Sweetener Sales: Moms Sweet on Stevia

It is commonly said that, "Mother knows best." And, for good reason.

Later this month, October 20th to be exact, full study data will be released about "Stevia (Reb A) awareness" in current society.

The study highlights the opinions of "mothers in the US," about Stevia (Reb A) products.

Recall that Reb A sweetener was granted GRAS status by the FDA back in December 2008.

At present, two major Reb A products (and their respective major marketing campaigns) are on the market:

• PureVia (manufactured and marketed by PureCircle and PepsiCo)
• Truvia (manufactured and marketed by Cargill and Coca Cola)

The said study was commissioned by PureCircle and the research conducted by LaunchForce, a consulting firm based in Ohio. According to the story in FoodBusinessNews.net, the survey was conducted online: 1,475 surveys were completed; the representative sample was 1,200 mothers.

Apparently, moms are liking what they hear about Reb A, and products that contain the sweet extract of the stevia plant.

Sounds a bit silly at first, but when you really think about it, this is very powerful economic information.

Why?

Because US moms typically do the food shopping. Since they essentially control what families are eating, moms have a major impact on the food industry. If you want to sell your food products, you need to impress the moms of the US with marketing strategies and quality food ingredients.

Obviously, that's BIG business.

According to Jason Hecker, director of marketing for PureCircle in the US,

"The appeal of stevia among mothers is high...

"Nearly 50% of mothers were aware of stevia and have a positive impression of it.

"Overall the ingredient is starting from a very strong place, with room to continue to positively shape the impression of the ingredient in moms' eyes..."

Information about how Reb A (stevia) sales is affecting other sweetener sales and wholesale sugar sales was not included in the article, but you don't need to be a mother (i.e. genius) to see that this trend will make an impact.

If major food and beverage manufacturers have already launched new products (and reformulated old ones) to contain Reb A, a shift in sales volumes for traditional sweeteners and sugar is likely to occur.

So again, we find ourselves listening to our moms.