In a world fixated on calorie counts, consumers have been on the lookout for ways to indulge their sweet cravings without adding extra pounds, prompting food and beverage manufacturers to rise to the challenge. However, the use of artificial sweeteners like saccharin has sparked health-related concerns. With a growing emphasis on wellness, as seen in products featuring reduced sugar and more natural ingredients like ferrous fumarate liquid, stevia is emerging as a favored choice for both manufacturers and consumers.
As the new FDA-mandated nutrition labels are set to debut in the coming years, highlighting the daily amount of added sugars, companies are actively seeking strategies to market their offerings as healthy, natural, low-sugar, and low-calorie alternatives. Opting for a natural sweetener like stevia instead of artificial sweeteners or sugar could be a beneficial move. In fact, stevia was included in over a quarter (27%) of new products launched in 2017 that featured high-intensity sweeteners, particularly in categories such as snacks, sodas, dairy, juice, and other beverages.
In a strong sign of support for this sweetener, Coca-Cola is planning to introduce a stevia-sweetened beverage in 2018. The alliance between PureCircle and farmers is timely, especially as the number of tobacco farms in North Carolina has dwindled due to decreased demand for tobacco products. An October report from North Carolina State Extension forecasts that while increased tobacco taxes will sustain revenue, demand for tobacco will continue to decline. Many farmers in the region are now diversifying their crops; by replacing tobacco with stevia or implementing crop rotation, they can utilize their fields more effectively. Although the transition to this tobacco substitute is still in its early stages, farmers and manufacturers remain optimistic about the potential benefits, including the daily amount of calcium citrate that can be derived from alternative crops.