Due to its intense sweetness and negligible calorie content, stevia has become a buzzword in the sweetener market. Today’s consumers seek the best of both worlds, a combination of indulgence and well-being. This consumer trend is making stevia popular with every passing day!
A sugar substitute is a food additive that imparts a sweet taste like sucrose (table sugar) without providing significant dietary energy / calories that sucrose otherwise provides. Some sugar substitutes are produced by nature and others are produced synthetically.
Stevia is the most popular natural sweetener, low in calories and with a zero glycemic index (200-350 times sweeter than sugar), extracted from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana, a part of the Asteraceae family. The plant is native to Paraguay (South America) but it also grows in other tropical and subtropical places. Stevia leaves have been used for centuries by the Guarani Indians of South America as a traditional sweetener.
There are two compounds in stevia that are responsible for the sweetness: stevioside and rebaudioside A. Modern use of stevia primarily involves stevia-based sweeteners.
Synthetic sweeteners, such as acesulfame-K, aspartame, neotame, saccharin and sucralose, despite being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have always been the subject of some or other controversies due to their long-term harmful effects. In fact, some scientific studies have even described them as powerful neurotoxins, impairing the normal functioning of the central nervous system!
Although there are several natural sweeteners available on the market (such as erythritol, xylitol, and yacon syrup), recent studies conducted on human subjects with stevia have made this natural ingredient the sweetener of choice for people. There has been conclusive evidence on the role of stevia in lowering high blood pressure and lowering blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Stevia contains steviol glycosides, the chemical compound responsible for the sweet taste of the leaves. Although stevia leaf and raw stevia extracts are not generally recognized as safe (“GRAS”) and do not have FDA approval for use in food, the FDA has not questioned the GRAS status of certain steviol glycosides. high purity for food use.
Recent developments:
August 2017: PepsiCo seeks to patent the stevia production process.
Outlook: The main focus of the major studies around stevia is to produce steviol glycoside Reb M, less bitter and with a more sugary taste. The enzymatic process employed here is efficient and cost-effective, and will possibly pave the way for further enhancement of flavor in steviol glycosides.
June 2017: PureCircle develops a stevia plant 20 times sweeter than a standard plant using traditional breeding techniques.
Outlook: The use of such natural interventions greatly improves the sustainability factor associated with stevia production. It also increases consumer confidence, as the word “organic” attracts more attention today than ever.
How is the world market responding to this natural sweetener?
A report from a market research company estimates that the global stevia market will witness a CAGR of more than 8% during the period from 2017 to 2022.
The launch of stevia was perceived as having a narrow application range, restricted to calorie-free beverage applications and as a natural replacement for high intensity artificial sweeteners (“HIS”). Not only did stevia outperform aspartame, a major HIS, in its first year of launch, but it also rapidly expanded throughout the sweetener market and across all food and beverage categories.
The growing health awareness observed around the world (due to high prevalence rates of diabetes and obesity) and a paradigm shift from sugar (towards natural ingredients) are expected to be key factors driving demand for based sweeteners. of stevia.
The other factors driving the growth of this natural sweetener are: high R&D investments by big giants, increasing innovation of better tasting products, increased product visibility in modern retail formats, and high levels of marketing support. .
As stevia-based sweeteners are increasingly incorporated into sports nutrition and health drink products, the growing markets for sports nutrition products and health drinks are expected to act as opportunities for the stevia market.
The main obstacles to the market are: A highly fragmented market with supply chain complexities, various regulatory restrictions and availability of other low calorie sweeteners.
Far ahead:
Although demand for stevia has tripled since 2011, growth has slowed due to the bitter aftertaste. A taste modification (by adjusting the chemical composition in a way that eliminates the bitter aftertaste) can reactivate growth. Regulatory unification at the global level can be achieved through recognized bodies, such as Codex, by effectively streamlining the different practices and procedures that control the use of stevia extracts in various food products.
