ASR Group is the Latest to Add Stevia Product to Sugar Portfolio

20 Oct 2014 --- The producer of American sugar brand Domino Sugar is the latest to announce it is making the move into stevia. ASR Group, which sells Domino Sugar (and it owns the Tate & Lyle brand) and is the world’s largest refiner of cane sugar, will launch its new product by the end of this year. The product will be made entirely from the plant extract, rather than a combination of sugar and stevia.

Domino Sugar’s announcement that it plans to bring out its first no-calorie ‘natural’ sweetener, extracted from the stevia plant in Paraguay, is big news for the sugar and sweeteners industry. It gives further signs to the world that stevia is threatening demand for raw-sugar, bolstered by ongoing anti-obesity warnings. It is a big move for the ASR Group, because 98% of its business is sugar at present.

Stevia is also eating into the market for artificial sweeteners, as consumers recognize it as an attractive alternative due to its non-calorific nature, as well as the fact stevia is suitable for diabetes sufferers. 

Others in the industry have already started making similar moves. The owner of Imperial Sugar has a product which is a blend of stevia and sugar, while Cargill launched its Truvia brand into the US in 2008. The brand is now the market leader in this field. 

And according to reports, the recent acquisition of Wild Flavors by Archer Daniel Midland (ADM) could be a move by the corn syrup producer to expand into this area, as it stated a desire to move into more ‘natural’ markets. 

Reports also note that while the market is still very small, US consumers will eat and drink 597 tonnes of stevia by 2018. In constrast, demand for artificial sweetener aspartame is likely to drop by a third and US sugar consumption is not in growth. 

PepsiCo is launching a new drink this month - Pepsi True - using stevia. The drink has 16 grams of sugar and no artificial sweeteners, and is set to be a rival to the similar product, Coke Life.