Sugar tax boosts business at sweeteners maker PureCircle

The boss of PureCircle on Tuesday revealed the natural sweetener maker has experienced a spike in sales since the sugar tax was introduced.

The firm, which specialises in using stevia plants to create zero-calorie sweeteners, saw group sales rise 10% to $131.1 million in the year to June.

It makes about 20% of its revenues from the UK, and counts San Pellegrino and Britvic as customers.

Chief executive Magomet Malsagov pointed to more work with “some of the UK’s biggest drink companies” since the Government’s sugar tax started in April. Manufacturers have continued to reformulate products to be below the levy’s threshold.

Malsagov added: “Our pipeline of projects has also gone up quite substantially.”

Numis analyst Damian McNeela said: “As the food and beverages industry comes under pressure to reduce sugar, we think PureCircle’s product portfolio is increasingly well-positioned to capture this growth opportunity.”