New Zealand ingredient company BioVittoria has announced that McNeil Nutritionals has launched 'Nectresse Natural No Calorie Sweetener' – a new tabletop sweetener made with BioVittoria's monk fruit extract, in the US.
McNeil Nutritionals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, markets nutritional products such as Viactiv Dietary Supplements, Lactaid Milk and Dietary Supplements, Benecol Products and Splenda Sweeteners, a low calorie sweetener in the US.
BioVittoria noted that Nectresse Sweetener derives its natural sweetness from monk fruit - a small green melon is cultivated in Asia. The company partnered with Tate & Lyle to offer the extract to McNeil Nutritionals.
BioVittoria chief executive David Thorrold said that McNeil chose monk fruit extract for its new natural table-top sweetener after extensive consumer testing.
"Having the market leader launching a table top product made from monk fruit is going to create tremendous consumer awareness and really will take monk fruit into the mainstream," McNeil added.
BioVittoria, which is headquartered at the Waikato Innovation Centre in New Zealand, has a 3,000 monk fruit grower network based around Guilin in Northern Guangxi Province, China. It works cooperatively with the Chinese government at both the national and provincial level and operates in China through a joint venture company.
