Dive Brief:
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PureCircle, a leading producer of stevia sweeteners, announced a partnership with North Carolina farmers to plant and harvest the zero-calorie sugar substitute instead of tobacco, according to a company statement on Food Manufacturing.
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Stevia, a plant-derived natural sweetener, is 30 to 40 times sweeter than sugar. The plant is originally from Paraguay and much of the current supply is grown in China and Japan, but it can thrive almost anywhere. With the global stevia market expected to reach $565 million in 2020, finding more places to grow the zero-calorie sweetener will help meet rising production demands.
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As demand for tobacco decreases, stevia offers a new revenue stream for the farmers. So far, the switch from tobacco to stevia has been smooth. PureCircle’s StarLeaf variety of stevia thrives in similar soil and climate as tobacco, and farmers can use their current greenhouses, modified transplanters and tobacco barns for the process.
Dive Insight:
In a calorie-obsessed world, consumers have long searched for a way to satisfy a sweet tooth without gaining weight, and food and beverage manufactures struggled to answer the call. Artificial sweeteners like saccharin have raised health concerns. With an increasing focus on wellness — with products including less sugar and more natural ingredients — stevia is looking like a current winner for both manufacturers and consumers.
With the new FDA-mandated nutrition labels coming out in the next several years highlighting amounts of added sugar, manufacturers are looking at ways to position their products as healthy, natural, low sugar and low calorie options. Substituting a natural sweetener like stevia instead of an artificial sweetener or sugar may help.
Stevia was an ingredient in more than a quarter (27%) of new products launched in 2017 that had high-intensity sweeteners, particularly in snacks, sodas, dairy, juice and other beverages. In a strong endorsement for the sweetener, Coca-Cola will launch a stevia-sweetened drink in 2018.
The partnership between PureCircle and farmers comes at a good time, as the number of North Carolina tobacco farms has decreased with a lower demand for their products. An October report from North Carolina State Extension predicts that increased tobacco taxes will keep revenues up, but demand will continue to decrease. Many farmers in the state are diversifying their crops. By replacing tobacco with stevia or rotating planting, farmers can use their fields more effectively. Although the tobacco substitute is still in its infancy, farmers and manufacturers are optimistic.