High-purity sweetener supplier Sweegen announced that its non-GMO Signature Bestevia Reb M ahs been approved by the European Union Commission for use in foods and beverages. The approval of the sweetener gives European brands access to the sought-after stevia ingredient, opening a toolkit for sugar alternatives in healthy consumer products.
 
“Sweegen’s Signature Bestevia Reb M approval is a celebration of good health and wellness for product developers and consumers alike,” Luca Giannone, SVP of Sales, said. “This is just one of our many milestones in Europe to transform products for having a positive and lasting impact on our ever-evolving health.”
 
Consumers are increasingly interested in reducing sugar in their diets for better health, the company said, and taste is the most important factor when seeking out a sweetener. Taste remains the biggest challenge, as well as the biggest driver for repeat purchases, Sweegen added.
 
On an optimistic note for the sugar alternatives sector, Sweegen noted that the Union of European Soft Drinks Associations (UNESDA) announced on June 29 a pledge to reduce average added sugars in beverages by 10% across Europe by 2025. On the heels of the approval, Sweegen invested in designing and building its Innovation Studio in Reading, England, near London. The studio opened its doors in January 2021 with a full applications team to collaborate with food and beverage manufacturers on understanding trends in consumer behavior, and creating ingredients to represent those trend drivers.
 
“Our rapid innovation in application development enables our customer-focused solutions to help manufacturers create great-tasting, clean, natural, plant-based, sustainable products that meet today’s end-consumer needs and desires,” Giannone said.
 
Around the world, Sweegen’s Innovation Studios are open globally in southern California, Mexico City, Reading, and soon in Singapore. These studios will leverage local tastes and knowledge of foods and beverages while serving as creative centers to explore and discover product innovations informed by consumer trends and regional tastes.
 
“Sweegen’s global regulatory mission is the hallmark of opening new sugar reduction opportunities to manufacturers and brands for replacing sugar in foods and beverages, nutritional products, and many other market products worldwide,” Hadi Omrani, director of regulatory affairs, said. “Europe is an important region in our global regulatory vision as we continually forge the future of wellness in food and drink around the world.”
 
Sweegen offers brands a number of cost-effective and rapid sugar reduction solutions for dairy, savory, and bakery with Bestevia Taste Solutions for Europe – it is the first company to receive the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel’s safety status for any steviol glycoside produced by alternative and sustainable technologies. The company uses a bioconversion process starting with the stevia leaf, which enables the company to obtain Non-GMO Project verification for its Signature Bestevia stevia sweeteners in the U.S. market.