Malaysia’s stevia sweetener producer PureCircle has announced its recent innovations have enabled the company to increase the production of Reb D and Reb M stevia sweeteners.

Plant-based sweeteners such as stevia enable manufacturers to produce low-calorie and zero-calorie beverages and food products.

Stevia leaf is made up of Reb A, Reb D and Reb M variants. Reb A was used in some beverages, but it had taste limitations.

However, Red D and Reb M variants have taste profiles that are more similar to sugar and so are very useful to producing low-calorie and zero-calorie beverages.

“PureCircle has developed a strain of the stevia plant called Starleaf stevia, which contains a larger quantity of Reb D and Reb M.”

Reb D and Reb M are present in very small amounts in the conventional stevia plant, but PureCircle has developed a strain of the stevia plant called Starleaf stevia, which contains a larger quantity of Reb D and Reb M.

The company is also planning to increase the production of Reb D and Reb M by using larger quantities of Reb A in the production process.

PureCircle CEO Maga Malsagove said its product was ‘consistently of the highest quality’ and ‘large scale volumes are now available at attractive prices’.

With the increase in the production of the Reb D and Reb M, beverage and food companies will now have better access to the stevia sweeteners and so will be able to meet consumer’s demands for more zero- and low-calorie products using plant-based sweeteners.

In February, the company announced that it is planning to increase StarLeaf stevia planting this year by 200% in order to increase supply to the food and beverage industries.