If you are formulating a supplement and considering stevia, the first thing to know is that "stevia" is not a single ingredient. Two products can both list "stevia" and taste noticeably different, cost very different amounts, and be made in completely different ways. This article explains what stevia actually is, the named types, and what a brand owner is really choosing between.
What stevia is
Stevia is an intense — or high-potency — sweetener derived from the leaves of the plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. The sweet-tasting compounds in the leaf are a family of molecules called steviol glycosides. As a food additive in Australia and New Zealand it is identified by the additive code 960 (INS 960).
It is roughly 150–300 times sweeter than sugar, so it is used at very low addition levels. It is also non-nutritive: it contributes sweetness without contributing sugars or appreciable energy. That is a compositional fact about the ingredient — not a health claim about the finished product.
Stevia is not one ingredient
A stevia leaf contains many individual glycosides. Commercial stevia ingredients are defined by which glycoside dominates. The three differences that matter to a formulator are taste and aftertaste, cost, and how the ingredient is produced.
| Glycoside | Taste profile | Cost (relative) | How it's produced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reb A (Rebaudioside A) | The cleanest of the traditional leaf glycosides, but bitter / licorice-like notes become more pronounced at higher use levels | Lowest — the commodity grade | Most abundant glycoside in the leaf; direct leaf extraction |
| Reb M (Rebaudioside M) | Cleanest, most sugar-like; rounder up front, soft finish, minimal bitterness | Highest of the single glycosides | Naturally rare in the leaf; usually made by fermentation or enzymatic bioconversion |
| Reb D (Rebaudioside D) | Fast onset and finish, minimal bitterness; doesn't linger like Reb A | Mid-range | Low leaf abundance; bioconversion / fermentation. Low solubility is a formulation constraint |
| Stevioside | More pronounced licorice / bitter aftertaste than Reb A at higher amounts | Low | Leaf extraction; abundant in the leaf |
| Proprietary blends | Tuned to round out the profile and cut bitterness versus Reb A alone | Between Reb A and Reb M | Manufacturer-specific recipes — verify the actual glycoside composition, not the brand name |
The single most useful distinction: Reb A is cheap but can taste bitter at higher doses; Reb M tastes the most like sugar but costs the most. Most modern "clean-tasting stevia" is Reb M or a Reb M-forward blend.
Why your stevia probably came from a fermenter, not a field
This is where the "natural, from the leaf" story gets more complicated. FSANZ recognises three production routes for steviol glycosides, all permitted under code 960:
- Direct extraction from stevia leaves, then concentration and purification.
- Enzymatic conversion of leaf extract using enzymes from genetically modified microorganisms.
- Fermentation from sugar using genetically modified yeast.
Because Reb M is naturally rare in the leaf, a clean-tasting Reb M ingredient is often a fermentation-derived product rather than a simple leaf extract. This matters if you intend to put "natural" or "from the leaf" framing on your label — that framing has to match the actual ingredient you bought and survive FSANZ labelling rules. Do not assume.
What stevia does to a formulation
These constraints apply to steviol glycosides in any food system — they are not unique to any one supplier:
- Bitterness is the real ceiling. The practical limit on how much stevia a product can carry is usually taste, not regulation. Reb M and Reb D carry less off-note than Reb A or stevioside.
- It adds no bulk. As an intense sweetener it delivers sweetness at tiny doses but no body, texture, or volume. Moving a product from sugar to stevia leaves a "bulk gap" that a bulking agent (such as erythritol, inulin, or fibre) has to fill.
- Solubility varies. Some glycosides dissolve poorly — Reb D in particular can crystallise out of cold water, which matters for liquids and hot-fill-then-cool processes.
- It is heat- and pH-stable. It tolerates normal food-processing temperatures, including gummy depositing temperatures (gelatin 71–77°C, pectin 93–104°C), and suits acidic products.
- It is commonly blended. Grade and blend choice is a taste-and-cost trade-off, often paired with bulking agents and flavour modulators to mask bitterness and rebuild mouthfeel.
What you can and can't say on the label
Stevia's regulatory position in Australia is well defined. Here is what governs it:
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Additive code | 960 (INS 960); class name "sweetener" or "intense sweetener" |
| Permitted source | Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni |
| Minimum purity | No less than 95% steviol glycosides on a dry-weight basis |
| Acceptable Daily Intake | 4 mg/kg body weight/day, as steviol equivalents (JECFA value adopted by FSANZ) |
| Permitted-use levels | Set per food category in Schedule 15 of Standard 1.3.1 — category-specific and date-sensitive |
When steviol glycosides are added to a food, they must be declared in the ingredient list by the class name followed by the code or name — for example, "sweetener (960)" or "sweetener (steviol glycosides)".
One boundary to be clear about: MHS manufactures food-type supplements under FSANZ food standards, not TGA-listed therapeutic goods. Content can explain what stevia is and how it's regulated, but any health-outcome framing for stevia sits on the therapeutic-goods side of that line and must not appear as a claim on a food-type product.
A note on "sugar-free"
Adding stevia is not the same decision as making a product "sugar-free." MHS's sugar-free gummy claim is achieved through the Prebiotic Fiber Pectin base (tapioca fibre, inulin, FOS) at serving sizes of 16 g or less — not through stevia. Stevia was previously in that base and was removed in the updated formulation. Adding stevia back in is a separate, client-requested sweetness decision, distinct from the sugar-free claim path.
How MHS handles stevia
Stevia is a client-driven inclusion at MHS, not a default ingredient. On request, MHS can source stevia across all formats permitted by FSANZ, and all grades — Reb A, Reb M, Reb D, and blends — can be sourced.
There is no fixed published MOQ, lead time, or price for stevia. Both MOQ and lead time are quantity-dependent and quoted per project through MHS's standard quoting process. There are no MHS-specific stevia constraints beyond the standard ones above — the same taste ceiling, bulk gap, solubility, and grade-choice trade-offs every manufacturer works within.
If you are weighing a sweetener choice, that is a formulation decision. See when you need formulation before a manufacturing quote for where that sits in the process, or the Formulation Services page for the full pathway.