Food manufacturers are increasingly focusing on development of novel ingredients that are capable of reducing fat content and providing healthier food options without affecting the taste and flavour.
Besides stabilising emulsions, emulsifiers derived from non-hydrogenated fats help in maintaining sensory characteristics of food such as texture, flavour, and taste that are often lost due to fat reduction.
This characteristic of making healthier products similar in taste to fat-containing versions of products has enabled emulsifiers in gaining widespread acceptance in the market. Over the years, products containing natural ingredients have been gaining prominence among consumers.
As a result, natural emulsifiers witnessed increased growth as they offer ease of use, neutral taste and increased compatibility with most other ingredients. The segment currently captures one-third of the overall emulsifiers market.
Lecithin is one of the most important natural emulsifiers due to its unmatched functionality and superior performance as compared to alternatives available. In recent years, the industry witnessed customer preference in favour of products with natural and clean labels that propelled the demand for naturally sourced emulsifiers with wide functionality.
Innovation characterises the market for emulsifiers. Increase in the popularity of niche and premium positioned foods, such as fortified breads and confectionery, created the need for specialty emulsifiers. The change in consumer demand patterns forced suppliers to develop emulsifiers that not only act as fat replacement products but also provide the same texture, flavour, structural and aerating characteristics.
Although demand for value-added products and consolidation within the food additive industry is expected to create challenges for the food emulsifier market, technological advancements within the industry are expected to boost market growth in coming years.
Despite the presence of these strong growth drivers, a modest growth rate is predicted for the market over the analysis period. The primary reason being the slowed down in volume sales of food and beverages and personal care products on account of the recent economic recession.
Although economies worldwide are gradually recovering, the protracted impact of the downturn continues to pose challenges for several end-use industries, leading to the resultant decline or static demand for most of the emulsifier segments.
Developed regional markets including Europe and US represent two of the strongest worldwide contenders capturing the largest share, as stated by the new market research report on Emulsifiers. Asia-Pacific is forecast to register the fastest CAGR of 9% through 2017.
Source: Global Industry Analysts
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