Howtian’s new stevia ingredient slated to improve taste, cost and beverage performance

03 Jun 2024 --- Sugar reduction in beverages is a common threefold challenge — taste, cost and performance — of achieving reductions in sugar content while maintaining clean and natural product labels.

In light of consumers increasingly seeking products that offer “healthier indulgence,” Howtian has unveiled SoPure Andromeda. Andromeda, part of Howtian’s SoPure family of stevia products, is a range of proprietary stevia blends uniquely designed and optimized for a wide range of beverage applications.

“As a natural sweetening solution that offers superior taste, enhanced performance and significant cost savings over sugar, Howtian’s SoPure Andromeda unlocks new opportunities in sugar reduction for the beverage industry,” states Tom Fuzer, the company’s VP of market strategy. 

Enhanced performance 
Following a study at Howtian’s Shanghai Application Technology & Innovation Centre, Andromeda blends have demonstrated “exceptional capabilities” in enhancing a variety of beverages, far surpassing the performance of conventional Reb A stevia extracts, states Howtian. 

The unique blends of steviol glycosides have been meticulously formulated to deliver superior overall taste at a cost-effective price, even in beverages aiming for high levels of sugar reduction and replacement.

Industry efforts to increase the levels and accelerate the pace of sugar reduction in beverages are gaining traction. A recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that sugar-sweetened beverages are the number one source of excess sugar consumption globally.  

“This places the beverage category squarely as a target for sugar reduction initiatives and regulatory actions like sugar taxes. In addition, rapidly rising sugar prices paired with declining global production of sugar have pressured beverage manufacturers to seek more cost-effective sweetening solutions,” notes Fuzer.

Despite this, many beverage companies face significant hurdles when reformulating and sweetening their products with alternatives. 

Taste is crucial 
Sugar provides a rich, unadulterated sweet taste, whereas sugar substitutes can sometimes produce a lingering, bitter aftertaste at higher concentrations. Beyond sweetness, other taste components of the beverage can also be affected, as well as the body, the smoothness and the overall mouthfeel. Many sugar replacements can lead to an imbalance between sweetness and acidity or in some cases sourness, in the product.

To help overcome these challenges, SoPure Andromeda products have been designed to deliver a sweetening solution for beverages that “exceed the taste and sensory performance of conventional stevia and other sugar alternatives.” 

Other benefits include: 

● Superior overall taste performance vs. the most popular form of Reb A stevia in beverage applications

● Faster onset of sweetness and minimized after-taste

● Significantly enhanced fresh fruit flavor 

● Neutralized bitterness and metallic off-notes

● 100% natural, plant-based, and clean label sugar alternative 

Moreover, SoPure Andromeda products are fully natural stevia-based sweetener blends, ideal for formulating clean label beverage products. 

SoPure Andromeda is a range of proprietary stevia blends uniquely designed and optimized for a wide range of beverages.According to Innova Market Insights, consumers worldwide perceive stevia as the “most natural” sugar alternative, beating out alternatives such as sucralose, aspartame, erythritol, allulose and more.

SoPure Andromeda addresses crucial taste and cost concerns that beverage manufacturers face today. Compared to traditional sugar, Andromeda provides up to 64% in cost savings on sweetener components. 

The company underscores that this makes it not only a healthier choice but also an economically attractive one for beverage companies operating in an increasingly cost-conscious market. 

With a global rise in health awareness, sugar taxes, and the high cost of sugar, this announcement from Howtian arrives at a critical time to meet industry and consumer needs for superior, cost-effective sugar reduction.  

The company remains committed to partnering with manufacturing customers to develop ingredient solutions that help meet regulatory standards and consumer preferences without sacrificing quality or profitability.

Howtian recently completed a Life Cycle Assessment of its core stevia product lines.  

Edited by Elizabeth Green