About Us
Built by someone who’s done the work
Labs Led by Thom King
"We don’t chase trends. We solve problems. Not theory. Not slide decks."
I was trained at Cornell University in Food Science, with an undergraduate foundation in Environmental Studies. That combination wired me to think in systems early. Not just what works in a formula, but what works across supply chains, regulatory frameworks, sustainability pressures, and real-world manufacturing.
For the past 25 years, I’ve lived in one lane and gone deep: clean label sugar reduction.
Formulas
Thousands of them.
We’ve worked across virtually every category that matters:
Bars and baked goods
Beverages
RTDs, carbonated, functional, dairy alternative
Confectionery and gummies
Dairy and frozen desserts
Sauces, syrups, and fillings
If sugar is in it, I’ve taken it apart and rebuilt it
What We Actually Do
Sugar is not just sweet. It’s structure, water control, browning, mouthfeel, preservation, and emotional expectation. Most people underestimate that. we don’t.
We approach formulation like an engineer:
- Rebuild functionality, not just sweetness
- Control water activity and shelf life
- Manage temporal profiles (onset, peak, decay)
- Eliminate off-notes before they show up in sensory
- Design for scale, not just bench success
That’s why my work holds up outside the lab.
Where Influent Labs Lands Different
Most people pick ingredients. We build systems.
Clean label sugar reduction isn’t about swapping sucrose for a trendy sweetener. It’s about orchestrating rare sugars, fibers, high-intensity sweeteners, and modulators into something that actually eats right, labels clean, and survives production. That's the game.
We design around those from the start.
Texture Collapse
Bitterness Creep
Labeling landmines
GI tolerance issues
Cost structures that kill margin
Why It Matters
Consumers want less sugar. Regulators are watching. Margins are tight. And most “better-for-you” products still taste like compromise.
That gap is where we work.
If you’re building products that need to:
- Taste right
- Scale cleanly
- Survive regulatory scrutiny
- And actually sell
…then you don’t need another ingredient list. You need a formulation strategy that works in the real world.
That’s what Influent Labs brings.
Philosophy
- Sugar is a system, not an ingredient
- Texture failures are usually water problems
- Sweetness is temporal, not static
- Clean label is a constraint, not a limitation
What Makes This Different
- Deep formulation experience
- Real-world commercialization focus
- Access to rare and functional ingredient systems
- Zero tolerance for “good enough”
- Deep formulation experience
- Real-world commercialization focus
- Access to rare and functional ingredient systems
- Zero tolerance for “good enough”