Dive Brief:
- PureCircle has introduced the Zeta Family of stevia ingredients. "These ingredients are made with steviol glycosides with the most sugar-like taste, and provide the most sugar-like taste profile on the market for low-to-zero calorie products," the company said in a news release.
- According to PureCircle, the company's advances in traditional stevia plant breeding have created stevia varieties that have more than 20 times the amount of rare steviol glycosides — such as Reb M and Reb D — available in other stevia leaf on the market.
- PureCircle now offers 17 stevia ingredients, ranging from its original Reb A to the new Zeta ingredients.
Dive Insight:
One challenge with stevia is its naturally bitter taste. PureCircle claims its Zeta ingredients lack the bitterness found in most stevia products, and "They provide statistically superior ratings in expert sensory taste tests compared to other steviol glycosides in low-to-no calorie formulations."
In October, PureCircle announced receiving a U.S. patent related to the use of Reb M in beverages, while Cargill announced its new stevia product, EverSweet containing Reb M and Reb D, will be available in 2016.