SportsQuest Inc (SPQS)

[pennystockwallstreet]

SPQS - Stevia

10/13/2011 - "SportsQuest, Inc., (Pink Sheets: SPQS) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Maize Pluss, has signed a contract to distribute Organic Stevia, an USDA FDA approved organic sweetener, to its portfolio of products. "


Stevia extracts have the potential to be the “holy grail of sweeteners.” They deliver on two key attributes that are highly important to consumers — 100% natural and without calories.

Originally from Paraguay, stevia leaf has been valued for centuries because of its sweetening properties and has been used as an approved sweetener in Japan and Korea for decades. The high intensity sweetener offers a sweetening power some three hundred times that of table sugar without adding any calories and having a low (nearly zero) glycemic index making it safe for diabetics.

The turning point for Stevia to become a mainstream sweetener came in 2008 when steviol glycosides, the sweetening components of the leaf, were deemed to be safe and Rebaudioside A, one particular steviol glycoside, was granted GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by the US Food and Drug Administration following applications by Cargill and Merisant. Since then, approval by legislators across the world has opened the door to new formulations and reformulations of foods and beverages with zero or reduced calorie content. Stevia’s status as a global ingredient was secured with its incorporation into leading soft drinks brands manufactured by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in 2009.

Recent Stevia Adopters



Stevia has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity on the global stage over the past four years with products launched across thirty-five countries in 2010. Within two years of the USA market opening, Nielsen based retail consumption data indicated almost a billion US dollars of retail sales while market research group, Mintel, has said it expects sales of stevia sweetened products to top US $2 billion in 2011. U.K. based Zenith International estimates worldwide sales of Stevia extract reached 3,500 tons in 2010 with an overall market value of $285 million and is forecasting that the global market for Stevia will reach 11,000 tons by 2014 requiring the tripling of Stevia leaf production at the farm level to keep pace with consumer demand.





Market Growth

Growth in the Stevia industry will come from Stevia's continued evolution from a table top sweetener to its widespread use in food and beverage categories. Stevia's impact on food and beverage categories will continue to expand as new categories add stevia as a way to address the growing obesity trend. To date, stevia has been used mostly in new products and line extensions. But major manufacturers are now looking to use Stevia as a means for reformulating their biggest brands to reduce their sugar and calorie profile.

Stevia sweeteners are well positioned to meet the mainstream consumer requirements for a complementary ingredient to sugar.



Carbonated Soft
Drinks

Reduces calories, making them
suitable for people with low sugar diet;
Sugar-free labeling;
Sweet taste at low concentrations
Synergistic with sugar
pH 3-9 stable
Dissolves easily


Still/RTD
Beverages Juices, Non-carbonated
soft drinks

Same as for Carbonated Drinks
Extends and complements flavors


Dairy Products

Same as for Carbonated Drinks
Non-fermentation properties extend
shelf-life
Non-cariogenic


Plain Yogurt
Fruited / Flavoured
Yogurt
Ice Cream
Refrigerated
Chocolate Milk

Seasoning, Sauces
and Canned Foods

Same as for Carbonated Drinks
Improves taste
Shortens salting time and prevents
dewatering
Extends shelf life

Powdered
Beverages

Same as for Carbonated Drinks
Appropriate use of bulking agents
would be necessary

Cordials

Same as for Carbonated Drinks
Extends and complements flavours

Baked Goods

Biscuits, Cakes


Same as for Carbonated Drinks
Do not cause Maillard reaction
No browning effect
Use of bulking agents would be necessary


Consumer Benefits:

Great taste
Natural
No calories
No carbohydrates
Near Zero glycemic load - safe for diabetics

As well as looking to address the growing health concerns of consumers, food and beverage producers are continually seeking for efficient solutions to offset commodity price increases of recent years.

Manufacturer Benefits:

Reliable, high purity
Economic pricing - allows for cost efficiencies
Scalable supply - available in large quantities to satisfy global demand
Produced through a sustainable supply chain
Viable complement to other natural sweeteners - product formulation that are both natural and reduced calorie

All mass volume sweeteners have four characteristics:

Great taste
Economic pricing
Scalable Supply
Sustainable supply

Stevia fulfills these four criteria and has the added advantage of contributing no calories to food and beverage and has a near zero gylcemic index, making it safe for diabetics. Additionally, stevia has the benefit of having excellent application synergies with sugar and corn as well as well as cost advantages that can offset sugar and corn sweetener input costs. In addition the new blending approaches being used to combine stevia with sugar and corn sweetener to produce reduced calorie products completely overcomes any negative taste profiles.


