Ingredion, S&W Seed enter into a U.S. pilot production supply agreement for stevia

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Ingredion Inc. (Westchester, IL) and S&W Seed Company (Longmont, CO) entered into an exclusive U.S. stevia pilot production supply agreement in which S&W will leverage its proprietary stevia plant portfolio and production techniques to supply Ingredion and its subsidiary PureCircle by Ingredion with U.S.-sourced stevia plants.

“S&W has developed unique, non-GMO, all-natural stevia varieties over the past ten years utilizing our proprietary plant breeding program. Recently, we have made what we believe is a significant leap forward by validating efficacy of stevia production in the southeastern United State,” said Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company. “By leveraging a unique seed-to-plant process and mechanical harvesting system, we expect to dramatically reduce overall production costs. Importantly, this method is intended to allow the stevia to function as a green cover crop, helping to sequester carbon. We are excited to enter into this pilot production supply agreement with the world’s largest stevia ingredient producer, PureCircle by Ingredion, to further validate and expand upon our capabilities to date.”

Jeremy Xu, senior vice president and chief innovation officer at Ingredion, said: “This agreement strengthens our ability to provide sugar reduction solutions for our customers by diversifying our supply of sustainably sourced stevia in the United States. This agreement with S&W will allow us to evaluate the long-term opportunity to produce large quantities of stevia in the U.S. effectively.”