GLOBAL MARKET THE DEMAND FOR STEVIA IS BOUND TO EXCEED SUPPLY Consuming healthier beverages and foods continues

to be a popular consumer trend. Whether it includes a move toward natural, reducing calories or providing great taste, sweeteners continue to play a pivotal role in healthy beverage formulation and marketing. William Mitchell, CFO of PureCircle made the follwing statements at the 2nd Agriprods Forum in November 2008: Stevia will become a major global commodity. World demand for stevia leaves will exceed 6-8 Million metric tonnes a year in the next ten years. Rebaudioside A (Reb A), an all natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from Stevia, can overtake chemical sweeteners in the sweetener markets, because consumers want natural products. The markets for Reb A can touch US$10 Billion in a few short years! Reb A sweetener also has the potential to penetrate 20-25% of the sugar market. SteviaWorldForum.com - mars 2009 Not surprizingly, Stevia has been named one of the 2009s top ten trends to watch in packaged goods by the Gourmet Retailer. The natural, no-calorie sweetener is regarded as the holy grail of sweetener sector. With the opening of US market and more approvals in the EU countries anticipated, the demand for stevia is bound to exceed supply. SteviaWorldForum.com - mars 2009 By October 2010, thirty-five countries across six continents had launched a steviasweetened product. According to Mintel, in 2010, 102 new products sweetened with stevia have been launched, with 37 new products launched in March alone. StockMarketsReview.com - October 2010 USA A BOOMING MARKET U.S. demand for alternative sweeteners is expected to grow 3.4 percent annually to more than $1.3 billion in 2013, according to The Freedonia Group Inc., Cleveland, in its report Alternative Sweeteners. The beverage industry used $375 million in alternative sweeteners in 2008, and is anticipated to increase 0.9 percent annually to $392 million in 2013, it says. Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Reb-A GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe)status, Cargill and The Coca-Cola Co. introduced Truvia tabletop stevia sweetener in May 2008. Whole Earth Sweetener Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago-based Merisant Co., then teamed up with Pepsi-Cola North America and PureCircle to develop

PureVia, a stevia-derived sweetener, which rolled out after receiving GRAS status by the FDA. Immediately following the FDA approval announcement, The Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsi-Cola North America launched beverages formulated with stevia: three flavors of SoBe Life Water containing PureVia for Pepsi Co and, in turn, The Coca-Cola Co. launched Sprite Green, a reduced-calorie soft drink using Truvia, and two Odwalla juice drinks formulated with Truvia. In 2009 spring, Pepsi launched Trop50, a version of its Tropicana orange juice with 50 percent less sugar than the original using PureVia to sweeten the juice. The Coca-Cola Co. then followed with the launch of Vitaminwater10 that contains a blend of stevia, crystalline fructose and erythritol. In April, Big Red Inc., the parent company of All Sport Inc., and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. introduced All Sport Naturally Zero, a zero-calorie sports drink sweetened with stevia. Another leading supplier of stevia, GLG Life Tech Corp., Vancouver, received an initial order from Cargill valued at $40.5 million for the delivery of high-grade stevia extract beginning October 2009. GLG partnered with Zevia, Seattle, to reformulate its natural soda line with GLG rebiana stevia extract. The line also is sweetened with erythritol. Zevia, which originally launched in 2007, is available in Cola, Ginger Ale, Twist, Orange, Root Beer and Black Cherry flavors. BevIndustry.com June 2009 JAPAN THE FRONT RUNNER In the late 60s, Japan faced up to the problem of artificial sweeteners, and banned their use. In 1970 the Japanese National Institute of Health began importing stevia as a sweetener, and by the 1980s it was used extensively, in hundreds of food products throughout the country (Soy sauce, energy drinks, yogourts, flavoured teas). Forty years after first introducing stevia, Japan is still using this sweet herb, importing over a thousand tons annually, with over 40% of the local sweetener market being stevia based. Companies (like Nestle and Sunkist) utilise stevia as a sweetener in processed products. Coca-Cola use the sweetening of stevia, which is non-caloric, in drinks in Japan. Researchers in Japan, foresee that stevia will be the main sweetener for their nation in the future. Because stevia herb is a natural whole food, it also contains other properties that nicely complement its sweetness, and has great value for nourishment and health. The Hiroshima School of Dentistry found that stevia actually suppresses bacterial growth around teeth, rather than feeding it, as sugar may. To date, Japan remains the global leader in stevia product launches. HerbsAreSpecial.com.au

