I found this and thought it worth sharing.
Deb
------------------------------------
Demand for the artificial sweetener has outpaced production abilities. Small
food makers imperiled.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Small U.S. makers of foods and drinks sweetened with
Splenda are making contingency plans as big food companies get the lion's
share of the popular sugar substitute, which is in short supply.
Small companies are stockpiling the zero-calorie diet food ingredient and
considering other ways to sweeten their products after warnings from Splenda
maker Tate & Lyle PLC that future supplies will be based on past demand.
Splenda's popularity has soared as dieters following low-carbohydrate
regimens like the Atkins and South Beach diets embraced it because of its
ability to withstand the high heat of cooking without breaking down or
losing flavor.
Unlike other sweeteners, Splenda, whose chemical name is sucralose, is also
said to have no aftertaste.
As consumers have clamored for it, big companies like PepsiCo Inc.
(Research), General Mills Inc. (Research), and Unilever PLC have begun using
Splenda in everything from Pepsi Edge, a low sugar soft drink, to
reduced-sugar Trix cereal to Ben & Jerry's Carb Karma ice cream.
Britain's Tate & Lyle has said demand for Splenda has far exceeded
expectations, and the company is no longer taking on new customers in the
United States until new production facilities come online in 2006 and 2007.
The Splenda brand is owned by Johnson & Johnson (Research) unit McNeil
Nutritionals Worldwide, but Tate & Lyle is the sole manufacturer of
sucralose.
Pepsi, General Mills, and Unilever all said they do not expect to be hurt by
tight Splenda supplies, but smaller manufacturers were more concerned.
Betty Jo Steel, president of sugar-free sauces and salad dressings maker
Steel's Gourmet Foods in Bridgeport, Penn., said she expects the needs of
such formidable companies to come before her own.
"If people are buying on contract, and most of them are, then they are going
to be handled first as opposed to people who are just ordering on a regular
basis like us," Steel said.
Steel added that she would consider using a combination of sweeteners if her
allocation of sucralose is not enough to meet demand.
Another manufacturer said he was not as concerned about a supply disruption
as he was about a potential price increase on the sweetener because of tight
supplies.
"It could drive the cost up, which would drive up the cost of our products
and impact consumers and our business" said Stephen Jones, vice president
and general manager of Maple Grove Farms of Vermont, which sells sugar-free
maple syrup and salad dressings.
Maple Grove is more fortunate than some other small companies because it is
a unit of B&G Foods Inc. (Research), Jones said, and Splenda allocations can
be shifted back and forth depending on which products are in higher demand.
B&G's other products include Emeril's Original seasonings and Polaner fruit
spreads.
Other small businesses, however, were concerned that limitations on the
amount of Splenda they buy could impact their ability to introduce new
products and increase sales.
Baja Bob's, a San Diego, California-based maker of sugar-free drink mixes,
recently launched a new line of martini mixes. Its co-founder, Craig Cook,
hopes the company will have the funds to stockpile sucralose during times of
the year when demand for drink mixes decreases, such as the winter.
"This way if we have a sudden growth spurt we are going to have it available
to us," Cook said.