Stevia

Icon Foods supplies bulk steviol glycosides and stevia extract to food and beverage manufacturers across North America. The SteviaSweet™ line spans ten grades: Reb A from 95% to 99% purity, high-purity Reb M and Reb D, proprietary Reb M and Reb D blends, and enzyme-treated glucosylated stevia. Available in conventional and USDA Organic, Kosher certified, and JECFA compliant.

Modern steviol glycosides are not the stevia of a decade ago. Purification and bioconversion have removed the bitterness, licorice notes, and lingering aftertaste that limited early adoption. The grade you choose determines how close the sweetness gets to sucrose.

What Are Steviol Glycosides?

Steviol glycosides are the sweet compounds found in the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana. There are thirteen known glycosides in the leaf, and they do not taste the same.

Reb A is the most widely used and most economical. It is clean at high purity but can carry bitterness at high use concentrations. Reb D is smoother with no bitterness and performs best in blends. Reb M is closest to sucrose, with a sugar-like onset and minimal delay. It occurs in the leaf at very low concentration, which is why it is produced by bioconversion rather than extraction alone.

On a label, steviol glycosides may be declared as "stevia leaf extract," "steviol glycosides," or by the specific glycoside, such as "rebaudioside M."

SteviaSweet™ Grades: Specifications

All grades are natural, Non-GMO, Kosher certified and JECFA compliant. Organic versions certified through Oregon Tilth are available on 95-60, RA95, RA98, RA99, RA99M, RM95, and SG95e.

Choosing a Grade by Sensory and Application

Cost per kilogram is the wrong way to choose a stevia grade. The right way is to start from the matrix and work backwards: how much off-note can the base flavor absorb, and how clean does the finish need to be.

Two patterns worth noting. RM95D carries the best sensory profile in the line and the lowest usage rate, which partially offsets its premium. And RA99M reaches 250x with only a 10% Reb M inclusion, which is a cost-efficient way to buy most of Reb M's sensory benefit.

Stability

Steviol glycosides are stable across a wide pH and temperature range, suitable for retort, pasteurization, and extended shelf life. RM95 and RA99M both rate excellent for stability, and RM95D is excellent across pH 4.5 to 7.0. The remaining grades rate good, with 95-60 offering good heat and pH stability.

SteviaSweet™ RM95 Specifications

Our flagship Reb M grade, and the specification most formulators evaluate first.

SteviaSweet™ RM95 is manufactured in the United States from stevia leaves grown in Peru. Proprietary sourcing, chemical-free extraction, and bioconversion deliver clean flavor without the bitter notes common to stevia products. It may be labeled as a natural ingredient under U.S. FDA and FTC regulations.

Reb M vs. Reb A

This is the decision most formulators are actually making, and it comes down to three things.

Sensory. Reb M has less bitter aftertaste, less sourness, fewer licorice and leafy notes, and lower astringency than Reb A. Independent blind qualitative descriptive analysis found SteviaSweet™ RM95 delivers a sweet profile closely comparable to sugar in water, with only minor differences in sweet aftertaste. Samples were tested at 400 ppm sweetener against a 7.5% sucrose solution, analysed for flavor, aftertaste and texture by an independent trained panel, presented blind in a monadic sequential balanced design with two replicates of each sample. The QDA spider plot shows RM95 nearly overlaying sugar.

Formulation cost. Reb A is cheaper per kilogram. But Reb A formulations often need flavor maskers or modifiers to manage off-notes, which adds ingredient cost and extends development time. Reb M frequently works without them. The cost comparison should be run at the finished formula, not the raw material.

Where each wins. Reb A grades carry slight bitterness at high concentrations, which a bakery base flavor absorbs easily and a clear beverage does not. Reb M brings dairy and botanical masking that no Reb A grade matches. Our Q2 market intelligence covers why Reb M is positioned to take the larger share long term.

Formulation Support at No Charge

Customers using SteviaSweet™ get our formulation and reformulation services at no cost. That means a team of food scientists whose primary expertise is clean label sugar reduction and steviol glycoside blends, working on your system rather than sending you a spec sheet and a sample.

In practice this shortens the part of a project that usually takes longest: figuring out which grade, at what inclusion, alongside which bulking agent. See custom blends and formulation support.

Baking With Stevia

Baking is where stevia formulations most often go wrong, and the reason is straightforward: stevia replaces sweetness but not sugar.

In a baked system, sucrose provides bulk, structure, moisture retention, browning, spread, and tenderness. Steviol glycosides at 150 to 290 times the sweetness of sugar contribute sweetness at a fraction of a percent inclusion, which means you are removing nearly all of the sugar's mass and putting almost nothing back. The result is dense, pale, dry, and small.

Substituting stevia for sugar

The workable approach is not a straight swap. It is a system: stevia for sweetness, plus a bulking agent that rebuilds the mass sugar was providing.

Erythritol is the common choice, providing bulk at near-zero calories, though it does not brown. Allulose brings bulk plus Maillard browning and moisture retention. Tagatose browns and sits closest to sucrose on sweetness. Soluble fibers and polyols can carry part of the load as well.

