PureCircle is to invest in Indian stevia production
Stevia ingredients company, PureCircle has announced its plans to invest in India’s stevia infrastructure over the next five years, partnering with thousands of Indian farmers to plant 5,000 hectares of stevia and eventually build a stevia processing facility in India.
“Our investment in India signals the huge potential we see in this market for stevia as a sweetener and as an agricultural commodity,” said Jason Hecker, PureCircle’s president of group sales and marketing. “We believe this plant can not only help farmers in the region earn extra income, but also help to naturally reduce calories for Indian consumers while maintaining the sweet tastes they want.”
India is the last major market to approve stevia leaf extract as a sweetener, opening the doors for PureCircle’s investment.
The programme provides farmers with a contract that states a fixed priced for the stevia they produce and teaches them how to grow the plant sustainably. Indian farmers that grow PureCircle stevia on 1 hectare of land can expect to yield an income of about INR 400,000 ($6,020) per year, the company said, and early agricultural trials are currently taking place in five Indian states.
“Stevia, also called Meethi Tulsi and Meethi Patti by Indian farmers, is the perfect ingredient for India due to its natural and herbal origins,” said Ajay Chandran, PureCircle senior director for the South Asia region. “Across the globe, PureCircle’s portfolio of innovative stevia sweeteners and flavours has enabled major brands to reformulate full sugar products with this natural, zero-calorie solution to address consumer demands. We feel confident that stevia’s approval in India will lead to new, lower calorie taste innovation for this market and help consumers significantly reduce their sweet calorie intake.”
PureCircle is one of the largest providers of natural sweeteners to the global food and beverage industry. Through its operating subsidiaries, PureCircle produces, markets, and distributes natural sweeteners and flavors, principally high-purity stevia products.
