IP and patent protection developments

PureCircle Has Been Granted More Stevia-Related Patents Than Any Other Company Globally in Each of the Last 5 Years.

· Company Has Many Additional Applied-For Patents Pending.

· Reflection of Company's Strong Innovation and R&D On Great-Tasting Stevia Sweeteners and Stevia-Based Flavor Enhancers.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 17, 2017 - PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer and innovator of great-tasting stevia sweeteners for the global beverage and food industry, continues to build on its strong patent protection, reflecting its advanced innovation, research and development.

As a result of its cutting-edge work with stevia, PureCircle has been granted more stevia-related patents than any other company globally in each of the last five years.

In the year ended April 30, 2017, the company was granted 15 new patents globally. In addition, during that one-year period, it applied for 70 additional patents.

Those new patents and patent applications are in addition to the company's already significant patent protection and activity. As of April 30, 2017, PureCircle held a total of 72 granted patents, and had 205 applied-for patents pending worldwide. These patents -- and applied-for patents -- cover stevia-related products and processes.

Beyond patents, and further enhancing its broad-based intellectual property, the company has extensive trade secrets and know-how.

PureCircle CEO Magomet Malsagov noted: "Our intellectual property, including the hundreds of patents we hold and have applied for globally -- and the additional patents for which we shall apply -- reflect the strength and depth of our R&D and the importance of that R&D to our success."

Given the growing global concerns about increases in obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working quickly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies.

With PureCircle's extensive R&D on the stevia plant and on its use and applications, the company is quickly scaling up its ability to produce the newer, innovative and great-tasting stevia sweeteners which will work well in a broad range of beverages and foods and enable an even greater degree of calorie reduction. 

Enquiries:

Investors/Analysts

Magomet Malsagov, CEO

Email: [email protected]

Rakesh Sinha, CFO

Email: [email protected]

Media

Carolyn Clark, Director of Global Marketing

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1 (630) 517 0812

Emma Kane (Redleaf), Media Relations

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 (0)20 7382 4747

Notes to Editors

About PureCircle

· PureCircle is the only company that combines advanced R&D with full vertical integration from farm to high-quality innovative stevia sweeteners. 

· The Company collaborates with farmers who grow the stevia plants and with food and beverage companies which seek to improve their low- and no-calorie formulations using a sweetener from plants. 

· PureCircle will continue to: lead in research, development and innovation; produce a growing supply of multiple varieties of stevia sweeteners using all necessary and appropriate methods of production; and be a resource and innovation partner for food and beverage companies.

· Founded in 2002, PureCircle is continually investing in breakthrough research and development and it currently has 69 stevia-related approved patents and 200 pending.

· PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

· PureCircle's shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

· For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com.

About stevia

· Given the growing global concerns about obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working responsibly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies. 

· Stevia sweeteners provide clean, sugar-like taste. Like sugar, stevia sweeteners are from plants. But unlike sugar, they enable low-calorie and zero-calorie formulations of beverages and foods.

· Stevia leaf extract is a natural-based, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. 

· Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America; today, it is grown around the world, notably in Kenya, China and the US.

· The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 400 times sweeter than sugar: stevia's high-intensity sweetness means it requires far less water and land than sugar.

· Research has shown that the molecules of the stevia leaf are present and unchanged in the dried stevia leaf, through the commercial extraction and purification process, and in the final stevia leaf extract product. All major global regulatory organisations, across 65 countries, have approved the use of high-purity stevia leaf extracts in food and beverages.

· For more information on the science of stevia, please visit http://globalsteviainstitute.com/