New Sweetener Passes Test at Food Expo

More than 1500 sugar cookies baked with SteviaCane were the hit of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) food expo in Chicago.

Talk about a high-profile taste test – the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) food expo. It’s where prototype products are sampled by thousands of food experts who turn out for the annual event.

More than 1,500 sugar cookies made with the new sweetener called “Steviacane™” – a product made from sugar and stevia – were served up there recently “raising some eyebrows and generating a lot of curiosity,” says Darrell L. Gerdes, manager of research and new product development for Imperial Sugar Company (ISC).

Sugar cookies served at Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) food expo were the receipt of Joetta Gerdes, mother of Darrell L. Gerdes, manager of research and new product development for Imperial.

With the introduction of Steviacane, Natural Sweet Ventures LLC  – a joint venture formed by Imperial Sugar and PureCircle this year – is tapping into consumers’ and food manufacturers’ desire for a natural sweetener that uses less sugar, but that doesn’t impact finished product flavor.

Representatives from both companies were there to see and hear firsthand reactions to the Steviacane  “sugar” cookies, which were based on a recipe by Gerdes’ mom, Joetta Gerdes.

“We saw a strong, positive reaction to the idea of having a sugar product that could help our customers lower sugar usage and calories in their existing products,” reports Gerdes, a Ph.D. with a taking-it-to-the-streets approach when it comes to engaging consumers.

Jordi Ferre, corporate vice president of sales and marketing for PureCircle USA, says those who tasted the cookies were pleasantly surprised. A common response was: “You don’t expect to have a great-tasting cookie after taking 50 percent of the sugar out.”

Steviacane is produced through a patented process in which cane sugar and high-purity stevia, a sweetener derived from the leaves of the Stevia plant, are combined into an easy-to-use granulated product.

According to Jason Hecker, vice president of global marketing for PureCircle Limited, stevia sweetener products are gaining momentum in the market as major multinational companies and big brands continue to drive up awareness.

“With increased interest in stevia-based products and a shift in the market to sugar, Steviacane comes along at the right time, combining the best of the two natural sweeteners,” says Hecker. “Steviacane will fill a real need, offering the taste of real sugar – but with fewer calories – using our proprietary formulation.”

Gerdes has been leading the development of the venture’s first product for the last six months. The process has required everything from an examination of stevia and sugar molecules, to running taste panels, to conducting a 72-hour commercial-scale test run of the product in the refinery.

“This is a significant step forward for the sweetener industry,” Gerdes believes. “This has been the most exciting and challenging product-development project I have been involved with in my 25-plus year food industry career. It was quite a treat to see the positive and supportive reactions of hundreds of food scientists at the food expo.”

Natural Sweet Ventures plans to do a limited-distribution test later this year that involves selling the packaged product in one of Imperial Sugar’s strategic retail partners.

Gerdes hints that conference attendees in various industries peripheral to food processing presented some unique opportunities going forward.

Ferre sums up his impressions, saying: “Widespread interest in using a natural sweetener like stevia with sugar to reduce calories continues to be very big. Steviacane offers a perfect solution.”