INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
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INNOVATOR<br />
PhytoCeutical Formulations<br />
Key innovation: Swerve, an all-natural sugar alternative<br />
Biggest client: Whole Foods<br />
Where they’re based: Mandeville<br />
Top executive: Catherine Wilbert, founder and formulator<br />
Year introduced: 2001<br />
2007 sales: $1 million<br />
PHOTO BY SHANNON DIECIDUE<br />
THE INFAMOUS CRY “let them eat cake” might not be<br />
perceived so negatively these days, what with the invention<br />
of the natural sugar alternative Swerve.<br />
“With Swerve, you can have your cake and eat it, too,”<br />
said Swerve formulator Catherine Wilbert. “In the big<br />
scheme of things, no one wants to give up indulgences. With<br />
Swerve, you don’t have to.”<br />
The Mandeville practitioner of naturopathic medicine<br />
saw a need to develop a natural sweetener eight years ago<br />
when she began formulating nutritional supplements.<br />
“The biggest challenge became ‘how do you sweeten<br />
things and keep them all natural’ I had no option,”<br />
Wilbert said.<br />
Her solution was Swerve, made from the fibrous parts<br />
of certain fruits and then crystallized, yielding a product<br />
marketed as tasting and acting like sugar, without causing<br />
the adverse health affects often associated with sugar and<br />
other sweeteners.<br />
“The biggest difference is it has zero calories and zero<br />
glycemic index,” Wilbert said. “Swerve is the first and the<br />
only all-natural sugar substitute that looks, measures,<br />
tastes, cooks, bakes, freezes and candies just like sugar.”<br />
In taste tests, Wilbert said, many people could not tell<br />
the difference between Swerve and sugar.<br />
Wilbert points out the health benefits Swerve offers<br />
for a country suffering such ailments as diabetes and obesity,<br />
both driven by elevated insulin levels.<br />
“Insulin drives all your other hormones,” Wilbert said.<br />
“(Consider) the impact it could have on this country. Our<br />
No. 1 issue is carbohydrates and sugar. Everyone understands<br />
the problem with sugar.”<br />
An estimated 20 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes,<br />
which increases the risk of kidney disease, blindness, eye disease<br />
and amputations,according to established health reports.<br />
Americans consume 20 teaspoons of added sugar daily<br />
— twice the amount the U.S. Department of Agriculture<br />
recommends. In the past 20 years, annual sugar consumption<br />
in the United States has ballooned from 26 pounds to<br />
135 pounds per person, according to USDA statistics.<br />
Swerve comes in 1- and 3-pound packages, in bulk and<br />
in 50-packet boxes in stores in all 50 states, most notably<br />
the Whole Foods chain, and in franchised Vitality Juice,<br />
Java and Smoothie bars in Harahan and Mandeville.<br />
Products are also available at www.pcflabs.com and<br />
www.vitalityjuice.com.<br />
Additionally, the entire PhytoCeutical line of natural<br />
products is sweetened with Swerve.<br />
Wilbert points out using Swerve reduces calories in any<br />
dish traditionally prepared with sugar, including smoothies,<br />
candies, sauces, ice cream and baked dishes.<br />
“You can make a praline with Swerve,” she said.•<br />
— Diana Chandler<br />
PhytoCeutical Formulations founder and formulator Catherine Wilbert sprinkles her all-natural sugar substitute Swerve on strawberries.<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> <strong>City</strong><strong>Business</strong> 29A