PureCircle Teams to Grow More Stevia in Paraguay

PureCircle is expanding its stevia supply in Itapúa, Paraguay, with the company announcing it will plant 13 hectares of stevia in partnership with the Kress Group there. Headquartered in Asunción, Paraguay, the Kress Group is well-known for its Frutika brand of fruit juices, and the company owns 20,000 hectares of land dedicated to developing crops for Frutika. Part of this land is what is being used to grow this new stevia crop.

“Our agreement with Frutika is especially sweet because they are now a full supply chain partner,” says Fernando Chilavert, managing director for PureCircle South America S.A. “In addition to being a customer, now they are also one of our farmers. So we have in a way completed a full circle, where a valued customer becomes a key supplier of our own, proprietary variety of stevia leaves.”

“We believe we have found a solution, in stevia, that has its roots in this land, and can be the best option for producers, industry and of course consumers,” Cristina Kress, CEO of Frutika, said, adding, “PureCircle is very committed to Paraguay and to stevia. We are working with PureCircle to grow stevia in order to carry on our tradition of using ingredients that come from this land.”

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