To develop the sweetener, the company looked at individual steviol glycosides, focusing on which ones provide more upfront sweetness with a decreased aftertaste.
“Once you start having these higher concentrations of stevia, [the aftertaste] becomes a critical factor, and picking and selecting the glycosides is the best way to address those challenges,” John Martin, senior director of global technical innovation at PureCircle, told FoodNavigator-USA.
It’s the company’s third category specific stevia sweetener, the other two being Sigma-Tea and Sigma-Dairy, formulated specifically to go with fermented dairy drinks. “This Sigma-Beverage is more universal than those other two, we see the most benefit for flavored-water type of drinks,” he added.
Beverage formulators are looking for category-specific sweeteners
According to a press release from the company, the two category-specific ingredients Sigma-Tea and Sigma-Dairy “are outperforming first generation Reb A solutions on taste and have been developed through PureCircle’s predictive modeling technology.”
“We have seen success with this approach for our customers and are excited to help them further unlock the beverage category and reduce overall calories while meeting the taste desires consumers demand,” said Faith Son, PureCricle’s VP of marketing and innovation.
Sigma-Beverage is available for customers to order samples and it will be showcased this week at Food Matters Live in London.