Stevia

Non-GMO claims around sweeteners are less impactful while ‘natural flavors,’ ‘no added sugar’ gain traction among consumers

29-Sep-2023 By Deniz Ataman

The influence of non-GMO claims on purchase intent is declining, while claims such as “no artificial ingredients,” “natural flavors” and “no added sugar” are more impactful, Carla Saunders, senior marketing manager, Cargill, explained to FoodNavigator-USA.

Monk Fruit Corp.’s GM discusses sweetener’s rise, how it taps into current consumer trends

28-Sep-2023 By Ryan Daily

Monk fruit has gained popularity as a natural sweetener, and is poised for growth alongside natural and better-for-you trends as consumers and brands reduce sugar across categories, Monk Fruit Corp.'s GM David Thorrold told FoodNavigator-USA.

[Video] Icon Foods CEO discusses state of sweetener market, responds to studies on health concerns

25-Sep-2023 By Ryan Daily

As consumers increasingly demand low and no-sugar products, CPG brands are responding to food and beverage development with an array of natural and artificial non-nutritive sweeteners, which have been the focus of several health studies this year, Thom...

Balancing taste and nutrition in clean label sweeteners: Could sugar make a comeback?

21-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

As demand for natural sweeteners grow, could consumers revert to arguably the most traditional natural sweetener of all: sugar?

WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline

15-May-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

SweetLeaf and American Diabetes Association sweeten up another partnership through events and resources to promote diabetes awareness

20-Apr-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Similar to previous partnerships between SweetLeaf and the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the collaboration intends to bring more visibility towards diabetes risk and management and provide actionable ways for people with diabetes to improve their...

Zevia CEO talks rebrand, the “rising tide” for sugar-free sodas

21-Mar-2023 By Ryan Daily

Natural soda brand Zevia is sweetening its branding with a new look as it aims to boost its household penetration and eliminate plastic from its supply chain, company CEO Amy Taylor told FoodNavigator-USA.

Stevia sweeter news for planetary health than cane and beet sugar, suggests research

22-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Production of steviol glycosides extracted from stevia grown in Europe produces just 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with sugar production, according a life cycle assessment.

Rare sugars expert announces sweetener breakthrough

26-Oct-2022 By Oliver Morrison

European industrial biotechnology specialist BRAIN Biotech has teamed up with Bonumose to bring the rare sugars expert’s sweetener tagatose to market globally.

‘A critical milestone’ for stevia: HOWTIAN achieves up to 12% average Reb A yield this season

21-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

HOWTIAN has grown stevia plants with up to a 12% average Reb A yield this season, the “highest ever in the industry,” says the firm, which described the news as a “milestone not just for the company, but for the food and beverage industry at large, as...

Non-nutritive sweeteners back in the spotlight as new study challenges notion they are inert and says they can impact glycemic tolerance

19-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

A new study – published a month after the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded a cautionary note about the long-term effects of zero-calorie sweeteners such as sucralose and saccharin – suggests some diet sweeteners are not inert and can alter the...

Zevia grows and diversifies consumer base: 'We're seeing very limited price sensitivity,' says CEO

12-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In the face of an unrelenting inflationary environment, zero sugar soda brand Zevia is reporting continued growth and consumer adoption of its products, especially in the club channel.

Which Reb M production method is best for the environment? Ingredion LCA probes stevia sustainability metrics

10-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

What’s more sustainable? Using acres of land, water and energy to grow plants that produce minuscule quantities of natural sweeteners; or making them via a fermentation process using a microbe that’s been engineered to produce exactly the same molecules?

Dr Robert Lustig weighs in on WHO sweeteners guideline: ‘Diet sweeteners increase insulin…’ Not true, say International Sweeteners Association, Calorie Control Council

27-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

According to a new draft guideline from the World Health Organization (WHO), non-nutritive sweetener consumption is associated with metabolic syndrome, something proponents of diet sweeteners say shows correlation, not causation, and merely reflects the...

IFT FIRST: Consumers prioritize sugar content over sweetener type, says Cargill

21-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In the hierarchy of nutrition labeling, over half of consumers (58%) say they check total and added sugar content followed by the type of sweetener (52%) used in a product, claims Cargill.

Trendspotting at IFT First 2022: Sugar reduction... 'What consumers look at on the label in the US is calories, then sugar’

19-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

From more efficient production of rare sugars tagatose and allulose (and intriguing new possibilities with D-allose), to ‘enhanced’ sugars, and a mystery disaccharide that behaves like sugar, but is metabolized very differently, check out part one of...

Zevia appoints new CEO to lead next chapter of growth

17-Jun-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Zero-sugar stevia-sweetened soda brand Zevia has appointed its current president of the company, Amy Taylor, as its new CEO succeeding Paddy Spence who will remain as chair of the company's board of directors, effective August 1, 2022.

Stevia IP battle: Sweegen prevails in four-year-long patent dispute with PureCircle over Reb M; Ingredion to appeal

25-May-2022 By Elaine Watson

A court has found in Sweegen’s favor following a four-year legal battle with rival PureCircle over IP relating to the manufacture of stevia sweetener Reb M.

