Eyeing European sucralose success

Head of JK Sucralose in Europe Leo Hokke talks to FoodNavigator.com about growth of the European sucralose market and why he thinks it is more appealing than other sweeteners for consumers and manufacturers.

The company announced plans last week to expand production capacity at its Jiangsu, China plant to 4,000 metric tonnes by 2020, adding 1,000 tonnes by 2013 – to take the total to 1,200 tonnes before continuing expansion over the rest of the decade.

Sucralose demand in Europe was boosted by EU regulatory approval in 2004, but JK Sucralose claims that there is still a lot of room for growth. It predicts that over time demand could swell to six to ten times current consumption levels, to three or four thousand metric tonnes.