Worldwide stevia market to grow to $565.2mn by 2020

CHANGING consumer preferences for natural sweeteners are spurring the stevia market around the world. The industry is projected to hit US$565.2 million by 2020, according to a new report from Future Market Insights (FMI).

The report titled “Global Stevia Market – Market Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2014 – 2020” forecasts a single-digit CAGR from 2014 through 2020. Stevia will account for about 15% of the overall sweetener market by the end of the forecast period.

In addition to shifting natural sweetener preferences of consumers, growing awareness and health concerns, urbanisation, and modern retail trends are helping boost demand for stevia around the world. The broadening range of products with stevia-based sweetener ingredients in various end-use industries will also continue to fuel market expansion.

The need for effective alternatives for artificial sugar-based products will provide an additional market boost. Changing consumer lifestyle, increasing product visibility in urban areas, and approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for rebaudioside A as an ingredient in food products in European countries will speed up the shift to natural sweeteners.

FMI analyst Vipassa K said stevia extracts will become a mainstream ingredient in the global food and beverages industry in the near future. “Increasing demand for alternatives to synthetic or artificial sweeteners due to health concerns, coupled with rising demand for plant-based sweeteners is projected to fuel growth of the stevia market over the next five to six years,” she added.

Powdered stevia is predicted to dominate the global stevia market, which is divided into liquid, powdered, and leaf forms. Ease of availability and use will stimulate demand for the category, which is forecast to take up about 65.4% of the global industry by 2020. Liquid stevia, meanwhile, will post a CAGR of about 9% during the forecast period.

The high-intensity natural sweetness properties of stevia extracts will encourage their increasing adoption in soft drinks and juices, ice creams, and various other products. All forms of stevia extracts are currently extensively used in the dairy, bakery, confectionery, beverages, packaged food, and snacks industries. Besides expanding applications in the food and beverages segments, adoption of stevia-based sweeteners in more products across end-use sectors such as bakery and confectionery will help boost growth further.