WESTCHESTER, ILL. —  Ingredion Inc.’s stevia subsidiary PureCircle was granted plant breeders’ rights for its stevia plant varietal by Chinese regulators.

PureCircle was granted the rights to a new plant variety for stevia named “PCS-13” in 2023.

“Receiving PBR for our proprietary stevia varietal is a testament to years of plant breeding and development by the PureCircle organization,” said Nate Yates, chief executive officer of PureCircle. “The entire industry has benefited from these innovations, and the PBR grant allows us to begin the process to be fairly recognized as the innovation leader in stevia genetics and varietal development.” 

Kurt Callaghan, chief of staff at PureCircle, added, “We have invested a tremendous amount of time and resources into our stevia breeding program, and are continuing to cultivate even more powerful stevia varietals for future innovations in the Chinese and global markets. We expect those companies utilizing our stevia varietals to do so properly and lawfully, and formally recognize PureCircle as the stevia varietal R&D provider to the industry, and we encourage users of stevia to ensure their stevia supply chains are not violating PureCircle’s intellectual property rights.”