Summary
The Stevia Extracts Market Outlook Q4 2025 → 2026 positions stevia not just as a natural sweetener but as a strategic ingredient in a tightening global market. Despite a strong leaf harvest, rising demand from beverage, functional food, and GLP-1–influenced product launches is firming prices across Reb A and Reb M grades. Supply chains remain strained, and the smart move is early contracting and spec flexibility. The Outlook helps you create urgency with customers and secure business before the market hardens—backed by the powerful RebA Conversion Chart, which makes it easy to swap between grades without sacrificing flavor or sweetness. With fermentation capacity lagging and multinational buyers already locking 2026 volumes, this is both a market update and a sales accelerator—arming you with the insights, conversion math, and technical credibility to guide your customers before lead times stretch and prices rise.
Authored by: Thom King, Icon Foods
Chief Innovations Officer/Certified Food Scientist
On the surface, it is good news: 2025 yielded a bumper crop of stevia leaves in China, thanks to better weather during the second harvest and some acreage expansion. Leaf yields are up, and in a normal year, that would translate to softer pricing. But this isn’t a normal year. Demand is rising faster than supply, driven by a flood of beverage, snack, and dairy launches targeting sugar reduction in the GLP-1 era. What we’re seeing is the classic squeeze: even with more leaves in the pipeline, global capacity for high-purity Reb A, Reb D, and especially Reb M is running hot. Prices aren’t collapsing, and are in fact, holding firm and, in some cases, nudging up because of aggressive forward buys from multinationals locking in coverage for 2026.
What’s Driving the Market
- Bumper crop, but a demand overhang
- The second half of 2025 produced strong yields in Guangxi and other leaf-growing regions. Supply availability of raw leaf is better than in 2024.
- At the same time, demand growth is outpacing the supply of crops. Major CPGs are scaling up stevia use across multiple categories, and the fermentation-based Reb M supply, while growing, isn’t yet large enough to offset the demand for leaf. The results are steady to rising prices despite an abundant harvest.
- Regulatory and innovation tailwinds
- EU and UK approval of fermentation-produced steviol glycosides (including Reb M) in 2025 has widened market access.
- This opens doors, but it also unlocks new demand in Europe, which will continue to put pressure on supply.
- Quality and authenticity concerns
- Even in bumper crop years, quality variation remains a genuine concern. Buyers must remain vigilant regarding purity specifications, production method declarations (leaf vs. bioconversion vs. fermentation), and IP compliance. Icon Foods has your back.
Buyer Playbook: How to Stay Ahead
- Don’t be lulled by the bumper crop. Extra leaves don’t mean cheaper finished extracts when demand is surging. Reb A and Reb M will remain tight in 2026.
- Lock 60%+ of 2026 needs now. Stage quarterly releases, build in option volumes, and protect against downside risk with step-down clauses in case pricing softens.
- Lean into spec flexibility. Many applications run beautifully on RA99 + a touch of Reb M RA99M. Being rigid incurs higher costs and increases risk. Icon Foods has formulas for moving between various grades of stevia.
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Assuming the bumper crop equals cheap stevia. Rising demand has already absorbed the leaf surplus.
- Relying on a single-route supply. A weather shock or freight spike can erase “bumper” gains overnight. Icon Foods is a multi-sourced company, ensuring you’re always covered.
- Skipping long-term contracts and chasing spot buys. Spot buying will be pricier in 2026 as demand climbs and supply tightens.
- Avoid longer lead times and congested ports. Ingredient buyers who don’t lock coverage and plan buffers now will find themselves scrambling later with lead times that could exceed 8 weeks or more.
Outlook for 2026
- Base case: Firm to slightly higher pricing, with bumper-crop leaf balancing but not outpacing demand.
- Tight case: If 2026 brings another weather hit in Guangxi, prices could spike.
- Looser case: If fermentation capacity scales faster than expected some relief on Reb M pricing late in 2026.
Why Lock with Icon Foods
- Broad portfolio: Organic and conventional leaf extract RA60–99, bioconversion Reb M, fermentation Reb M and organic RebM leaf extract, all under one roof.
- Risk mitigation: multi-sourced supply, staged release schedules, and robust QA.
- Formulation expertise: We don’t just ship ingredients—we help you build sweetness systems that deliver taste and cost-in-use advantages.
Don’t let the “bumper crop” headlines fool you. Demand is outpacing supply, and prices are holding firm. Lock in your 2026 coverage now while you still have the opportunity. Please discuss your 2026 stevia coverage with us now. The earlier you lock in, the more secure your supply and pricing will be.
Since 1999, Icon Foods has been your reliable supply-chain partner for sweeteners, fibers, sweetening systems, inclusions, and sweetness modulators.
Contact your Icon Foods representative to inquire about pricing and inventory visibility for stevia today.
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