LONDON – Tate & Lyle PLC has acquired Sweet Green Fields, Bellingham, Wash., a manufacturer of stevia-based ingredients. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Tate & Lyle and Sweet Green Fields have been working together since 2017, when Tate & Lyle became the exclusive global distributor of the company’s ingredients around the world. A year later Tate & Lyle acquired a 15% stake in Sweet Green Fields.

“Sweet Green Fields is an exceptional business with a leading portfolio of stevia solutions, a strong team of stevia experts and an impressive, fully-integrated supply chain,” said Nick Hampton, chief executive officer of Tate & Lyle. “We are delighted to take our relationship to the next level by bringing Sweet Green Fields into the Tate & Lyle family. This acquisition supports our strategy to grow our sweetener solutions portfolio and our purpose of Improving Lives for Generations by helping us to deliver tasty food and beverages with less sugar to consumers worldwide.”

The acquisition also will extend Tate & Lyle’s presence in the Asia Pacific region with dedicated stevia production and research and development facilities located in Anil, China, according to the company. Sweet Green Fields’ sales are expected to be around $50 million by the end of 2020.

“I am proud of the leading stevia business that the Sweet Green Fields team has built,” said Dean Francis, CEO of Sweet Green Fields. “Tate & Lyle, with its global customer reach, innovation focus, and strong sweetener portfolio, is the ideal company to take Sweet Green Fields forward, supporting food and beverage customers across the globe and enabling healthier consumer diets.”