Stevia Industry Short Summary Draft 
About Stevia + Industry Analysis (draft)
Stevia is a plant-derived extract (called Stevia rebaudiana), which is natural and calorie free, used as a sugar substitute in food, beverages and other applications. The plant is primarily found in South America and has been used for centuries in Japan. Commercialization of Stevia has only taken place a few years back. The Stevia plant contains sweet compounds called steviol glycosides and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. High purity stevia is an extract that contains 95% or more steviol glycoside content and has been generally approved for use in food and beverages. The usage of stevia in the American food industry is regulated by the U.S. food and drug administration (FDA). Whole leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts have not received approval for commercial use in the USA , however, the highly refined sweetener compounds such as stevioside or rebaudioside have been recognized as safe products (GRAS - Generally Recognized as safe).
Stevia's global market value was estimated at 336 million U.S. dollars in 2014. Industry specialists expect the market to grow to 578 million US dollars by 2017. This represents a CAGR of 19.8% from 2014 through to 2017. Increasing demand for alternatives to synthetic or artificial sweeteners due to health concerns, coupled with rising demand for plant based sweeteners is projected to fuel growth of the Stevia market over the next 5 to 6 years. Moreover, Stevia extracts are finding increasing application in soft drinks and juices, ice creams and various other products. As a result of the rapid growth in the application of Stevia in the products mentioned, analysts expect the Stevia market to account for around 15% of the overall sweetener market(currently worth 85 billion dollars) by 2020.
Key players:
Cargill
Merisant PureCircle
Archer Daniels Midland
Associated British Foods
Coca-cola
Cumberland packaging
Danisco
DSM
Evolva Holding
Ingredion
Mulder Natural foods
Nestle
Sources:
Stevia is a plant-derived extract (called Stevia rebaudiana), which is natural and calorie free, used as a sugar substitute in food, beverages and other applications. The plant is primarily found in South America and has been used for centuries in Japan. Commercialization of Stevia has only taken place a few years back. The Stevia plant contains sweet compounds called steviol glycosides and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. High purity stevia is an extract that contains 95% or more steviol glycoside content and has been generally approved for use in food and beverages. The usage of stevia in the American food industry is regulated by the U.S. food and drug administration (FDA). Whole leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts have not received approval for commercial use in the USA , however, the highly refined sweetener compounds such as stevioside or rebaudioside have been recognized as safe products (GRAS - Generally Recognized as safe).
Stevia's global market value was estimated at 336 million U.S. dollars in 2014. Industry specialists expect the market to grow to 578 million US dollars by 2017. This represents a CAGR of 19.8% from 2014 through to 2017. Increasing demand for alternatives to synthetic or artificial sweeteners due to health concerns, coupled with rising demand for plant based sweeteners is projected to fuel growth of the Stevia market over the next 5 to 6 years. Moreover, Stevia extracts are finding increasing application in soft drinks and juices, ice creams and various other products. As a result of the rapid growth in the application of Stevia in the products mentioned, analysts expect the Stevia market to account for around 15% of the overall sweetener market(currently worth 85 billion dollars) by 2020.
Key players:
Cargill
Merisant PureCircle
Archer Daniels Midland
Associated British Foods
Coca-cola
Cumberland packaging
Danisco
DSM
Evolva Holding
Ingredion
Mulder Natural foods
Nestle
Sources: