Tate & Lyle Enter Monk Fruit Sweetener Business

Ingredient supplier Tate & Lyle (Decatur, IL) has obtained exclusive marketing and distribution rights for BioVittoria Ltd.’s (Hamilton, New Zealand) monk fruit extract, an ingredient that Tate & Lyle is branding as PureFruit monk fruit sweetener.

BioVittoria, a company specializing in monk fruit extract, will continue to cultivate and process the ingredient.

Tate & Lyle’s move comes at a time when interest in natural sweeteners, like stevia and monk fruit, is at an all-time high. “In addition to its great taste, PureFruit enables a ‘sweetened with fruit extract’ label claim, which our research shows is extremely appealing to consumers,” said Karl Kramer, Tate & Lyle president of innovation and commercial development.

The PureFruit sweetener can be applied to a variety of foods, including beverages, cereal, confectionery, and bakery products.

Also known as luo han guo, monk fruit is believed to have been used in Asia for hundreds of years. The fruit produces a calorie-free sweetener that is estimated at somewhere near 200 times the sweetness of sugar. The extract received Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status from FDA in January 2010.