Monk Fruit Supply Doubles as "Natural" Market Sweetens

15 Jun 2015

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15 Jun 2015 --- Monk Fruit Corp., the world’s leading monk fruit company, based in China, has announced it has doubled its supply of monk fruit for the 2015 harvest in order to meet rapidly growing demand for natural fruit sweeteners.

In conjunction with the expansion in fruit supply the company has announced a corporate rebranding and the completion of a new round of equity to fund future growth. “The new investment has allowed us to significantly increase our grower network and fruit supply, cementing our position at the top of the industry,” said Frank Lan, CEO and founder of Monk Fruit Corp. “Monk Fruit Corp. now has a raw material supply chain that will produce at least twice as much fruit as our nearest competitor this year.”

Monk fruit is a small melon that has a history of use in Asia dating back hundreds of years. Recently the fruit has grown in popularity as a natural low-calorie alternative to sugar where it competes with other natural and artificial sweeteners.

Monk fruit has recently been included as an ingredient in product launches from a number of global brands including Starbucks, Yoplait, and Nestlé. “Working with our partner Tate & Lyle, we have built confidence among food and beverage companies in our monk fruit products, and that is now translating into a number of exciting product launches in global brands,” stated David Thorrold, General Manager Sales and Marketing of Monk Fruit Corp.

According to the company, US food and beverage product launches with monk fruit have nearly doubled in the first four months of 2015 compared to the same period last year, and this builds on strong growth in 2014 when new product launches increased by 75% compared to 2013. The company estimates that its share of the market for monk fruit ingredients is now about 70%.

The demand for natural sweeteners fits in with the latest trend for clean label products, according to Innova Market Insights top trends for 2015. The US has seen the largest growth in new product launches containing natural fruit sweeteners. According to Innova Market Insights, there has been a 93% rise in these launches between 2013- 2014. Launches that use monk fruit as their natural sweetener have grown by 70% each year since 2010. According to the Innova Database, sports supplements and sports nutrition are the biggest users of monk fruit at 24% and 25% respectively.

Monk Fruit Corp. was formerly known as “BioVittoria” in the U.S. and “Guilin GFS Bio-Tech Co.” in China. “The change of name reflects the fact that our business is exclusively focused on the cultivation, processing and marketing of monk fruit, and that we are the only company to do this. At the same time it communicates our more than decade-long history of innovation, focus and leadership in the monk fruit industry,” added Lan.

Monk Fruit Corp. will continue to be the global leader in monk fruit production and processing. The new investment and rebranding underlines the company’s leadership credentials and positions the business for long-term growth. Monk Fruit Corp. will announce additional information on its rebranding and new product innovation at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual IFT15 Meeting and Food Expo being held at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center from July 11-14, 2015.