Although stevia has been in use in Japan for almost 40 years, longer than any other country, Stevia has only recently gained momentum in penetrating the world market, bringing a fresh look to sweeteners worldwide. Yamato.Viviti.com Research in Japan allowed significant improvement of stevia sweeteners quality. If Stevia sweeteners have a history of 30 years or so in Japan, Stevioside has had a longer history there. Stevioside had long been used widely as a sweetener both because Stevioside had a strong sweet taste and because no other suitable natural sweetener was available in Japan. However, its main uses were limited to pickles and seasonings because of its bitterness and astringency. To decrease the proportion of Stevioside and increase the proportion of Rebaudioside A with a better taste, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc (current name: DIC Corporation) set to work on R&D of new varieties of stevia in 1981. As a result, success was achieved in the development of new original varieties which find easy application in beverages and foods, especially sweets. The new varieties of stevia are grown by contract by Chinese farmers under strict conditions established by DIC LIFETEC. www.dlt-spl.co.jp - October 2010 CHINA THE LARGEST STEVIA PRODUCER AND SUPPLIER IN THE WORLD China has witnessed significant development within the industry in the past three years. Attracted by promising future prospect, many producers, including some large foreign investors like GLG and PureCircle are endeavoring to enlarge capacity and accelerate technology innovation, aiming to grasp future commercial opportunity. It is estimated that China's stevia sweetener capacity has been expanding to 11,789t/a in 2009 from around 5,000t/a in 2007. To date, China accounts for close to 75% of the world stevia leaf production. MyNewsDesk.com - June 2010 FoodNavigator.com - September 2009 China is currently the worlds largest grower of stevia. The cultivation area is concentrated in four provinces: Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Heilongjiang. Other provinces like Sichuan, Xinjiang, Hainan and Guangdong are also starting stevia cultivation and will contribute to Chinas capacity. In an exclusive interview to Stevia World, Mr. Murali Dharan, CEO of Mianzhu Gold Tree Agro-Tech, shared that China is the best place to locate a stevia project, due to its ideal agro-climatic conditions, excellent infrastructure and government support. It explains why so many project developers like him are choosing China as their Stevia project venue. SteviaWorldForum.com - mars 2009

Global companies, involved in the stevia business such as Cargill and Merisant, are now operating in China for production of Stevia based sweeteners. Cargill, has signed a 10-year agreement with Chinese ingredients company GLG Life Tech. GLG, sources stevia in China and processes the leaves at two plants in the south of the country. GLG will supply Cargill with extract from the stevia plant to make the company's rebiana sweetener. The agreement is automatically renewable until at least 2030. Under the new deal, and GLG will be Cargill's exclusive Chinese supplier of Reb A stevia extract for the duration of the agreement. FoodNavigator.com - May 2008 PureCircle, the leading supplier of stevia extract, has quadrupled in 2009 production capacity of stevia extracts at its plant in Jiangzi, China, to keep up with the growing demand for the sweetener. In another strategic partnership, Sunwin International Neutraceuticals Inc., Qufu, China, developed Stevia Rebaudioside Reb A 98, which will be marketed and sold exclusively by Sunwin USA and Wild Flavors Inc., Erlanger, Ky. The sweetener will be branded within the stevia extract product line as OnlySweet. BevIndustry.com June 2009 China based companies: reliable suppliers? When it comes to reputation, China has suffered from a spate of food safety problems but the food industry should not paint all China-based companies with the same broad brush. James Kempland, vice president of marketing at GLG Life Tech, told FoodNavigatorUSA.com that with the right checks in place, there is no reason for western food and beverage makers to avoid Chinese-sourced ingrdients: "the key for food and beverage manufacturers looking to Chinese suppliers for ingredients as with suppliers in any other part of the world is due diligence, making certain that plants comply with good manufacturing practices and are independently audited." GLG is a major player in the stevia market and although it has a corporate headquarters in Canada, it has always been very upfront that its agricultural production, processing and extraction facilities are China-based. For James Kempland, there are three main reasons for growing and processing stevia in China: Lower labor costs for an agricultural product that needs to be handharvested; a large labor pool; and the fact that due to Japanese demand stevia had already been growing in China for before the US Food and Drug Administration issued its first letters of no objection that stevia was generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in December 2008. Nutraingredients-usa.com september 2010

GLG Life Tech has also upgraded its stevia processing line at its plant in China to boost its output of rebiana that is of a higher purity, which is associated with a better taste profile. As for seeding, GLG Life Tech has announced six new stevia seed strains said to have a high content of Rebaudioside A (rebiana) a development it says will enable direct planting in the fields. GLG claims to have been researching the plant for over a decade and the latest breakthrough is said to have come from its subsidiary in China, Bangbu Huinong Stevia High Tech Development Limited. ConfectionaryNews.com January 2009

EUROPE AND FRANCE THE BEGINING Swiittzeland's chocolate company Villars just launched the first stevia sweetened chocolate bar. Coca Cola reformulated Fanta Still (with sugar lowered by 30%), using Truvia. The Swedish company Liv Natur launched Liv Mat, a flavoured ice tea with stevia extract. Eckes-Granini did the same with Ra and Joker. In France, Phare Ouest expanded the range of Breizh Cola with a properly named Breizh Cola Stevia. Danone uses it in some of its Taillefine products Lupus1.wordpress.com Aout 2010 As for table sweeteners, Purevia and Canderel Green have been launched in 2010 first half.