Study: Stevia market to break 100 million USD this year

Chicago / IL. (09.24. / mi) It´s stevia´s year. All-natural and calorie-free, stevia is poised to become the «holy grail» of sweeteners, says a new report from Mintel.

Since December 2008, when the US-American FDA approved use of rebaudioside A (an active ingredient of stevia) in US food and beverage, the stevia market has erupted. By mid-July 2009, stevia sales topped 95 million USD, a substantial increase over the 21 million USD achieved in all of 2008. Mintel predicts the stevia market could exceed two billion USD by the end of 2011.

«The FDA´s approval of stevia in food and drink opened the door for this market´s explosion», states David Browne, senior analyst at Mintel. «New product activity has accelerated in recent years, and since most categories with stevia applications remain untapped, we expect many more stevia-infused product introductions in the next few years».

In the first eight months of 2009, Mintel´s Global New Products Database (GNPD) monitored the launch of more than 110 US food, drink and healthcare products made with stevia. Annual new product activity for stevia more than doubled between 2007 and 2008.

The portrait for stevia´s success isn´t completely rosy, however. Mintel´s exclusive consumer survey reveals nearly 70 percent of Americans have never even heard of stevia. More than six in ten (62 percent) say they have no interest in trying stevia, and eleven percent say they think stevia is unsafe and they plan to avoid it. «Step one is for manufacturers to get the word out. At this stage, heavy demoing of stevia products in stores, along with copious distribution of free samples, are just as important as promoting stevia´s all-natural, zero-calorie positioning», comments David Browne.

Flavour remains another obstacle to stevia´s growth. Companies are aggressively perfecting formulations and seeking better source material globally, but this means one stevia-based product won´t taste the same as the next. «If someone tries a stevia-sweetened drink with an off-putting aftertaste, it´s logical to assume that person will be a tough sell for stevia products in the future», says David Browne.

Mintel reports that 25 percent of people say they might be interested in stevia, but they haven´t tried it yet. Just over one in ten (eleven percent) say they have tried stevia and plan to continue purchasing it.