PepsiCo, Purchase, NY, will introduce a zero-calorie, all-natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant through a partnership with Whole Earth Sweetener Company, Chicago, IL.

PureVia will debut in a new PepsiCo beverage called SoBe Life, set to launch in Latin America, starting with Peru. PureVia tabletop sweetener is scheduled to hit the U.S. this fall before expanding into global drink and food products. Initially, PureVia will be available in three SoBe Life flavor blends: Tropical Pomegranate, Strawberry-Kiwi and Orange-Tangerine.

PepsiCo intends to market PureVia in beverages and foods and Whole Earth Sweetener Company will market the brand as a tabletop sweetener.

“Consumers have always been looking for a beverage that is natural, tastes great and has no calories, and SoBe Life with PureVia answers the call,” said Massimo d’Amore, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Beverages. “This will have great appeal to health-conscious people who are looking for hydration and natural ingredients.”

In May, Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a subsidiary of Merisant Company focused solely on natural products, submitted a notification and supporting scientific data to FDA that the ingredient is GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) for use in beverages, foods and tabletop sweeteners.

“The introduction of PureVia represents the culmination of four years of research and development to bring this revolutionary new product to market and satisfy consumer demand for great tasting, all-natural, zero-calorie sweeteners,” said Paul Block, CEO of Merisant and Whole Earth Sweetener Company. “What’s unique about PureVia is that we’ve identified a way to extract the purest part of the stevia leaf to reveal the cleanest and most consistent taste.”

“This is a potential game-changer among zero-calorie sweeteners,” said Lou Imbrogno, PepsiCo’s senior vice president of Pepsi Worldwide Technical Operations. “PureVia is all natural. It’s extracted from the stevia plant leaf and not synthetically produced. We’ve got ample supply and we look forward to bringing PureVia to consumers around the world.”

As a tabletop sweetener, PureVia will be available for purchase at food and grocery stores across the U.S. later this fall in 40-stick cartons.

PepsiCo and Whole Earth Sweetener Company have agreed to buy the natural sweetener from PureCircle, a leading supplier of pure Rebaudioside A, the product’s active sweetener. PureCircle will also have the exclusive license to market Rebaudioside A under the PureVia brand in certain categories.

The announcement follows a recent string of introductions, or planned product launches of stevia-based sweeteners, including those from Cargill and Coca-Cola, Wisdom Natural Brands, Blue California and NutraSweet.