New horizons for stevia: Cargill unlocks additional applications for sweetener system

22-Mar-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Three years since first debuting its ClearFlo modifying ingredient technology used to reduce sensory off notes of stevia, Cargill is debuting a single solution and combination of the two: EverSweet stevia + ClearFlo, giving food and beverage manufacturers...

News In Brief

Sweegen takes the pole position in race to commercialize sweetener brazzein with launch of Ultratia

01-Feb-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

In the race to bring the high intensity sweetener brazzein to market at commercial scale, taste solution provider Sweegen is claiming first place today with the launch of Ultratia, which the company says is a key tool in improving the health profile of...

Icon Foods’ sweetness modulators ‘bury’ off-notes of sugar alternatives for more appealing flavor profiles

27-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Two new sweetness modulators from Icon Foods promise to smooth out the flavor profiles of popular sugar substitutes that, despite significant advancements, continue to fall short of recreating the flavor of processed sugar – either because they come on...

Stevia framework greenlights 4 technologies to boost supply, encourage innovation that reduces sugar

25-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

The adoption of four production technologies for steviol glycosides by the international food standards authority Codex Alimentarius earlier this month opens doors for industry to produce and source at scale and more sustainably less-common versions of...

Zevia CEO on the IPO, stevia, and margins: ‘Our business model offers attractive profitability…’

23-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

While a recent probe into Oatly’s accounting practices and a flood of tech money going into food has raised questions about valuations in the space, zero-sugar soda brand Zevia has a solid track record of growth, a clear consumer proposition (great taste,...

Stevia sweeteners: Ingredion acquires exclusive license to sell and market Amyris’s Reb M, produced via fermentation

04-May-2021 By Elaine Watson

Ingredion – already a key player in the stevia sweeteners market through its 2020 deal to acquire PureCircle – has teamed up with synthetic biology specialist Amyris to expand into a new segment of the market: steviol glycosides produced via fermentation.

SweeGen obtains GRAS status for Reb B stevia sweetener

16-Mar-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

SweeGen Bestevia Reb B steviol glycoside (stevia sweetener) has received a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) Letter of No Objection from the FDA for use in food and beverage formulations.

SweeGen announces successful scale-up of Reb N stevia sweetener

13-Jan-2021 By Elaine Watson

Stevia specialist SweeGen has commercialized Reb N, a lesser-known steviol glycoside “with a unique sensory profile… that makes it especially attractive for beverage applications.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

Tate & Lyle acquires US-based stevia supplier Sweet Green Fields

01-Dec-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Tate & Lyle has acquired Washington state-based stevia supplier Sweet Green Fields (SGF), strengthening the global ingredients company’s stevia solutions and capabilities by creating a fully-integrated supply chain along with unified research and...

SweeGen starts commercial production of Reb I stevia sweetener

02-Nov-2020 By Elaine Watson

Stevia specialist SweeGen has started commercial production of Reb I, a lesser-known steviol glycoside “with its own unique and distinct taste” that works well in a wide range of food and beverage applications.

PureCircle 'strongly refutes' claims its stevia was processed in China with prison labor, as CBP issues fine

14-Aug-2020 By Elaine Watson

Stevia supplier PureCircle USA says it “strongly refutes” claims from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials that it imported shipments of stevia that had been processed in China with prison labor, but claims it “made financial sense for our...

Move over stevia? Joywell Foods raises $6.9m, aims to commercialize sweet proteins in 18-24 months

22-Jul-2020 By Elaine Watson

Foods and beverages sweetened with miraculin, brazzein and curculin - proteins found in exotic fruits that can be produced far more efficiently via microbial fermentation - could hit the US market in less than two years, offering formulators intriguing...

Stevia pioneer Morita sends ‘clear message to the market’ to respect IP around Reb M

18-Jun-2020 By Elaine Watson

Japanese stevia pioneer Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co has taken the unusual step of issuing a press release highlighting the extent of its intellectual property around sweet tasting steviol glycoside Reb M and naming the three partners to which it has licensed...

SweeGen starts commercial production of Reb B stevia sweetener

17-Jun-2020 By Elaine Watson

Stevia specialist SweeGen has started commercial production of Reb B, a lesser-known and “highly soluble” steviol glycoside (stevia sweetener) that it says works particularly well in beverages.

MycoTechnology raises $39m in Series D to expand functional ingredients platform

10-Jun-2020 By Elaine Watson

MycoTechnology – which is building a functional ingredients platform utilizing mycelia, the filament-like roots of mushrooms - has raised $39m in a series D financing round from investors* including plant-based meat specialist Greenleaf Foods to Tyson...

'Our aspartame is traveling VIP': Sweetener suppliers adapt to COVID-19 supply chain shocks

20-Apr-2020 By Niamh Michail

From emergency deliveries of aspartame by airplane to adapting manufacturing plants, sweetener suppliers have been working to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their supply chains.

