• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 15, 2008

The first shots in what promises to be an intense big-brand battle to grab share of market for the zero-calorie natural sweetener stevia were fired on Monday.

Cargill announced a national multimedia marketing campaign for the tabletop version of Truvia, the brand name of the stevia sweetener it has developed with Coca-Cola. The tabletop sweetener is now available nationwide "wherever groceries are sold" at $3.99 for 40 servings, according to Cargill's release on the campaign--which includes four 30-second TV spots, an interactive Web site component, coupons, in-store sampling programs and public relations.

In addition, The Wall Street Journal was reporting that sources with knowledge of Coca-Cola's plans say the company intends to launch three Truvia-sweetened flavors of Odwalla juices in the U.S. this week, although the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve the sweetener derived from the stevia plant (known as rebiana or Rebaudioside A) as an additive in food and beverages.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo--which partnered with the Whole Earth Sweetener Company (a subsidiary of Merisant, which owns Equal) to develop its own stevia sweetener branded PureVia--has confirmed that it has PureVia-sweetened versions of SoBe Lifewater and Trop50 ready to roll out in the U.S. However, it has been waiting for official word from the FDA before unleashing marketing campaigns. PepsiCo's global marketing strategy is already underway, starting with the launch of PureVia-sweetened SoBe Life drinks in Latin America.

Stevia-derived sweeteners have long been approved and in use as both stand-alones and food/beverage additives in about a dozen countries in Latin America, Asia and other regions. For example, by some estimates, stevia products now account for 40% to 50% of the sweetener market in Japan, where it is used in products that include Diet Coke, Wrigley's sugar-free gum and Beatrice Foods yogurts.

Furthermore, the sweeteners have been available in the U.S. since the '80s through companies such as Stevita Co. and Wisdom Natural Brands, whose SweetLeaf is currently the leading stevia brand, according to Packaged Facts.

The FDA banned stevia imports into the U.S. in 1991 after some animal studies (whose methodology was subsequently questioned) indicated a potential for contributing to cancer and reproductive complications. In 1994, the products were given approval to be marketed as "dietary supplements."

In May, both Cargill and Whole Earth submitted notifications to the FDA to achieve Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status. GRAS is the agency's designation for substances determined to be safe in foods by competent scientific research. The FDA is simultaneously reviewing the submissions of both companies, which document independent research they have had conducted to verify the products' safety. While the FDA is under no formal deadline, the agency reportedly told the companies that it would reply to the notifications within 180 days.

The stakes are high, and Coca-Cola may be upping the ante. According to Foodnavigator-usa.com, the U.S. market for stevia is estimated to be worth about $60 million, and that number could triple if the FDA GRAS status comes through. And while Coca-Cola or any company that has had the required research done can rely on "self-affirmed" GRAS status to begin marketing, there's a gamble involved in rolling out prior to official approval, since the FDA could decide to question or even pull a product from the marketplace.

In August, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), citing findings from UCLA toxicologists that it says raise concerns about the safety of human consumption of Rebaudioside A, asked the FDA to require further studies and a more rigorous, full food additive petition process before making a decision. Such a process "would enable the FDA to review the safety tests in detail, rather than give them the more perfunctory examination characteristics of GRAS reviews," CSPI stated.

On Monday, CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson noted that it's possible that the FDA could perceive a pre-GRAS marketplace introduction of rebiana-sweetened beverages as being tantamount to "sticking a thumb in their eye."