Florham Park, N.J., May 14 - In the keynote speech given in Shanghai at Stevia World 2009 (May 14-15), the annual conference for producers and food and beverage companies, Dorn Wenninger, Corporate VP Supply Chain with PureCircle, the major Reb A producer, announced today that Reb A is now fully competitive with sugar for global brands with global volume.
At the conference, Wenninger shared key success factors in his presentation entitled, "Key Success of Reb A to multinational F&B Companies." He said, following FDA GRAS in Dec. 08 in the U.S., "product development activity has been intense. To build on our continuing success, the global stevia industry must work together as a sustainable industry to tell the very positive story about stevia and the natural extraction methods used, which in many cases is supporting some of the poorest farming communities."
Wenninger continued, "at PureCircle, we have learned from other sweeteners that the key to a truly global success is to offer our sweetener--Reb A--an all natural alternative to sugar with zero calories--at a fully competitive price at the earliest opportunity." As a result of PureCircle's critical mass and global strategic collaborations with Firmenich, for example, that day has arrived. "This is a monumental shift for the natural sweetener industry, which PureCircle is proud to lead."
PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer of Rebaudioside A (Reb A) sweeteners from Stevia, announced in 2008 their contract extensions with Cargill and major new contracts with PepsiCo and the Whole Earth Sweetener Company, for the supply of high-purity Reb A for use in beverages, foods and tabletop sweeteners. PureCircle's investment in research and development has given it a leading position in the manufacture of high-purity Reb A, and its scientists are globally recognized experts in the field.
Dorn Wenninger is responsible for all supply side operations, including breeding, propagation, production, joint ventures, extraction & refinery factories, and logistics at Pure Circle. PureCircle works with independent farmers in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, China, Paraguay and Kenya to grow high-quality stevia leaf, and works closely with local communities to maximize socio-economic and environmental benefits for these communities.