Cargill Insider Interview: Identifying Sweetener Solutions For Modern Palates

Speaker 1 [00:04] Hey folks, it's Ray with Taste Radio. Right now I'm speaking with Carla Saunders, who is the senior marketing manager for Cargill's high intensity sweetener portfolio. Carla, how are you?

Speaker 2 [00:14] I'm pretty good, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 [00:16] Thank you so much for joining us. Uh, could you tell me a little bit about Cargill as a company and what you do with your unit?

Speaker 2 [00:24] Absolutely. So at Cargill, we bring together the worlds of food, agriculture, nutrition, and risk management with operations in over 70 countries in the world, and we have a long, rich history spanning over 155 years and are committed to nourishing the world in a safe and responsible and sustainable way. Um, so, our ingredient is very vast. So we have sweeteners, texturizers, plant proteins, fats, oils, cocoa, chocolate, salt, and, and way beyond that. Um, so my role, so as you boil it down, my role is within the sweetener texturizers division, and I do support the high-intensity sweetener team specifically for stevia and You know, I have responsibility to do business development for alcohol, for beverage, and, and really understand what's happening in the world of stevia. And bring that forward to our customers.

Speaker 1 [01:17] Outstanding. So, you know, consumer desire for lower sugar options uh has been on the rise for some time, as has er demand for cleaner labels. Uh, how has that impacted beverage development?

Speaker 2 [01:33] Oh, I mean, it's been very, um, it's been something that's been impacting this category for quite some time, and I think we'll continue to for the next foreseeable future, especially in the world post-pandemic. Um, sugar is a huge concern for consumers. I mean, in the US alone, 74% of consumers are trying to limit or avoid sugar. Um, and then globally, 56% of consumers say they're extremely are extremely concerned about sugar. So, um, I just, it's just such a top of mind topic as consumers trying to manage their health and wellness, and it's not just sugar, they're really avoiding artificial sweeteners too. And so if you think about when they make those decisions, most consumers Around 65% of consumers check the ingredient list before purchasing new products, and they really do that to avoid ingredients. So 60% of them are looking for that label to tell them ingredients to avoid. Um, and artificial sweeteners is really near the top of that list too. So, when it comes to stevia, you know, we really are seeing a lot of uptick in the marketplace, and then, Um, as far as consumers' acceptance of stevia as well. So, when compared to 12 of the leading low and no calorie sweeteners, um, consumers rank stevia as the most healthful as well as having the most positive perception. So, um, a lot of good, good news in the area of sweeteners, in particularly when it comes to stevia.

Speaker 1 [03:07] Carla, we talked about consumer desire for better ingredients, cleaner labels. Where does sustainability fit into the equation?

Speaker 2 [03:15] So sustainability is a huge factor, and, and really this is one that's only going to grow in importance in the, in the coming years. Shoppers just don't want products that are good for them, so that is really important, right? But they also expect them to be good for the planet, and they're asking questions like, where does my food come from? How is it made? And then they're looking for options that align with their values. Cargill has the most comprehensive sustainability program in the stevia industry. Um, when we first envisioned offering stevia, there was not a sustainable supply chain that existed for stevia, and we built a world-class socially and environmentally responsible one, setting the benchmark for responsible business practices in the stevia industry.

Speaker 1 [03:58] So, Carl, we've touched on, uh, many of the ingredient trends that we're seeing in the beverage industry. Uh, let's talk a bit about product development, or the things on the product development side because it seems like those cycles have shrunk pretty significantly over the last 5 years.

Speaker 2 [04:13] There's been a lot of pressure over the course of the last few years to go very, very fast and, and bring a market, bring products to market very quickly. Then COVID hit. And initially, many people pulled back on their new product development efforts. So, developers weren't in the lab, things slowed down, and what we're seeing now is that brands are trying to make up for last time. So, when they decide to move forward with a project, they're pushing and they're pushing really, really hard. And so, um, the right ingredient suppliers, so, I mean, this, It's a lot of quick start-stop, right? And so, having the right partners and the right ingredient suppliers can really help brands meet those aggressive timelines. Um, and for example, Cargill offers, we have a full portfolio of sweet, sweeteners, broad complement of texturized ingredients, and we support that through our R&D ingredients and application specialists. And that's really what we're seeing being a core differentiator for our customers and for those, those prospective customers to move quickly, is that we have a state of the art R&D center in Minneapolis. It's staffed with industry leading and ingredient application experts and complete with a pilot plant capable of producing commercial products. So, We really tap into these resources for our customers to be able to shorten that product development cycle and increase their speed to market. So, um, it's through these capabilities that we can take our customers from a 12 to 18-month timeline and reduce it down to as little as 6 months, and we have, we've been really quite successful in that area.

Speaker 1 [05:51] Outstanding. Well, Carla from Cargill, thank you so much for the time. Really appreciate it. And uh please stay in touch.

Speaker 2 [05:57] Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 [05:59] All right.