PureCircle Announces Joint Venture with Nordzucker

It will integrate the best of Nordzucker’s production and distribution infrastructure leadership with PureCircle’s global stevia supply, R&D and innovation leadership.

Sep 24 2010 --- PureCircle, the world's leading producer of high purity stevia products, is pleased to announce the launch of a joint venture with Nordzucker, one of Europe’s largest sugar companies. The joint venture will develop and market a range of products that combine the natural benefits of both sugar and stevia to meet the food and beverage industries’ requirements for reduced calorie natural sweet applications.

Both Nordzucker and PureCircle have established track records in developing proprietary technologies tied to natural, sweet products. This will provide the joint venture’s customers with flexibility in developing innovative natural applications. The joint venture is a 50:50 collaboration between Nordzucker and PureCircle and will market its products to food and beverage clients across Central, Northern and Eastern Europe.

The joint venture will operate through the strong support of local expertise as well as service facilities from Nordzucker. It will integrate the best of Nordzucker’s production and distribution infrastructure leadership with PureCircle’s global stevia supply, R&D and innovation leadership. The joint venture will market products across its core markets, as well as non exclusively in a number of other European markets.

Hartwig Fuchs, Chief Executive Officer of Nordzucker, said:

"We are excited to establish this joint venture with PureCircle. PureCircle is the global leader in providing high purity stevia products and the clear partner of choice to merge first-mover developments, in particular of sugar/stevia combined products and supplying our customers with innovative naturally calorie-reduced sweetening options. The joint venture’s products will be a strong complement to Nordzucker’s core sugar business."

Magomet Malsagov, CEO & President of PureCircle Limited, commented:

“It is clear that our global customers want naturally reduced calorie sweetener options provided to them around the world to complement their existing sugar options. When we were looking for partners in Europe, Nordzucker was an obvious choice. As we have been working together it is clear that our combined strengths and vision for the sweetener market will deliver great value to our customers.”