The companies will partner immediately to obtain FDA GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status for Sunwin’s stevia extracts. WILD Flavors expects to commercialize many new and innovative product concepts and offerings with current customers for immediate entry in the market, while also opening doors to new clients for access to zero-calorie, natural sweetening systems.
The companies expect that the technological synergies between Sunwin’s production knowledge, and WILD Flavors’ quality management systems and product development techniques, will result in exponential volume growth and opportunity through new routes to market.
“Our customers have consistently recognized the value of utilizing high quality natural ingredients in the development of food and beverage products and have expressed great interest in stevia-based sweetening solutions,” said Kevin Gavin, COO, WILD Flavors. “We have experienced tremendous success in responding to our customers’ needs, and investing in Sunwin International will allow for continued leadership and innovation in the industry. WILD Flavors’ taste modification technologies, such as Resolver and FruitUp, will enable us to create natural sweetening systems and blends to meet our customers’ expected needs for functionality.”
Sunwin currently sells its stevia products as nutritional supplements in the U.S. to food and beverage producers, along with their own stevia blend tabletop sweetener, OnlySweet, in more than 4000 grocery stores.
Jeff Reynolds, president of Sunwin’s U.S. subsidiary, said “Consumer goods companies around the world are excited about the growth opportunities of using stevia in existing products and new products that are in the development stages. We strongly believe that the partnership with WILD Flavors will provide a competitive advantage by developing stevia-based solutions that create superior tasting products.