Ingredion acquires controlling stake in stevia supplier PureCircle

09-Apr-2020 By Elaine Watson

Global ingredients giant Ingredion has struck a deal to acquire a controlling (75%) stake in stevia supplier PureCircle, which has been going through a period of extreme turbulence in recent months, prompting the suspension of its shares and the installation...

PureCircle posts substantial FY loss, apologizes to shareholders: 'The company's systems and governance have been found wanting’

01-Apr-2020 By Elaine Watson

Stevia supplier PureCircle has delayed the publication of its results for the first half of 2020 “in view of the current difficult COVID-19 situation, which has caused some disruption to our working practices,” but belatedly published results for the...

PureCircle revises 2017 and 2018 sales as accounting probe into ‘irregularities’ is completed

05-Mar-2020 By Elaine Watson

An accounting probe by KPMG has identified "apparent override of controls" by members of senior management at stevia supplier PureCircle that "may have contributed to the historical misstatements" in its financial results going undetected,...

PureCircle announces new management following probe into accounting irregularities

29-Jan-2020 By Elaine Watson

Stevia supplier PureCircle has unveiled a new management team following a probe into accounting irregularities that has delayed the publication of its full-year results and prompted a suspension of its shares.

DSM, Cargill open commercial scale facility to produce stevia sweeteners via fermentation: ‘This approach is infinitely scalable’

14-Nov-2019 By Elaine Watson

Avansya - a joint venture between Cargill and DSM - has opened the first commercial-scale facility in the US producing stevia sweeteners via microbial fermentation.

Do non nutritive sweeteners have a place in children's diets? American Academy of Pediatrics and Calorie Control Council weigh in

28-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

As non nutritive sweeteners are consumed by at least one in four children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a policy statement calling for clear labeling and future research into how they affect childrens' health and taste preferences....

Cargill launches ingredient it claims could herald a breakthrough in the stevia segment at SSW

21-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Cargill is launching ClearFlo, a botanical extract ingredient, which it claims delivers a taste-enhancing breakthrough in the stevia space.

HB Natural Ingredients' Vitosa stevia sweetener gains FDA GRAS 'No Objection' status

09-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

HB Natural Ingredients has received a "Letter of No Objection" for its stevia sweetener portfolio, Vitosa, confirming that the FDA has "no questions" regarding the self-affirmed GRAS status of Vitosa.

PureCircle launches branded line of stevia-sweetened ice cream, tapping into light ice cream trend

20-Aug-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Global stevia supplier PureCircle has launched a branded gourmet ice cream line sweetened with its next generation stevia sweeteners, which will initially be sold from food trucks throughout Chicago.

WATCH... Amyris: 'Our Reb M has the highest purity on the market today, and the best taste profile'

07-Aug-2019 By Elaine Watson

Synthetic biology specialist Amyris says it remains confident it can capture 30% of the global stevia sweeteners market by 2022 with purecane, a Reb M sweetener produced from cane sugar by a modified yeast strain, that it claims gives it a competitive...

NEWS IN BRIEF

FDA issues GRAS no objections letter for SweeGen Bestevia Reb E sweetener

25-Jun-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Stevia-based sweetener company, SweeGen, has received a GRAS no objections letter from the FDA for its non-GMO Bestevia Rebaudioside E ('Reb E') stevia leaf sweetener for use in food and beverage products.

Purecircle renews supply agreement with Merisant for next gen stevia sweeteners

16-May-2019 By Elaine Watson

Purecircle has renewed a deal to supply its next generation stevia sweeteners such as Reb M to Merisant, which makes tabletop sweeteners including Canderel and Equal with Stevia; PureVia; and Whole Earth.

News in brief

Sweet Green Fields and Tate & Lyle introduce glycosylated stevia extract that can be labeled as ‘natural flavor’

14-May-2019 By Elaine Watson

Stevia supplier Sweet Green Fields (SGF) has teamed up with Tate & Lyle to introduce ZOLESSE, a glucosylated stevia extract that can be labeled as a natural flavor.

60-second interview: Carol May, chairman and CEO, Wisdom Natural Brands (Sweetleaf stevia)

SweetLeaf Stevia CEO: The sugar substitutes category is flat, but stevia products were up 31% YOY in Q1

26-Apr-2019 By Elaine Watson

If fat is back with a vengeance and protein remains on trend, sugar is now public enemy number one for many consumers, who want to cut down, but remain suspicious of the ‘natural’ credentials of some alternatives. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Carol...

Consumer fear of sugar is mounting – but is it deserved and what alternatives will consumers accept?

08-Apr-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

Using tactics such as “sin taxes” and a new bold-faced call-out for added sugar on the revised Nutrition Facts panel, public health advocates and regulators have targeted sugar as a primary caloric contributor in the ongoing obesity epidemic in the US...

NuNaturals expands consumer appeal for stevia & monkfruit with new ‘youthful’ products, marketing

08-Jan-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

A pioneer in the premium natural sweetener segment, NuNaturals is moving in a “more youthful direction” with new products and positioning that appeal to a broader consumer base than the company historically courted following a leadership transition from...