France’s leading stevia table top sweetener, Pure Via™, Adds Stevia PureCircle® Trust Mark

January 26, 2011

Pure Via™, the leading stevia extract table top sweetener from Merisant, will now communicate the benefits of stevia via the Stevia PureCircle® trust mark. The product was already sweetened with stevia extract by PureCircle, a great tasting, natural origin sweetening ingredient derived from the stevia plant. Pure Via™ achieved tremendous growth and the number one position in the French market, where stevia was approved two-years prior to the recent pan-European approval.

Pure Via™ is made with natural origin stevia by PureCircle and was especially developed to suit European tastes. To create Pure Via™, no calorie, high purity stevia by PureCircle was blended with other ingredients of natural origin for a great tasting, no-calorie sweetness. Pure Via™ complements Merisant’s portfolio of successful sweeteners, including the global Canderel and Equal brands.

“Consumers continue to seek healthier, more natural options” said Jason Hecker, Vice President, Global Marketing and Innovation, PureCircle Limited. “Merisant’s Pure Via™ suits this demand, by giving consumers great tasting, natural origin sweetness they can trust while helping them reduce calories in their favourite foods and beverages.”

Pure Via™ now joins over 100 other food and beverage products around the world that are licensing the Stevia PureCircle® trust mark. The trust mark serves as a symbol of the highest quality and sustainable sourcing for consumers and is supported by such activities as PureCircle’s We Grow Joy consumer campaign (steviapurecircle.com) and the Global Stevia Institute (globalsteviainstitute.com), a leading resource for credible, science-based stevia information established by PureCircle. Merisant has also committed to support the Global Stevia Institute’s education initiatives across Europe.

“Pure Via™’s success since coming to market can be attributed to the consumer appeal of stevia extract as a sweetening ingredient,” said Hugues Pitre, Merisant Vice-President & Managing Director EAME. “Communicating this benefit and the ingredient’s trusted source to consumers is essential as the new pan-European market for stevia products grows, so we are pleased to carry the Stevia PureCircle® trust mark on our product.”

Pure Via™ is nationally distributed in France and supported by a national marketing campaign. The brand is available on retail shelves in sticks, cubes and a family-size 80g box that now carry the Stevia PureCircle® trust mark.

About PureCircle

PureCircle (www.purecircle.com) is the global leader in the production of high purity stevia products. PureCircle is leading the industry with the development of a vertically integrated, sustainable and natural supply chain. Stevia is now being grown for PureCircle across South America, Africa, Asia, and the United States where it provides a sustainable cash crop for rural farming communities in each region. PureCircle has developed a broad portfolio of ingredient solutions and has pioneered such ingredients as Reb A, SG95, stevia/sugar combinations, and recently introduced breakthrough ingredient PureCircle Alpha for deeper calorie reductions. The company has also brought to market, PureCircle Flavors, which were developed to enhance flavour and sweetness of other stevia sweeteners, sugar, and HFCS. PureCircle has extended its reach through joint venture partnerships with leaders in the sugar industry, including Imperial Sugar in the US to create Natural Sweet Ventures, as well as Tereos and Nordzucker in Europe to create Tereos PureCircle Solutions and NPSweet A/S. As part of its leadership of the stevia industry, PureCircle has pioneered the industry trust mark Stevia PureCircle®, which educates consumers about the benefits of stevia and provides a strong base of trust for both consumers and food & beverage companies alike. The company has also developed the Global Stevia Institute (globalsteviainstitute.com) led by a global advisory board of internationally recognized health professionals with the mission of promoting accurate, science based information on stevia. PureCircle’s global headquarters are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. PureCircle shares are traded on the LSE AIM index.

About Merisant

Merisant was formed in 2000 to manufacture and market the world’s most popular tabletop sweeteners, Equal® and Canderel®, and over a dozen other available formats. Today, the Group owns 19 brands in over 90 countries. With over 500 employees positioned globally – diverse, inspired and dedicated to continuing to expand the incredible successes of these well-established and premium brands. From the start, Merisant has aimed to raise the bar through continued global expansion, by broadening its audience through new products, and improving productivity through technological advances. The Group strives to develop products which answer consumers’ specific needs to help improve their lifestyle on a daily basis. For more information visit www.merisant.com.

More Information:

Allison Mikita, Communications and Nutrition Specialist, PureCircle Limited  
(866) 960-8242 
Allison.Mikita@purecircle.com