The EU was among the first to recognize the potential of Tasted Better’s functional flour, which has also been selected for the FoodTech 500. Recently, a private tasting event took place in South Korea to introduce the flour. The event was hosted in partnership with Slunch Factory, a vegan restaurant that has won the prestigious ‘Blue Ribbon’ award—the most respected restaurant guide in Korea—seven times. Though vegan culture is still emerging in South Korea, Slunch Factory is playing an important role in expanding the reach of vegan culinary culture, even offering vegan meal kits.

At the tasting event, Tasted Better and Slunch Factory presented four dishes: Ciabatta with Tomato Soup, Spinach Gnocchi, Pepperoni Pizza, and Pumpkin Chocolate Cake. The dishes included starters, a main course, and dessert. Notably, the Spinach Gnocchi was made entirely from Tasted Better’s flour, with the roux sauce being a 50-50 blend of Tasted Better flour and Korean flour. Another highlight was the Pepperoni Pizza made entirely from Tasted Better’s flour; vegetables were used to achieve a reddish color similar to traditional pepperoni.

New functional ingredients often face the challenge of taste. People develop a certain expectation of flavor with repeated consumption, and they feel reassured when that taste matches their expectations. Many alternative foods struggle to bridge the flavor gap or provide entirely unfamiliar textures and aromas. However, when sampling dishes made with Tasted Better’s flour, it was hard to detect any difference without prior information. In a blind test, like those in the recent Netflix Korean cooking competition show “Culinary Class Wars,” it would have been impossible to distinguish—in other words, Tasted Better’s flour is just like regular flour.

It is important to note that Tasted Better is focusing on basic food ingredients, particularly flour—an ingredient that often goes unnoticed but is ever-present in our diet. For instance, when people think of eating sausage, they think of meat, but flour is also a key component. If the flour that people consume unconsciously could be replaced with functional flour boasting an extremely low GI, it could fundamentally change human lives. It’s no wonder Tasted Better was selected for the FoodTech 500.

Nowadays, it’s normal to choose different milk options at cafes, ranging from regular milk to low-fat, oat, almond, or coconut milk, depending on allergies or nutritional needs. Soon, flour might offer similar variety. In the not-so-distant future, when your blood sugar app’s agent suggests avoiding bread for breakfast, you could calmly reach for bread made from Tasted Better flour. You’d still be eating bread, yet the app wouldn’t send a warning push notification. This is how innovation becomes part of everyday life.