The Sugar Industry is Discovering Stevia

The Sugar Industry is Discovering Stevia: Stevia First (STVF), Stevia Corp (STVF), GLG Life Tech (GLGL) & Sunwin International Neutraceuticals (SUWN)

As Stevia goes mainstream, its potentially good news for Stevia stocks Stevia First (STVF), Stevia Corp (STEV), GLG Life Tech (GLGL) and Sunwin International Neutraceuticals (SUWN).

Domino Foods, the makers of Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar, has introduced new Stevia based sweetener products – a growing sign that Stevia is becoming mainstream and a trend that should bode well for Stevia stocks like Stevia First (OTC: STVF), Stevia Corp (OTC: STEV), GLG Life Tech (NASDAQ: GLGL) and Sunwin International Neutraceuticals (OTC: SUWN). To first put things in perspective, Stevia actually consists of 240 species of plants native to South America, Central America and Mexico where its been used as a sweetener by the natives in these regions but the plant is also attractive to those in the sweetener industry because its extract has up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar. Moreover, Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose and has no calories – making it a great natural sweetener for anyone on a carbohydrate-controlled diets as well as for diabetics or for that matter, anyone concerned about the health risks associated with consuming too much sugar, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other sweeteners.

As for Domino Foods, it has just announced the introduction of the Domino® Light and C&H® Light Sugar & Stevia Blend products which consists of an all-natural blend of pure cane sugar and Stevia. Specifically, Domino Foods blended pure cane sugar with naturally sweet stevia along with a natural flavor to further enhance taste in order to create what it calls a “delicious” and light sweetener that contains no artificial ingredients or sugar alcohols. This also means that unlike when other low calorie or light sweeteners are used, baked products will actually come out tasting delicious. In fact, replacing just one cup of sugar with 1/2 cup of Domino® or C&H® Light Sugar & Stevia Blend will lighten a recipe by 350 calories.

In other words, Stevia is becoming more and more mainstream – meaning its time to take a quick closer look at Stevia stocks Stevia stocks Stevia First (STVF), Stevia Corp (STEV), GLG Life Tech (GLGL) and Sunwin International Neutraceuticals (SUWN).

Stevia First Corp. (OTC: STVF)

Stevia First Corp. is an early stage agribusiness focused on the industrial-scale production of Stevia in California's Central Valley with the goal of enabling local farmers in the USA to grow Stevia as a profitable cash crop. In order to differentiate itself and its Stevia from overseas producers who actually have higher costs, Stevia First Corp. intends to use advanced plant breeding and mechanized harvesting techniques to ensure total quality control over the Stevia it produces. Over time, Stevia First Corp. will gradually increase the amount of Stevia acreage it grows by making acquisitions or by leasing new land or through partnerships with local California farmers. Stevia First Corp. has also recently announced the addition of four health industry or agricultural professionals to help it cultivate and more importantly, develop Stevia based products. Hence and of all the stocks involved in Stevia, Stevia First Corp. looks to be the most promising.

Stevia Corp. (OTC: STEV)

Stevia Corp. is a farm management company focused on Stevia agronomics which includes everything from Stevia plant breeding to agricultural best practices to post harvest techniques. Stevia Corp’s headquarters is in the USA but it should be noted that its R&D operations are in the USA as well as in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia while its farm operations are located in Vietnam and Indonesia with operations in the USA still being in the planning stages. Hence, Stevia Corp’s operations are diversified geographically but that also means they could be subject to disruptions or quality control issues. Nevertheless, its worth mentioning that at the end of January, Stevia Corp. did announce that it had secured financing via an Equity Purchase Agreement of up to $20,000,000 of the company's common stock by Southridge Partners II, LP (Southridge). Moreover and just last week, Stevia Corp. announced that it has set up a subsidiary in China where it has appointed both a GM and an Operations Director.

Chinese Stevia Producers

Finally, its worth mentioning both GLG Life Tech (NASDAQ: GLGL) and Sunwin International Neutraceuticals (OTC: SUWN) – two Chinese companies involved in producing Stevia or Stevia based products. Its worth mentioning that Sunwin International Neutraceuticals has also partnered with Domino Foods (Domino Sugar) and WILD Flavors GmbH (WILD) in order to support the food and beverage industry with all natural sweeteners made from natural products such as cane sugar, rice, malt and Stevia. On the other hand, GLG Life Tech has been the target of either true or unfounded accusations that have led to a flurry of lawsuits plus the company has announced a delay in the filing of its year end financials. Hence, Stevia investors would probably be better off sticking with non-Chinese Stevia stocks.

The Bottom Line. Stevia First (STVF) appears to be the strongest Stevia stock while Stevia Corp (STVF), GLG Life Tech (GLGL) and Sunwin International Neutraceuticals (SUWN) should not be completely ruled out by investors with a stomach for risk.

source: smallcapnetwork