PureCircle, a US-based producer and marketer of stevia products, has expanded its operations to Mexico with the opening of a new facility.
The move is aimed at supporting the increasing needs of the Latin American food and beverage industry to reduce sugar and calories in their products.
According to the USDA, Latin America uses over 28 million tons of sugar per year, which is equivalent to more than 100 billion calories.
PureCircle Latin America sales vice president Mauricio Bacigaluppo said, "This puts us closer to our customers, so we're in a better position to provide faster product development support to them."
"There is a very hard push to reduce caloric content in food and beverages in the region.
"and now we're well positioned to help our customers achieve this objective with a natural-origin, zero-calorie sweetener -- stevia," Bacigaluppo added.
Stevia sweetened launches in the region include carbonated soft drinks, powdered beverage mixes, flavored milks, yogurt and table top sweeteners, among others, the company said.
