Stevia in US
After approval in December 2008 the use of Rebaudioside A in US for food and beverages has steadily increased.
US retail data show that stevia sweetened products are performing very well in 2010. The market has grown 126% in comparison to 2009 rising to about $ 800 million. The international market for stevia grew 27 percent in 2010 to $ 285 million and is predicted to reach $ 825 million by 2014 according to new market research from food and drink consultancy Zenith International. The “2011 Zenith Report on Stevia" estimates total volume will reach 11,000 metric tons by 2014 as a reaction to the authorization within the European Union. Actually, market development is much lower than expected.
Stevia in EU
Since the allowance of steviol-glycosides in the EU an estimated 130 new product lines (without re-formulations of existing products) have been introduced in the European market until April 2012. The main category is Table Top Sweeteners. 70% of the products launched are combinations of sugar and steviol-glycosides. Fruit juice syrups are popular as the dilution factor and therefore "sweetness" is determined by the consumer . Those products can easily circumvent the maximum allowed limits given for ready to drink juices.
The most successful launches with steviol-glycosides are blends with sugars. In many applications sucrose is used, but also blends with glucose or fructose are used.
Fructose is recommended for sensory reasons, for labeling reasons ("with fruit sugar") but can cause allergy problems. Glucose fits only to a limited range of products and needs special formulation to fit with steviol-glycosides.
The increase of stevia consumption
Global situation
There is an steady increase of stevia consumption from 2009.
Global Stevia Sweetened Product Launches
Source: Mintel GNPD
2013: Good prospect of stevia
Stevia, the zero calorie natural sugar substitute, continues to grow in popularity. The industry is ramping up for new food and beverage products using stevia and new global markets opening up. It’s reported "expects sales and operating income to improve in fiscal 2014 which begins on May 1, 2013 as worldwide demand for stevia is forecasted to rise and supply chain pricing pressures begin to ease."
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