QUFU, CHINA — Wild Flavors GmbH has gained the non-exclusive worldwide right as a distributor to market and resell all stevia products manufactured by Sunwin Stevia International, Inc. and use of all trademarks in an agreement between the two companies. Wild Flavors GmbH, Zug, Switzerland, also acquired an additional 7.67 million shares in exchange for its stake in Sunwin USA and granted Sunwin Stevia International exclusive ownership of certain flavor formulations for use with Sunwin’s stevia extracts developed by Wild at a value estimated at about $2 million.

In light of the new agreement, both companies will terminate the previous distribution agreement between Wild Flavors and Sunwin USA, a subsidiary of Sunwin Stevia International.

“We are excited to further our relationship with Wild through this new expansive distribution agreement and through the increase of their equity stake in our company,” said Dongdong Lin, chief executive officer of Sunwin Stevia International, based in China. “Wild is one of the largest, privately-owned ingredient manufacturers in the food and beverage industry worldwide, and we look forward to working more closely with them to capitalize on the growing market trends for healthier, low-calorie and all-natural food products.”

Michael Ponder, c.e.o. of Wild Flavors GmbH, said, “Wild and Sunwin have worked diligently over the past several years to utilize the plant science and stevia expertise of Sunwin to enhance Wild’s sweetening capabilities and solutions. The agreement allows us to expand the technological advancements for stevia formulations and systems globally through our extensive worldwide R.&D. and sales teams.”