Stevia blends for baking

Rather than building the system yourself, pre-built blends handle the ratio. ErySweet+™ pairs erythritol with purified stevia. IconiSweet™ combines erythritol, allulose, stevia and monk fruit for 1:1 replacement with browning retained. BakeSweet+™ is built specifically for baked systems where Maillard color matters.

Which grade for baking

RA95 is the workhorse: broad compatibility, ideal for bakery and batters, and economical. Its slight bitterness at high concentration is generally absorbed by the base flavor of a baked product. For high-fiber or high-protein bakery, RD95 is worth considering, since it counteracts protein and fiber off-notes.

Stevia, Keto, and Blood Sugar

Steviol glycosides contribute zero calories and zero carbohydrate, and do not raise blood glucose. Both JECFA and EFSA consider them suitable for diabetics. That makes stevia a standard component of keto and diabetic-friendly product development.

One point worth clarifying for formulators, because consumers ask it constantly: many retail stevia products are not pure stevia. They are stevia blended with a bulking agent, most often erythritol or dextrose, so the product measures like sugar in a spoon. That blend is what people usually mean when they say stevia.

For manufacturers this matters because it determines your label. Pure SteviaSweet™ declares as steviol glycosides alone. A blended system declares its bulking agent too. If you need a zero-carbohydrate declaration, the bulking agent choice drives it.

Formulating With Steviol Glycosides

It sweetens, it does not bulk

At 150 to 290 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia contributes sweetness and essentially nothing else. No volume, no browning, no freezing point depression, no mouthfeel. A formulation that removes sugar and adds stevia alone will taste sweet and behave wrong.

The standard approach pairs stevia with a bulk sweetener. ErySweet+™, KetoseSweet+™ with Stevia, and IconiSweet™ are pre-built systems doing exactly this.

Sweetness modulation

High-purity Reb M and Reb D act as positive allosteric modulators at the T1R2/T1R3 sweet receptor complex. In practice they can amplify and round the perception of sweetness in a system rather than simply adding to it, which is why they appear at low inclusion in blends alongside other sweeteners. RD95 is the clearest example, performing best in blends where it counteracts protein and fiber off-notes rather than carrying the sweetness itself.

Dairy masking

Reb M has superior dairy and botanical masking capability, which is why RM95 is the preferred grade for dairy and alt-dairy systems where protein off-notes need managing, and why RM95D performs exceptionally in RTD protein.

Applications

Beverages

RA98 and RA99 suit sports, energy and clear beverages where any off-note is exposed. RA99M performs in clear and sparkling formats. See beverage applications.

Dairy and alt-dairy

RM95 for masking, RM95D for indulgent and RTD protein systems. See frozen dairy applications.

Baked goods and bars

RA95 for general bakery, RD95 for high-fiber and high-protein bars. See baked goods and bars.

Confectionery

95-60 for hard candies and high-volume blends, RM95D for chocolate and indulgent confections, SG95e for budget-sensitive chewables. See confectionery applications.

Condiments and supplements

Jams, jellies, sauces, meal replacements, and nutraceuticals. See condiments and supplements.

Stevia Compared to Other Sweeteners

Stevia vs. monk fruit

Both are natural high-intensity sweeteners contributing no bulk. Monk fruit carries a mild fruity character; high-purity stevia is more neutral. They are frequently blended, since each covers the other's sensory gaps. See bulk monk fruit extract.

Stevia vs. allulose or erythritol

Not a comparison so much as a pairing. Stevia is high-intensity, allulose and erythritol are bulk. Most reduced-sugar systems use one of each.

Stevia vs. thaumatin

Thaumatin is a sweet protein used primarily as a modulator rather than a primary sweetener. It extends sweetness perception and rounds off-notes, and pairs well with Reb M. See thaumatin.

Stevia vs. artificial sweeteners

Against aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium, the case for steviol glycosides is label rather than function. Our formulator-to-formulator field guide compares sensory, stability and synergy across both categories, including the real-world issues that surface at scale.

Regulatory Status

FDA has concluded there is no basis to object to the use of certain refined stevia preparations in food, which may be lawfully marketed in the United States. To qualify, the product must be manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practices and meet JECFA purity specifications, which require that 95% of dry weight consist of the seven glycosides recognized by JECFA.

Steviol glycosides have been approved for use in foods sold in the European Union since November 2011. Both JECFA and EFSA consider them safe for all populations and suitable for diabetics.

Supply and Documentation

SteviaSweet™ RM95 and RM95D are manufactured in the United States. Other grades are internationally sourced with multi-origin qualification. All ship from our Portland, Oregon facility, which operates under Oregon Department of Agriculture Food Safety Division establishment #88294 and is a registered FDA food manufacturing facility.

Stevia supply has tightened even against a strong leaf harvest, with demand from beverage, functional food and GLP-1 driven launches firming prices across Reb A and Reb M grades. Our stevia extracts market outlook covers contracting windows and includes a Reb A conversion chart for swapping between grades without losing sweetness or flavor.

Every order includes certificate of analysis, safety data sheet, technical data sheet, country of origin statement, and allergen statement. More on sourcing and documentation.

Request a Sample

Tell us the application and we will recommend a grade. If RA95 does the job we will say so rather than selling you RM95D. Samples ship in 24 to 48 hours with full documentation, and we hold no minimum order quantity.