PureCircle Opens Mexico City Facility to Support Stevia Demand

CHICAGO PureCircle Ltd. opened a new location in Mexico City to support the expanding need for stevia ingredients in the Latin American food and beverage industry to reduce sugar and calories in products.

Many multinational food and beverage companies have successfully launched stevia-sweetened versions of popular branded products. According to market research firm Mintel, more than 100 stevia-sweetened product launches occurred in Latin America in the past year, along with double-digit growth over the past five years. In fact, products containing stevia resulted in a 400% increase in launches globally between 2008 and 2012. Examples of stevia-sweetened launches in Latin America include carbonated soft drinks, powdered beverage mixes, flavored milks, yogurt, table top sweeteners and other stevia innovations.

Expanding waistlines in Latin America are fueling a drive to reduce calories in food and beverages. Although stevia has a long history of use in Latin America, the use of high-purity stevia ingredients in foods and beverages only started to develop after Reb A achieved GRAS status in the U.S. and was subsequently added to the Codex Alimentarius international food standards in 2009.

PureCircles Stevia 3.0 is a customized approach to sweetening solutions to provide customers a tailored solution. Using a portfolio of stevia-derived flavors and sweeteners, Stevia 3.0 can achieve deeper caloric reductions while maintaining taste.