Market Size

Originally it was thought that Stevia’s market would be restricted to zero calorie beverage applications and would primarily be a premium priced natural ingredient replacement for artificial High Intensity Sweeteners (“HIS”). While Stevia did make a large impact within the $8 billion HIS sector, overtaking Aspartame within its first year of launch, the potential market has expanded to the entire sweetener market and across all food & beverage categories.

Sugar consumed annually: 160 million tons worldwide. Current value over $50 Billion annually.

World Health Organization estimate: Stevia poised to replace 20% of the sugar market.

A Potential Multi-Billion market share for Stevia


There were two key developments that have opened the market:

First, there was proven consumer demand for all natural reduced calorie products where Stevia was blended with sugar reducing caloric value by 30 to 40 percent without sacrificing the functionality and taste of sugar.

Second, high purity total steviol glycosides with reduced Reb-A content were granted GRAS status by the FDA in 2010. This allowed for stevia products to be formulated across a wide range of sweetness at less than 50% of the cost of high purity Reb-A and costing less than sugar while becoming an economic advantage enabling a premium all natural low calorie product desired by the consumer.

The two industry leaders, PureCircle and GLG Life Tech, have partnered with major sugar manufacturers in the US, Denmark, France, Great Britain, and Australia to market blended reduced calorie products. PureCircle joined with US sugar giant, Imperial Sugar, and formed a joint venture, Natural Sweet Ventures, to launch SteviaCane as a retail steviasucrose product for household consumption. The initial trial launch in 200 retail stores in Texas is outperforming expectations.

The entire sweetener market currently averages $80 billion split into three main categories: Sugar (82%), High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) – (9%), and High Intensity Sweeteners (HIS) – (9%). Overall the sweetener market is growing, but HFCS and artificial HIS ingredients are being replaced with natural alternatives such as Stevia. In addition, Stevia is being blended with sugar to meet the low calorie consumer requirements while still maintaining functionality and taste.

Given that the standard product development and launch cycle is eighteen months to three or more years, it is expected that the true market size potential and consumer acceptance will only be confirmed in late 2011 and beyond. Additionally, regulatory clearances expected in 2011 (EU, Argentina, Canada, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and others) will facilitate accelerating the roll-out of sizeable brands internationally.


The Market

All major markets have now approved the use of high purity Stevia or are expected to do so by the end of 2011. Data across all key indicators suggest that consumer demand and consumption of high purity Stevia sweetened products is accelerating.

High purity stevia is being consumed in more countries, more brands, more SKUs and with more repeat purchases and product roll-outs than in each period measured before.
Unprecedented Product Development

2008 - FDA Approval - Stevia launches in USA

2009 - Stevia U.S. sales share surpasses saccharine and aspartame.

Today - More than 6,000 food, drink, and medicinal products use Stevia.

Fact: 2010 saw 200% increase in Stevia product launches – momentum is growing.



Mintel New Product Database confirmed that the number of new product launches in 2010 increased by 200% over the previous year with product launches across thirty-five countries. Nielsen data indicates that US sales totaled $809 million; an increase of 126% on the $357 million recorded in full-year 2009 and crossed 38 categories of Food & Beverages. Euromonitor reported an 87% increase in product launches in 2010 in Europe and because stevia has yet to win full regulatory approval across Europe, the market still remains relatively untapped.

This is the first year that independent retail consumption data for Stevia has been available. The Nielsen based data shows that Stevia is a rapidly growing industry and that Stevia is developing into a broadly mainstream ingredient in foods and beverages.

Date : 10/13/2011 @ 9:21AM SPQS PR

SportsQuest, Inc. Subsidiary Announces New FDA Approved Product Distribution Contract

SportsQuest, Inc., (Pink Sheets: SPQS) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Maize Pluss, has signed a contract to distribute Organic Stevia, an USDA FDA approved organic sweetener, to its portfolio of products.

"We are very pleased with the performance of Maize since our acquisition. We are building a very strong distribution channel and will to monetize these relationships with a diverse product line. This contract is another significant event in their growth and we look forward to their continued success," stated Jeff Burns, CEO of SportsQuest, Inc.

Organic Stevia is produced from the stevia plant. The product is not clarified, does not utilize chemicals in its harvesting nor in its transformation process in order to preserve all the beneficial phytonutrient properties that the stevia plant possesses. As a substitute for sugar, benefits include helping fight medical problems such as diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, obesity and dental issues.

Note: The SEC does not require companies that are raising less than $1 million under Rule 504 of Regulation D to be "registered" with the SEC, but these companies are required to file a Form D with the SEC. The Form D serves as a brief notice that provides information about the company and the offering.