Dive Brief:
- Cargill recently introduced the ViaTech line of stevia-based sweeteners, which make it possible for food and beverage manufacturers to achieve significant sugar reduction without sacrificing taste.
- What sets the new line apart from previous stevia sweeteners is the proprietary taste prediction model that makes it effective in high use levels.
- Whereas undesirable tastes like bitterness or off notes would creep into stevia sweetened products when sugar was reduced by 50% or more, the new formulation is designed to keep a consistently sweet taste.
Dive Insight:
Cargill has arrived at the solution to stevia's problem of maintaining taste while cutting out sugar, which is excellent news for its partner companies. Cargill supplies a global mix of companies with stevia sweeteners for a variety of products like sodas, sports drinks, teas, juices, and yogurts. Offering these companies a product that allows them to maintain sweetness while being able to boast reduced sugar will give them a key advantage in appealing to customers who pay attention to things like added sugar -- something the new FDA nutrition labels will be highlighting.