The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry
The product is initially available in a handful of D'Agostino supermarkets in Manhattan, and will be rolled out across the US this autumn. Truvia is also being sold online through <<1>.">www.truvia.com]<1>.
The recommended retail price for a box of 40 Truvia sachets is $3.99, making the product a little more expensive than older sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame and sucralose, sold under brand names including Sweet'N Low, NutraSweet and Splenda.
Truvia is made with rebiana, a compound produced from stevia, the so-called “sweetleaf” shrub that is native to parts of Central and South America.
Stevia-based sweeteners are already used in food and beverage products in Japan and South Korea, and are available as a nutritional supplement in the US. But Truvia is the first tabletop sweetener created from the plant.
"Made with rebiana, the best tasting part of the stevia leaf, Truvia natural sweetener offers consumers zero calorie sweetness in their favorite foods and beverages," said Steve Snyder, Vice-President with Cargill Health and Nutrition.
Food and beverages From early next year, the product will also be included as a sweetener in beverages and foods such as yogurt, cereals and snack bars, Snyder added.
Cargill says it has tested Truvia extensively, and published the results of studies demonstrating the product’s safety in the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology in May.
Company spokeswoman Ann Tucker said that, under the rules of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), no further approval was required to sell Truvia as a general purpose sweetener.
Coca-Cola and Cargill jointly own the Truvia trademark, and Coke has exclusive rights to use the sweetener in beverages. Soft drink rivals including PepsiCo and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group are also working to develop their own natural, no-calorie sweeteners.
However, Coca-Cola is not yet prepared to reveal when it will introduce stevia-sweetened drinks. "We will explore possible applications for our portfolio, but for competitive reasons we cannot discuss timing," said company spokesperson Kelly Brooks.