KEY INTERVIEW: Monk Fruit Supplier Looks to Capitalize on Surging Natural Sweetener Demand

FoodIngredientsFirst takes a closer look at one of the industries emerging sweeteners, monk fruit, the natural sweetener from the remote mountains of China, which is giving others a run for their money. According to legend, monk fruit is named after the Buddhist monks who were among the first to cultivate the fruit nearly 800 years ago. Also known by its Chinese name Luo Han Guo, the ancient Chinese fruit has been consumed as a functional beverage and traditional remedy in China for many years.

 

The small sub-tropical melon has excited the food and beverage industry ever since it was recognized as a fruit with unique health giving properties. Procter & Gamble were the first company outside of China to take interest in monk fruit around two decades ago, then, a New Zealand based company then called BioVittoria partnered with Guilin GFS Monk Fruit Corp, were the first to have monk fruit extract added to the FDA GRAS list in 2010. Among the large food ingredient companies Tate & Lyle were the first to see the potential of monk fruit when it partnered with BioVittoria under the brand name PUREFRUIT.

 

With monk fruit riding the wave of explosive growth in natural sweeteners since then, it is now recognized as a mainstream ingredient and features in products from Nestlé, PepsiCo and General Mills to name a few. The future of monk fruit certainly appears bright and judging by the success of stevia in these markets, monk fruit will add further growth for years to come.

 

David Thorrold is the General Manager at Monk Fruit Corp. (formerly known as BioVittoria) who are currently the worlds largest monk fruit extract supplier. “We are currently seeing growth opportunities everywhere for monk fruit,” he tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

 

“Monk fruit is a traditional food that has been consumed all over the world for hundreds of years. Because the ingredient is sourced from a fruit, Monk Fruit Corp. is able to supply both monk fruit juice concentrate and powdered monk fruit extract.”

 

Since Monk Fruit Corp. produces over 70% of the world's monk fruit ingredient supply, they are the only company that is actively involved in obtaining new regulatory approvals for monk fruit. “By the end of this year we expect to have either regulatory approvals or a history of traditional use that will cover over 4 billion consumers worldwide,” says Thorrold.

 

The drive towards reducing sugar in foods and beverages is rapidly becoming a global phenomenon that is now having an impact in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. On top of this consumers all over the world are becoming more and more knowledgeable about packaged food generally which is driving demand for products that are made with real food ingredients and which avoid as much as possible using food additives. Thorrold believes that monk fruit’s position as a traditional food that can be used to reduce sugar makes it the perfect sweetening option for these types of products.

 

“Consumers are more aware and committed to reducing calories, and when using monk fruit as an alternative formulators can take sugar out and replace it with the types of ingredients and nutritional values that consumers are looking for including protein, healthy fats and dietary fiber,” he claims. 

 

Monk Fruit vs Stevia
The rise of stevia has owned many headlines in recent years and now it isn’t the only sweetener produced in China that is in demand. Stevia, currently, is a far more known ingredient compared to monk fruit but as its popularity increases, this may be about to change.

 

Monk fruit and stevia do share some similarities says Thorrold: “The common theme linking the two ingredients is that both monk fruit and stevia are derived from natural plant sources, and both products are used for sweetening in foods and beverages. In terms of their sensory profile, both ingredients have a slightly delayed sweetness onset and a slightly lingering sweetness compared to sugar.”

 

There are however some important differences between the two products: “Stevia on the other hand is derived from the leaf of a shrub that is indigenous to Paraguay and is only available as a plant extract,” he says.

 

“Monk fruit juice is a food and is labeled like any other fruit juice. Stevia extract however is a highly processed food additive that is typically purified to the point where it is an almost 100% pure single chemical compound. For this reason stevia is considered a food additive and in most countries is labeled by its chemical name “Steviol glycosides”.”

 

“While both monk fruit and stevia are used for their sweetening properties, stevia is known for its bitter aftertaste which is not found in monk fruit products,” says Thorrold.

 

Monk fruit is supplied as a powder and as a juice concentrate – suited to differing applications. There are no limitations in terms of product applications for monk fruit except that monk fruit juice cannot be used in dry mixes such as powdered beverages.

 

“Because monk fruit ingredients are made from 100% natural fruit, the raw material cost is significantly higher than for stevia which is made from the leaves of a shrub. The higher raw material cost flows into the cost of the processed ingredient and this is the reason that monk fruit is more expensive to use than stevia.”

 

“However, while monk fruit ingredients are priced at a significant premium to stevia, the actual added cost per serve is often only fractions of a cent, and the benefit is a better taste and a fruit ingredient on the label,” says Thorrold. “What we are seeing is for the more premium types of products that monk fruit is well suited to, the extra cost compared to stevia is not a barrier to adoption.”

 

FoodIngredientsFirst asked Thorrold which is more sustainable in the long term? “Both monk fruit and stevia are sustainable crops in the long term, and both are important new sources of sustainable income for local farmers,” he concludes.