The all-natural status of Reb A, the high intensity sweetener derived from stevia leaves, has excited those looking to benefit from consumer demand for natural products, but head of health and wellness at Euromonitor International Ewa Hudson questions whether the ingredient will be able to satisfy strict organic demands – from certification bodies as well as consumers.
“Dedicated organic shoppers, who may well be keen on low-sugar/calorie options, but are unable to obtain such products for lack of natural sweeteners, should get lucky in future,” said Hudson. “Having said this, it is not very likely that we will see a glut of such products popping up on retail shelves within the space of a few weeks.”
Hurdles
She said that there are two issues to be considered before Reb A is likely to gain acceptance from organic shoppers.
Firstly, the fragmented global stevia crop means that it is difficult to guarantee that it has been organically grown: Major Reb A producers are supplied by thousands of individual farmers.
“A reliable supply of organically grown stevia needs to be ensured,” said Hudson.
Secondly, even though Reb A is a natural product, Hudson said: “The highly refined stevia-based extracts pushed by industry frontrunners are unlikely to satisfy the requirements of either the discerning organic consumer or the very stringent organic certification bodies.”
Additionally, she said that stevia’s reported licorice-like aftertaste would limit the number of organic products containing it, as it would need to remain unprocessed, or only lightly processed, for consumer acceptance.
“Regulatory approval of stevia-derived sweeteners in the US and many other geographies is presently limited to highly refined extracts, rather than permitting the use of actual plant parts,” she said.
Opportunities
Nevertheless, Hudson outlined huge potential for stevia-derived sweeteners in other areas.
“The prediction is that stevia will turn out to be a boon for diabetic products. There is some promising research indicating that stevia-based sweeteners, which have a much desired low glycaemic impact, may be able to improve insulin sensitivity in diabetics. Stevia could replace the artificial sweeteners which are commonly added to complement polyol bulk sweeteners, making these products much more natural while, at the same time, adding valuable health benefits.”
Euromonitor valued the diabetic foods category at $1.2bn in 2007. Moreover, reduced-sugar soft drinks achieved global value sales of over $36bn in 2007.