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Stevia is a sugar substitute derived from the
leaves of stevia rebaudiana plant. This
high intensity low calorie sweetener
is proven to prevent lot of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, blood pressure,
heart diseases and so on. Mainly caused by the high calorie intake, obesity has
become a major health issue in many parts of the world. According to the WHO
statistics, around 2.8 million people die each year due to obesity. U.S. has the highest prevalence population
suffering from obesity followed by Mexico,
New Zealand, England and Australia. A recent survey by the U.S. government revealed
that high calorie intake in the form of soft drinks is the major reason behind
high obesity prevalence. Stevia has been approved in top ten countries with
most obese population which includes U.S., China, India, Russia, Brazil,
Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan and Indonesia. These countries hold around 50%
of the world’s obese population and are either developed or developing nations.
By
replacing stevia with sugar, consumers have been reducing their calorie intake
which avoids potential health risks. Recognizing the growing demand for low-calorie sweeteners, F&B manufacturers are
switching to stevia and signing agreements with stevia providers for bulk
sourcing.
Key agreements during 2011-2014 include:
·
Coca-Cola’s agreement with PureCircle
(Malaysia)
·
Cargill Inc. (U.S.), Pepsi Co. agreement with
PureCircle (Malaysia)
·
COFCO nutrition (China) agreement with GLG Lifetech
(Canada)
There
has been a brisk growth in the stevia
based product launches especially in
beverages segment in the recent years, mainly due to the increasing
approvals from various countries and mounting demand from consumers. Awareness
on stevia sweetened drinks has grown considerably with the entry of Coca-Cola
and Pepsi with their low-calorie drinks Life and True respectively. Beverages
end use segment accounted for around 40% of the Global stevia market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% during
2015-2020. With the growing concern on obesity coupled with rising
availability of stevia based products, Global
stevia market is estimated to reach $610.4m by 2020.
Related Reports:
· Stevia / Stevia Rebaudiana Market by Types (Liquid & Powdered); By Application (Dairy, Bakery, Canned Food, Beverages & Others) and By Geography - (2014 - 2020)