Alchem USA has launched a new concentrated liquid form of natural plant extract vinpocetine for beverage applications and claims the ingredient can enhance memory and alertness.
Pepsi NEXT has been launched in Australia, but intriguingly the drink has been formulated with stevia for this market to achieve a 30% sugar reduction, rather than the 60% effected with other sweeteners in the US.
The United Arab Emirates’ largest dairy and juice producer Al Ain Dairy tells BeverageDaily.com it is the first company in the region to introduce stevia into juices produced in the country.
As reports circulate suggesting PepsiCo is trialing an alternative sweetening system for Diet Pepsi, the company insists that it has no intention of altering the drink’s formula or taste.
Coobo has launched the world’s first RTD bubble tea brand in PET, and insists its product is safe after German authorities warned of a bubble tea choking risk.
San Diego-based flavor firm Senomyx has discovered a new taste modifier ingredient that can enhance the sweet flavor of both high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sucrose, allowing food manufacturers to use less of either sweetener in formulations.
Del Monte has launched a Naturally Light low calorie range in the UK using stevia as a sweetener, containing only half the sugar and calories of standard fruit juice and juice drinks.
With an industry consensus forming that stevia can only offer a 50% calorie reduction in soft drinks, the US success of mid-calorie cola Pepsi NEXT could silence some of the sweetener’s critics, says one analyst.
Combining different sweet components from the stevia leaf – in a similar way to combining artificial sweeteners – may be the next step toward improving the flavor of stevia-sweetened products, says PureCircle’s vp of global marketing and innovation Jason...
High purity stevia volume sales at PureCircle have increased by more than 20% year-on-year, PureCircle reported in a pre-close update for the second half of its financial year.
Firms sourcing sucralose from China are struggling to secure supplies owing to a combination of factors including rising demand as sugar prices rise, electricity shortages in southern China and tighter enforcement of environmental legislation, FoodNavigator-USA...
The Coca-Cola Company is poised to test its own mid-calorie sodas in the US using Sprite and Fanta using natural sweeteners including Cargill's stevia brand, hot on the heels of PepsiCo’s mid-calorie cola launch Pepsi NEXT.
From stevia to monk fruit, oats, agave nectar and coconut palm sugar. In the second of our spring special editions, we look at what’s next for natural sweeteners.
Sales of new mid-calorie cola Pepsi NEXT are ahead of expectations, while early feedback suggests it is attracting new consumers - as well as lapsed cola drinkers - into the cola category, PepsiCo has revealed.
PepsiCo UK and Britvic claim to have 'won the race' to launch the first UK soft drink containing stevia extract by formulating the high intensity sweetener within a functional water range from the end of April.
The Coca-Cola Company has confirmed to BeverageDaily.com that it has launched stevia-sweetened varieties of Sprite and Nestea in France with 30% less sugar – the first roll-out using its headline brands on a major market since European Commission (EC)...
A class action lawsuit filed in California this week argues that steviol glycosides should not be considered natural, owing to the "chemical processing" sometimes used to extract them from the stevia leaf.
Flavour ingredients house Senomyx has hinted at PepsiCo’s interest in its work on developing an enhancer to reduce high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) levels in beverages and foods by up to 33%.
While traders “jumping in and out of the stevia marketplace” are disrupting prices and standards by peddling some “awful” extracts, high-quality stevia suppliers in it for the long-haul will ultimately prosper, according to one leading player.
Acidic flavourings and preservatives added to sugar-free beverages and confectionery may pose a ‘dental health risk’ to consumers who believe such products don’t cause tooth decay.
Stevia-sweetened fruit drink Trop50 has been the runaway success story in PepsiCo’s US beverages business this year with volumes of the mid-calorie beverage up 50% in the third quarter, PepsiCo has revealed.
Small molecules that modulate the human sweet taste receptor could help to provide zero-calorie foods and drinks that have "the true taste of sugar", say industry scientists.
GLG Life Tech Corporation (GLG) claims it has made a ‘strong impact’ on the ready-to-drink (RTD) tea market in China, despite serious production issues in the third quarter of 2011 and warmer weather that hit consumer demand.
Consumers of diet soft drinks risk the “rosy self-deception” that such products ‘cancel out’ excess calories consumed through food, while they could also encourage over-eating, Euromonitor International has suggested.
With brand loyalty in the beverage aisles “in freefall” manufacturers have to work harder to excite consumers with new ideas from retro-style acid phosphates to drinking vinegar and Horchata, according to market researchers at The Hartman Group.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed it has access to 112 studies about aspartame, most of which were conducted in the 1980s, which had been feared lost.
November 2011 should see steviol glycosides get regulatory backing for use in food in drink products in the European market, according to a European Commission (EC) representative.
Hype about the promise of stevia created inflated expectations – but the market has evolved in response, according to stevia supplier PureCircle’s vice president of global marketing Jason Hecker.
The first products using sustainable sugarcane under a new certification scheme are about to hit the market after the initial batch was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company’s bottling system.
Stevia supplier PureCircle has developed a natural flavor modifier that enhances the sweetness of stevia, sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to allow larger calorie reductions, the company has said.
Domino Foods, Wild Flavors and Sunwin International have entered a collaborative agreement to produce naturally-derived sweeteners and sweetening systems, the companies have said.
Tate & Lyle today announced that it has entered a five-year exclusive global marketing and distribution agreement for BioVittoria’s zero-calorie monk fruit sweetener, the company told FoodNavigator-USA.
Steviol glycosides produced by fermentation could be on the market in the coming years due to advances made by Swiss company Evolva and Californian R&D partner Abunda Nutrition, which it plans to acquire.
Fusion Nutraceuticals has developed a new process for developing granulated zero-calorie sweeteners that better imitate the taste and functionality of sugar with nearly ten times fewer calories, the company has said.
Sweetening carbonated beverages with stevia, and reb A in particular, does not produce any steviol aglycone, a potentially toxic compound, says a new study which supports the safety and stability of the sweetener.
Redpoint Bio and International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) have achieved FEMA GRAS status for their Reb C sweetness enhancer, allowing it to be used in a variety of applications in the United States and elsewhere.
Senomyx has expanded its collaborative agreement with Firmenich for the commercial development of sweet enhancers to include its S6973 sucrose enhancer in certain beverages, the company has said.
Suppliers and stakeholders in the stevia industry are organising to maintain standards and pursue scientific enquiry into the use of stevia sweeteners. But two trade organisations have been announced this week, with very different membership criteria...
DoehlerGroup and PureCircle, Corn Products and Galam, Tereos and PureCircle… This week has seen a new flurry of alliances over stevia sweeteners, as the ingredients sector gets on its marks for EU approval – and a significant new market.
Jim May of SweetLeaf tells how he came across the sweet leaves from Paraguay almost three decades before they captured the imagination of the mainstream food industry.
Major stevia player PureCircle has won a GRAS (generally recognized as safe) letter of no objection from the Food and Drug Administration for a blend it is aiming at products seeking partial sugar and calorie reduction.
California-based flavor firm Senomyx has signed a letter agreement with PepsiCo to negotiate a deal for the development and commercialization of new sweet taste technology, Senomyx said on Thursday.
Data on the market penetration of stevia in beverages outside Europe suggests that anticipated EU approval may be only the first step for the natural sweetener on a long road to commercial significance.
EU approval for natural sweeteners from the stevia leaf has moved one step closer after scientists at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gave them a clean bill of health.
GLG Life Tech has reported a 323 percent increase in revenue during 2009 as food and drink manufacturers continue to develop and launch new products containing its stevia-derived sweeteners.
