PureCircle Begins Direct Sale Of Proprietary NSF-02® Natural Stevia Flavor Solution To Food, Beverage and Flavor House Customers

Chicago, IL, April 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer and innovator of great-tasting stevia ingredients for the global beverage and food industries, is pleased to announce it is now offering its proprietary NSF-02® stevia flavor solution directly to its customers. This important PureCircle solution was previously distributed by a third party as a strategic option within PureCircle's growing natural flavor portfolio. PureCircle is now able to provide food and beverage companies as well as flavor houses direct purchase of, and access to, the ingredient.  Protected by PureCircle's intellectual property, the NSF-02® stevia solution is part of the company's robust portfolio of stevia leaf ingredients including sweeteners, flavor modifiers and functional ingredients.

The NSF-02® stevia flavor is a unique solution.  It is widely valued and used for its ability to enhance sweetness quality and balance overall flavor profile, while minimizing off-notes and aftertaste. The

NSF-02® solution is produced from the stevia leaf and labelled as natural flavor, while delivering sweetness enhancement and balanced flavor profiles.  Companies can now purchase NSF-02® stevia flavor directly from PureCircle, and work with the Company on how to apply this ingredient as part of flavor systems. Customers using NSF-02® stevia flavor can leverage PureCircle's industry-leading formulation expertise and technical support with stevia-based ingredients in flavor systems and optimized sweetener/flavor solutions across a broad set of consumer product applications.

 Consumers are increasingly mindful about their health and wellness and about the ingredients in the foods and beverages they consume.  Food and beverage companies are responding to that. Ingredients seen as natural have growing appeal.  PureCircle's flavor portfolio ? including the NSF-02® solution -- fills that bill perfectly. 

 According to Nielsen's 2018 Global Premiumization Study, "consumers will be seeking greater assurance that the products they buy are free of risk and of the highest quality when it comes to safety standards and efficacy, particularly with respect to cleaning products, antiseptics and food items." Nielsen found that 41% of consumers would be willing to pay more for all-natural ingredients, and 49% percent would pay more for products with high-safety standards.

PureCircle, the everything stevia company with a fully integrated, secure and transparent supply chain, provides just that assurance: ingredients that are of the highest quality and safety standards.

Unique in the ability to deliver consumer assurance, PureCircle's NSF-02® stevia flavor is the only FDA reviewed GSG (glycosylated steviol glycoside) flavor available commercially. Flavor ingredients have high standards of review by the FDA and other regulatory food safety agencies like EFSA. Non-GMO Project and Kosher certified, the NSF-02® stevia flavor is also one of the few stevia-based flavor solutions that can be considered ?organic compliant' for use in USDA Organic food products and ?organic suitable' in the EU. PureCircle is the exclusive, authorized provider of GSG flavors, including NSF-02® flavor and is uniquely able to guarantee full compliance with food safety regulatory authorities related to the use of GSG as a flavor solution.

 Commenting on PureCircle's offering of NSF-02®, PureCircle Deputy CEO Stephane Ducroux said:

 "The NSF-02® stevia solution is a flagship ingredient in our flavor portfolio.  We are pleased to directly supply this important ingredient to everyone in the food and beverage industry. It can be used as a standalone ingredient or as part of flavour systems and multi-ingredient solutions to deliver the best combination of taste, cost effectiveness and compliance. Our technical team is uniquely equipped to help with the synergies between flavor modifiers and stevia leaf natural sweeteners. We are dedicated to serving food, beverage and flavour house customers with the best stevia leaf ingredients, today and tomorrow."

The intellectual property regarding the usage of glycosylated steviol glycosides as a flavor modifier, including NSF-02® flavor specifically, belongs to PureCircle. Due to PureCircle's innovation strength, it now holds globally 214 patents related to stevia. All of PureCircle ingredients begin with the stevia plant. The Company continues to invest in innovation, and is continuously looking to the stevia plant for new ingredient solutions. 

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About PureCircle

• PureCircle is the only company that combines advanced R&D with full vertical integration from farm to high-quality, great-tasting innovative stevia sweeteners.
• The Company collaborates with farmers who grow the stevia plants and with food and beverage companies which seek to improve their low- and no-calorie formulations using a sweetener from plants.
• PureCircle will continue to: lead in research, development and innovation; produce a growing supply of multiple varieties of stevia sweeteners with sugar-like taste, using all necessary and appropriate methods of production; and be a resource and innovation partner for food and beverage companies.
• PureCircle stevia flavor modifiers work in synergy with sweeteners to improve the taste, mouthfeel and calorie profile, and enhance the cost effectiveness, of beverage and food products.
• Founded in 2002, PureCircle is continually investing in breakthrough research and development and it has been granted over 214 stevia-related patents with more than 300 applied for patents pending.
• PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
• To meet growing demand for stevia sweeteners, PureCircle is rapidly ramping up its supply capability. It completed expansion of its Malaysian stevia extract facility in March 2017, increasing its capacity to rapidly supply the newer and great-tasting specialty stevia sweeteners and helping provide ever-increasing value to its customers.
• PureCircle's shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
• For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com

 About stevia

• Given the growing global concerns about obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working responsibly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant offer sugar-like taste and are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies.
• Like sugar, stevia sweeteners are from plants. But unlike sugar, they enable low-calorie and zero-calorie formulations of beverages and foods.
• Stevia leaf extract is a natural-based, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a great-tasting zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
• Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America; today, it is grown around the world, notably in Kenya, China and the US.
• The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 350 times sweeter than sugar: stevia's high-intensity sweetness means it requires far less water and land than sugar.
• Research has shown that the molecules of the stevia leaf are present and unchanged in the dried stevia leaf, through the commercial extraction and purification process, and in the final stevia leaf extract product. All major global regulatory organisations, across 65 countries, have approved the use of high-purity stevia leaf extracts in food and beverages.
• For more information on the science of stevia, please visit https://www.purecirclesteviainstitute.com/

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