PureCircle has reported that the use of stevia leaf sweetener in beverages and food products continues to expand.

Global launches of beverage and food products containing stevia have grown steadily since 2012, and in 2017 alone, increased more than +10% vs. 2016, the company notes, citing data from Mintel.

Launches of beverage products containing stevia grew 11% from 2016 to 2017, while launches of food products containing stevia grew 10% from 2016 to 2017. Top categories for launches containing stevia in 2017 included snacks, juice drinks, dairy, carbonated soft drinks and confectionery.

Producers of food and beverage products designed for kids (age 5-12) are also making more use of stevia, PureCircle notes, as it enables them to formulate products with no- or reduced-calories using a plant-based sweetener. In 2017, launches of products containing stevia with a claim for kids (aged 5-12) increased 16% from 2016.

According to PureCircle, major companies launching products with stevia leaf sweetener last year included Calbee Foods, The Coca-Cola Co, Groupe Danone, Grupo Bimbo, Kraft Heinz, Nestle, PepsiCo, Seven & i Holdings; and Unilever.

Stevia is a zero-calorie sweetener made from a plant, explains the company, while other major zero-calorie or high-intensity sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium) are not.

The usage of stevia leaf sweeteners has grown dramatically, PureCircle points out. In 2012, stevia was used in 16% of food and beverage products launched with high intensity or diet sweeteners. By 2017, that number had risen to 28%. Aspartame, however, is becoming less widely used, the company says. In 2012, aspartame was used in 36% of new foods and beverages utilizing high intensity sweeteners. By 2017, that number was down to 25%. That means, looking at foods and beverages launched with high intensity sweeteners in 2017, plant-based stevia was used more than aspartame, according to PureCircle.

Beverage and food product launches with stevia, the company continues, are occurring worldwide with all global regions participating. The top two regions were Asia/Pacific (40%) and Europe (22%), followed by Latin America, North America and Middle East/Africa.