July 18, 2016

PureCircle, the world’s leading provider of stevia ingredients for the food and beverage industries, announced an additional investment of $100 million into its PurCircle Agronomy Program.

Through the program, the investment will fund the expansion across 15 key global growing regions as the company aims to expand its farmed acreage outside of China. The expected result of this expansion will be a global 10,000 hectare natural stevia supply pipeline that can support year-round stevia production.

“We are diversifying the countries we grow in to meet the needs of the food and beverage industry as the demand for naturally grown stevia continues to rise,” said Jordi Ferre, CEO PureCircle. “Our PureCircle Stevia Agronomy Program has been the foundation for these expansion efforts, supplying us with the knowledge we needed to take this pivotal step towards year-round farming.”

The $100 million investment earmarked by PureCircle will be allocated to three areas:

* Naturally scaling up planted acreage across 15 key growing regions

* Research and development initiatives that use traditional breeding methods to develop new stevia varieties and identify optimal production systems.

* Training farmers and offering planting materials to ensure the sustainable continuation of production.

“These three areas really encompass how we approach growing stevia,” said Faith Son, PureCircle’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Innovation in a company statement. “This investment allows us to stay at the forefront of innovation and deliver great tasting products at a scale that fits with the needs of global brands.”

This announcement comes only months after the company announced it will invest up to $200 million over the next five years to establish a stevia supply chain in India. This investment will include the development of 5,000 hectares of cultivated farmland and the building of a processing facility following that country’s approval of the ingredient.

With advances in processing resulting in improved texture and taste and greater consumer confidence, Stevia has been gaining market share within the broader sweetener space. With applications in the bakery, dairy supplement, and confectionery segments, the value of stevia as an additive in the food and beverage industries totaled $110 million in 2013, according to data from Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research. However, this is expected to grow to a value of $565.2 million with a consumption volume of 8,506 tons by 2020, according to Future Market Insights.

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Lynda Kiernan