Boom in artificial sweetener market means Georgia aspartame plant will re-open

Officials at NutraSweet Inc. have said they plan to re-open a Georgia plant that produces the chemical aspartame, a key ingredient in many artificial sweeteners.

The plant has been closed since 2003, and officials expect it to be running at full capacity again by 2006. This will lead to a 30 percent increase in aspartame production and will help satisfy fast-rising demand, which is increasing at a steady 4 to 5 percent annual clip, industry analysts say.

In recent years, demand for artificial sweeteners has grown faster than that for sugar.

• With more consumers switching to diet soft drinks, NutraSweet Co., a leading producer of aspartame, plans to restart a mothballed production line at a Georgia plant this year to satisfy increased demand for the sugar substitute.
• The plans will result in a 30 percent increase in aspartame production, NutraSweet Chief Executive Craig Petray said.
• "Despite sucralose getting most of the headlines in recent months, the resurgence in demand for aspartame is a key development in 2004," said Nick Fereday, a senior economist at LMC International Ltd., a New York consulting firm that tracks developments in the sugar and sweetener industries.
• The demand for low-calorie sugar substitutes has been so strong that right now there is room in the market for all of these sweeteners to grow, according to Fereday.
• Once restarted, the company's production capacity will rise to 10,000 metric tons.
• Current aspartame production is estimated to be in the range of 16,000 metric tons and 16,500 metric tons, Petray said.
• Petray estimates about 80 percent of its aspartame is used by beverage manufacturers such as Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., and Cadbury-Schweppes PLC.
• According to data collected by Beverage Digest/Maxwell, sales volume for the leading U.S. diet soda, Diet Coke, rose 5 percent last year.
• Diet Pepsi volume climbed 6.7 percent, and Diet Dr Pepper rejoined the top 10 best-selling soft drinks with a 16.2 percent increase, according to Beverage Digest.
• As a tabletop sweetener, Splenda is marketed by McNeil Nutritionals, a unit of Johnson & Johnson based in Fort Washington, Pa., and its success has been remarkable.
• The list of manufacturers creating products with Splenda continues to grow and now includes Pepsi One, which has been reformulated with Splenda, as well as a new Splenda-sweetened version of Diet Coke.