March 14/Chicago/PureCircle Press Release -- PureCircle announced an amendment to its multi-year supply agreement with Merisant Company, a producer of tabletop sweeteners throughout the world, that extends and expands the relationship between the two companies.  

The relationship extends across global markets and Merisant’s broad portfolio of leading brands sweetened with Stevia extracts, including Canderel®, Equal® and Pure Via™.

As part of this expanded  agreement, all Merisant tabletop products that are sweetened with Stevia extracts will carry PureCircle's "Stevia PureCircle" trust mark, which is currently being licensed by leading brands in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia.  The trust mark serves as a symbol of quality and reliable sourcing for consumers and is supported by such activities as PureCircle's We Grow Joy campaign (steviapurecircle.com) and the Global Stevia Institute (globalsteviainstitute.com).

Commenting on the new agreement, Paul Block, president and chief executive officer of Merisant said, "PureCircle is a driving force in the stevia industry, with their supply chain strength and continuous innovation.  We see the extension and expansion of Merisant’s relationship with PureCircle as a key element in supporting the global expansion of our portfolio of leading sweetener brands."

"We are very pleased to have been chosen by Merisant as their supplier of choice,” stated Magomet Malsagov, chief executive officer of PureCircle Limited. “Merisant has demonstrated decades of leadership in bringing great tasting sweeteners to the global consumer market.  We are confident consumers and our customers will see great benefits from our strong supply agreement and “stevia PureCircle” trust mark alongside such great brands as Canderel®, Equal® and Pure Via™."

From the March 21, 2011, Prepared Foods E-dition