Dive Brief:
- Archer Daniels Midland announced a partnership with GLG Life Tech Corp. to bring non-GMO stevia and monk fruit sweeteners to customers.
- GLG will make low-calorie sweeteners, and ADM will market and distribute the ingredients to food and beverage companies worldwide, according to a news release.
- GLG has a "demonstrated advantage in developing non-GMO stevia varietals and a pipeline of future innovative products," said ADM's Rodney Schanefelt, director, sugar and high-intensity sweeteners, in a news release.
Dive Insight:
This partnership assists ADM in securing higher-margin items in the grocery aisles as it aims to diversify beyond its ethanol business, according to Reuters.
Brian Meadows, GLG’s president and CFO, said the partnership will create the go-to source for food and beverage companies in regard to meeting consumers’ demands for foods and drinks with clean labels, natural ingredients, and reductions in added sugars.
ADM competitor, Cargill, offers a stevia product, EverSweet, which recently received a GRAS no objection letter from the FDA. The company, along with partner Evolva, are developing the stevia plant’s sweetest molecules, Reb M and Reb D through fermentation, which provides a viable sweetness the same as in a stevia leaf.
Another company battling the bitter aftertastes associated with sweeteners using stevia is S&W Seed Co., which has filed a patent for its stevia plant variety, called SW 227, and which is confirmed to have a sweet leaf taste with low bitterness and aftertaste.