Stevia: What's on the market now and what will be in the market in 12-18 months' time will be radically different, says PureCircle
With PepsiCo and Coca-Cola on its client roster, PureCircle is playing with the big guns in the global food and beverage industry these days.
It has also attracted its fair share of media attention, recently announcing a high-profile partnership with Coca-Cola to co-develop new steviol glycoside Reb X, and unveiling a no objections letter from the FDA regarding the GRAS status of its Reb-D sweetener, which it claims has one of the best sweetness profiles of any steviol glycoside.
Catching up with FoodNavigator-USA at our booth Sunday afternoon, VP global marketing and innovation Jason Hecker said that while the company is still losing money, it is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of global food and beverage companies because its business model is designed for a mass volume natural sweetener market, and that its investments in building manufacturing capacity and a vertically integrated supply chain will ultimately pay off.
In future, said Hecker, the winners in the stevia market will be those that can cash in on all the key components of the stevia leaf. They will also need expertise in plant breeding to develop varieties with higher levels of minor glycosides, the ability to produce them efficiently and to work with customers to use them alone or in blends in multiple applications.
One thing is clear, he added. "What's on the market now and what will be in the market in 12-18 months' time will be radically different."
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