In Malaysia, PureCircle announced the successful production of the first stevia leaf extract from the new, proprietary stevia leaf – StarLeaf stevia. StarLeaf stevia contains over twenty times more sugar-like steviol glycoside content compared to standard stevia leaf varieties. The extract from this non-GMO proprietary leaf variety provides beverage and food developers a plant-based, zero-calorie sweetener to produce finished products with more upfront sweetness, no bitter linger and a sugar-like taste.
PureCircle will plant this variety in thousands of hectares and when these plants are harvested, customers will benefit from increased availability of these sugar-like glycosides. This new variety will support developers in achieving deeper levels of sugar reduction in their final products without sacrificing taste.
StarLeaf stevia is a product of the company’s long-term investment of $100 million in its PureCircle Stevia Agronomy Program, which supports PureCircle’s goal of creating the world’s largest, non-GMO stevia supply from plant to ingredient.