INDIA: PureCircle to invest US$200 million to produce stevia

Published: 04/12/2016, 4:19:32 PM

PureCircle, producer of stevia ingredients for global food and beverage industry, plans to invest US$200 million in India's stevia infrastructure over the next five years. The company will partner with Indian farmers to cultivate stevia on 5,000 hectares and build a processing facility, according to the Indian Express newspaper.

Stevia, a naturally sourced "zero-calorie" sweetening agent, is a plant extract used as a "natural sugar substitute" around the world. According to experts consulted and research done by the company, stevia is 350% sweeter than sugar but is not like sugar, because it has no calorie, and not an "artificial" sweetener either because it is natural.

"Our investment in India signals the huge potential we see in this market for stevia as a sweetener and as an agricultural commodity," says Jason Hecker, who heads PureCircle's group sales and marketing department.

PureCircle also plans to help Indian food and beverage companies to formulate products using stevia as a sweetener.

While stevia was first used in Paraguay around 200 years ago, it was made for commercial use in Japan for the first time in the year 1971. In 1984, China began cultivating stevia plants and, after an initial ban, the Food and Drug Authority of the US granted high-purity stevia leaf extract the status of GRAS, or Generally Recognised as Safe.

India recently approved stevia leaf extract as a sweetener, which facilitated PureCircle's entry to the country. The company says its PureCircle Stevia Agronomy Program works directly with farmers.

"The agronomy program provides farmers with a contract that states a fixed price for the stevia they produce and teaches them how to grow the plant sustainably. Indian farmers that grow PureCircle stevia on 1 hectare of land can expect an income of about Rs 4 lakh per annum from the yield," says the company.

Early agricultural trials for stevia, also called Meethi Tulsi and Meethi Patti by Indian farmers, are already under way in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Ajay Chandran, the company's senior director for South Asia region, says, "Across the globe, PureCircle's portfolio of innovative stevia sweeteners and flavors has enabled major brands to reformulate full sugar products with this natural, zero-calorie solution to address consumer demands. We feel confident that stevia's approval in India will lead to new, lower calorie taste innovation for this market and help consumers significantly reduce their sweet calorie intake."
 

印度:PureCircle投资2亿美元生产甜菊糖甙

PureCircle,生产甜菊糖甙成分为全球食品和饮料行业,计划投资2亿美元在印度的甜叶菊基础设施在未来五年。

甜菊,一个自然的“零卡路里的甜味剂,是植物提取物作为全世界“天然糖的替代品”。根据专家咨询和研究公司,甜菊糖甙350%比糖还甜,但不像糖,因为它没有卡路里,而不是一个“人造甜味剂,因为它是自然的。

“我们在印度的投资信号我们看到在这个市场巨大潜力的甜叶菊甜味剂和作为一种农产品,“杰森·赫克说负责人PureCircle集团销售和营销部门。

PureCircle还计划帮助印度的食品和饮料公司制定产品使用甜叶菊作为甜味剂。

甜叶菊首次使用在巴拉圭大约200年前,在日本为商业用途首次在1971年。1984年,中国开始培养甜叶菊植物。

印度最近批准了甜叶菊叶提取物作为甜味剂,它促进PureCircle加入。

“农学程序为农民提供了一个固定价格合同状态为他们生产的甜菊糖甙和教他们如何种植植物可持续。印度农民种植PureCircle甜叶菊1公顷的土地可以预期收入的Rs 4每年十万的收益,”该公司说。

早期农业试验甜菊,也叫做Meethi坦和印度农民Meethi帕蒂,已经在旁遮普,北方邦,泰米尔纳德邦,恰尔肯德邦,中央邦。

Ajay Chandran南亚地区的公司的高级主管,说:“在全球范围内,PureCircle创新甜叶菊甜味剂和香料使投资组合的主要品牌将完整的糖产品自然,零卡路里的解决方案来解决消费者的需求。我们相信甜叶菊在印度的批准将会导致新的,低热量品位为市场创新,帮助消费者大大降低他们的甜蜜的卡路里摄入量。”