OAK BROOK, Ill. — It’s been a little more than a year since the zero-calorie,
all-natural sweetener, Reb A attained GRAS status in the U.S. for use in food
and beverages. Regulation of stevia in the U.S. and other parts of the world
ignited a strong interest in the natural sweetener from both manufacturers and
consumers during the past year. Not surprisingly, the first products with stevia
to market were tabletop sweeteners and beverages. But because of its naturally
broad appeal, stevia is now making its way into other categories as well.
“The interest we’ve experienced across food and beverage categories continues to
reinforce that stevia is on its way toward becoming a mainstream ingredient,”
commented Jason Hecker, director of marketing, PureCircle USA. “In the past
year, we’ve partnered with companies to deliver great-tasting products across
global markets in diverse categories from beverage to dairy. All these new
products continue to drive stevia into the mainstream. Reinforcing this, we have
proprietary research conducted earlier this month that indicates nearly half of
all women in America are aware of stevia. This is a significant increase from
eight months ago when we conducted our initial study.” Research presented during
PureCircle’s global Webinar in May from a mom-focused study indicated that just
five months after GRAS status was achieved for stevia-derived Reb A, one in
three moms were aware of stevia. (To view the Webinar, go to
www.purecircle.com)
“We’ve seen clearly that acceptance has been not only as a zero-calorie
solution, but also as a wonderful way to reduce calories in the ‘full-calorie’
products consumers’ love,” says Hecker. “And we are especially excited to see
the recent move into products outside of beverage and tabletop.” Here’s a brief
review of some of the latest stevia-sweetened products to debut globally over
the past six months:
White Wave Foods, a subsidiary of Dean Foods, introduced Silk Chocolate Light
soymilk, offering consumers a naturally-sweetened, lower calorie option with
only 90 calories per serving. Another product that came onto the market as a
lower-calorie version of a higher-calorie favorite was Trop 50 orange juice
drinks. It quickly became a $100 million brand and recently added two new
varietiesPomegranate Blueberry and Pineapple Mango.
Zero-Calorie Sobe Lifewater also got a very positive response from consumers, so
the line was extended with two additional flavors: Strawberry Dragonfruit &
Cherimoya Punch. Further PepsiCo launches include Aquafina Plus Vitamins 10 Cal
in Canadathe nation’s first low-calorie vitamin-enhanced water to feature a
pure stevia extract, all-natural sweetenerand the low-cal, hydrating beverage
G2, which debuted in Mexico in three 100% naturally sweetened flavors.
Other notable international flavored water launches came from Group Danone and
Frucor. Group Danone’s Bonafont recently rolled out a stevia-sweetened version
of its Levite brand flavored water into Latin America. And Frucor introduced New
Zealand’s first low-calorie, vitamin-enhanced beverage, featuring a stevia-derived
sweetener.
Beyond beverages, Nestle rolled out Yoco Yogurt and Bliss Drinkable Yogurt in
Malaysia. Both of these dairy products are naturally sweetened with
zero-calorie, stevia. In New Zealand, Goodman Fielder’s Meadow Fresh Lite
Yoghurt was reformulated to replace the sucralose in it with naturally-derived
Reb A from stevia. It’s now being promoted as ‘naturally sweetened.’
Shortly after France gave regulatory approval to Reb A last September, Whole
Earth Sweetener Co. announced plans to introduce its all-natural, zero-calorie,
tabletop sweetener, PureVia into the market. The PureVia tabletop product was
also recently launched into Mexico and Australia.
The introduction of all of these products is indicative of the global interest
in and desire for a natural, zero-calorie sweetener that tastes great. Stevia-derived
Reb A is meeting that desire.
About high-purity Reb A
High-purity Reb A is the world’s first all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener
derived from the Stevia Rebaudiana plant. For more on Reb A visit
www.reb-a.com
About PureCircle
PureCircle is a pioneer in the extraction of natural goodness from plants and a
leading global producer of natural high-intensity sweeteners, including
high-purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A). The company has a vertically integrated
supply chain operating in three continents. Activities range from breeding of
proprietary stevia varieties, sourcing of dry stevia leaves and extraction, and
refining of crude extracts into sweeteners to the marketing of these sweeteners
to food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. PureCircle is listed on the London
Stock Exchange AIM market with the ticker symbol: LSE.PURE. For more
information, visit www.purecircle.com.
Source:
PureCircle