Gilbert, Arizona, United States, September 2025 — Wisdom Natural Brands, parent company of the SweetLeaf® brand of stevia and other natural sugar substitutes, today announced the appointment of long-time company consultant Aaron Henderson to serve as CEO and take the reins of a major rebranding and expansion campaign. He succeeds Michael May, a founding family member who has led Wisdom since 2021 and remains Chairman of the Board.
Henderson began his career in the industry nearly 25 years ago as Wisdom’s Director of Marketing, two decades after James A. May Sr. introduced stevia to the U.S. He has since handled multiple consulting engagements with the company through The Touch Agency, a brand-building firm focused on natural foods where his 18-year tenure included the last five as CEO.
Henderson joined Wisdom’s board of directors in 2024 as the company embarked on a new strategic growth initiative. His responsibilities as CEO include spearheading a comprehensive brand update, portfolio expansion, omnichannel optimization plan and leadership team changes designed to raise awareness of the SweetLeaf brand among a new generation of consumers seeking natural, zero-calorie alternatives to sugar.
“Wisdom both pioneered and popularized the use of stevia in the U.S. In the process, the company reshaped the sweetener market by giving consumers trying to reduce their sugar intake an alternative to artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose,” Henderson said. “I believed in the mission 25 years ago when I joined the company as marketing director, and I believe in it even more today. Becoming CEO is a full-circle moment that gives me an opportunity to modernize the brand with a lineup of creative new products that will advance our mission of making a difference in people’s health.”
“After both working and consulting for us over more than two decades, Aaron knows our business inside and out. His agency experience with hundreds of other natural food brands also gives him an exceptionally deep understanding of the natural channel,” said May, who owns Wisdom with his three siblings. “At a time when the country is becoming increasingly interested in healthy eating habits and the stevia market is tracking at a 9.7% CAGR, he is unquestionably the right person to drive our next phase of growth.”
About Wisdom Natural Brands®
Wisdom Natural Brands®, based in Gilbert, Arizona, has been an industry pioneer in natural sweeteners with its plant-based SweetLeaf® brand for over 40 years. SweetLeaf has won 38 awards for taste and innovation with their variety of stevia and monk fruit products. SweetLeaf sweeteners have low/zero sugars, no artificial sweeteners, and are non-GMO, kosher and gluten-free. SweetLeaf products are available in powder, granular and liquid forms, making them easy to incorporate into any lifestyle so that every day is as sweet as the next.
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