Ingredion and S&W Seed Company have entered into an exclusive US stevia pilot production supply agreement. Under the terms of the deal, S&W will leverage its proprietary stevia plant portfolio and production techniques to supply Ingredion shoand its PureCircle by Ingredion stevia subsidiary. 

“S&W has developed unique, non-GMO, all-natural stevia varieties over the past ten years utilizing our proprietary plant breeding program,” says Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company.

“Recently, we have made what we believe is a significant leap forward by validating the efficacy of stevia production in the southeastern US. By leveraging a unique seed-to-plant process and mechanical harvesting system, we expect to dramatically reduce overall production costs.”

“importantly, this method is intended to allow the stevia to function as a green cover crop, helping to sequester carbon.”

Tapping into US$1.6B market
Last month, PureCircle received a positive safety opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for the use of its Reb M, Reb D and Reb AM stevia ingredients produced through bioconversion of stevia leaf extracts.

The global stevia market is estimated to grow to US$1.6 billion by 2028, according to Ingredion.Stevia is a zero-calorie, plant-based sweetener of natural origin, up to 350 times sweeter than sugar, and found in more than 30,000 F&B products worldwide.

The size of the global stevia market is estimated to grow to US$1.6 billion by 2028, according to Ingredion’s internal analysis. Due to historical constraints with climate and harvesting techniques, most stevia production occurs outside the US.

“This agreement strengthens our ability to provide sugar reduction solutions for our customers by diversifying our supply of sustainably sourced stevia in the US,” states Jeremy Xu, Ingredion’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer.

“This agreement with S&W will allow us to evaluate the long-term opportunity to produce large quantities of stevia in the US effectively.”

Scaling up alt-sugar tech
This latest agreement represents the third major development to Ingredion’s stevia business in the last 14 months. Last July, Ingredion acquired a controlling stake in PureCircle (now PureCircle by Ingredion).

Earlier this year, the company announced a joint venture with Amyris to exclusively offer Fermented Sugarcane Reb M as part of its expanded stevia portfolio. 

PureCircle by Ingredion is marketed as the only stevia ingredient supplier to offer all major stevia production technologies – stevia from extraction, fermentation and bioconversion.