SweeGen looks to expand in Europe after securing investment

Stevia-based sweetener producer SweeGen has received an investment from Japanese company Sumitomo Chemical and private equity fund Outlook Investment Group.

Part of the funding will support the firm’s expansion of an additional manufacturing site located in Europe with a capacity to produce 3,000 metric tons of non-GMO stevia sweeteners.

California-based SweeGen is dedicated to the production and distribution of non-caloric sweeteners for the food, flavour and beverage industries.

“SweeGen has proven to disrupt the global sweetener market by delivering best-tasting, non-GMO stevia sweetener solutions. We are excited about the next stage growth plans,” said Matt Stamborski, managing partner at Outlook Investment Group.

Hiroshi Ueda, vice president, Sumitomo Chemical, added: “We are developing our strategic partnership with SweeGen to be part of the continuous success in providing the natural sweetener market with the latest innovations and advanced technologies, and also extending our established relationship into new ventures in the field of synthetic biology.”

In August, SweeGen launched Bestevia Taste Solutions, a portfolio of non-GMO sweet taste solutions using stevia sweeteners combined with modulators, mouthfeel and texture components.

Speaking about the portfolio, SweeGen senior vice president of product development Shari Mahon said: “This platform enables my team and our clients to work together even closer. It is built on a strong stevia foundation, and is enhanced with our creative building blocks to provide a custom blended solution that delivers best-tasting products.”