(Food-Beverage-News.Com, March 17, 2020 ) The report "Stevia Market by Extract Type (Whole Leaf, Powdered, Liquid), Application (Dairy, Bakery & Confectionery, Tabletop Sweeteners, Beverages, Convenience Foods), Form (Dry, Liquid), and Region - Global Forecasts to 2022", The market for stevia is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2017 to reach a value of USD 771.5 Million by 2022.
Stevia has its own unique taste profile and sweetness intensity which is approximately 200 to 350 times greater than regular sugar. Many food & beverage companies use stevia to create products with enhanced taste and fewer total calories. With heavy investment in R&D, new applications such as zero-calorie products and flavor enhancers are emerging rapidly. Stevia offers several advantages such as sugar preplacement, reduction in calories, sweetness, texture, color, and flavor enhancement. Hence, stevia will be viewed as a business opportunity in the next five years. As a result, many multinational players have entered into the production of varied types of stevia.
Growing concerns with regard to sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and aspartame have shifted the manufacturer’s focus to the usage of stevia for food & beverage applications
Dairy: Stevia is used as an alternative for sucrose
The dairy industry has been strongly influenced by the advantages of using stevia. In an effort to reduce childhood obesity and boost milk sales, the International Dairy Association (IDEA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) petitioned the FDA to change the definition of “milk” and 17 other dairy products, including sour cream and yogurt. This change would allow the dairy industry to add aspartame and other sweeteners such as stevia to products without including prominent labels for consumers.
Bakery & confectionery products: Stevia has numerous benefits in confectionery products due to its physical and chemical properties
The most commonly used sweeteners, sucrose, dextrose (glucose), and corn syrups are fundamental in the production of confectionery items such as hard candy, caramel, taffy, chewing gum, chocolate, and gummed candies. In addition to their function in these items, they are widely used due to their low cost, availability, and ease of use during processing. The formulations of many sweetened confections are centered on the properties of stevia. Depending on the confection, stevia helps provide sweetness, improved mouthfeel, crystallization, texture, form, extended shelf life, flavor, and color to the final product.
Tabletop sweeteners: Acts as a natural sweetener and low-calorie alternative to sugar and other artificial sweeteners
Stevia is used as a substitute for sugar to add natural sweetness to hot or cold beverages, to be sprinkled on fruits, or for use in several cooking and baking recipes. Stevia, as a tabletop sweetener, is a source of sweetness 200–300 times sweeter than sugar and is suitable for diabetics and people suffering from phenylketonuria. Natuvia by PureCircle, SteviaFirst Corp, and Truvia are some of the commonly known brands of stevia as a tabletop sweetener.
Beverages: Imparts health benefits to zero- or low-calorie beverages
Alternative sweeteners such as stevia are essential as they provide and expand beverage choices to control caloric, carbohydrate, or specific sugar intake. In case of beverages, stevia is the most preferred option as the bulking properties provided by sugar are not required. Stevia is one of the most common natural sweeteners used for zero- or low-calorie beverages. It is mostly used in beverages such as diet carbonated drinks, flavored water, soft drinks, fruit juices, ready-to-drink beverages, and sports & energy drinks.
Convenience foods: Enhances the properties of food products
Stability, texture, sweetness, and mouthfeel of convenience food are essential factors that appeal to consumers. The other important factors that are essential to enhance the product appeal include shelf-stability, proper shape, color, taste, flavor, volume, and consistency. Stevia blends help to impart these properties to the food product without impacting its quality and its appeal to the consumers. Leading food ingredient manufacturers offer a broad range of stevia blends to meet these requirements.
The Asia Pacific region accounted for the largest market share for stevia, followed by North America and RoW. With a population of more than 4.2 billion and rising income of consumers, stevia sweeteners are projected to witness an increase in the customer base in the Asia Pacific as it is an important segment of the sweeteners industry. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to be the fastest-growing market, with investments from several multinational manufacturers, particularly in countries such as Japan, China, and India.
The stevia market is fragmented and competitive, with a large number of players operating at regional and local levels. The key players in the market adopted strategies such as acquisitions & mergers, new product developments, and expansion & investments. Prominent players profiled in the report include Cargill (US), Ingredion Inc. (US), PureCircle Ltd. (Malaysia), and Tate & Lyle PLC (UK).
