The consumption of food flavour enhancers is likely to reach 4,000 thousand metric tonne by the end of 2019. As indicated by a new research study by Future Market Insights (FMI), the food flavour enhancer market volume will witness an increase of 3.3 per cent in 2019 over 2018.
The key findings of the report include:
• Over 40 per cent of the consumer base of food flavour enhancers is based in East Asia
• An array of organic, clean-labelled products are launched in the safe flavour enhancer category, significantly pushing prospects of market growth
• Low-sugar, low-salt flavour enhancers are showcasing rapid uptake potential
MSG top-selling flavour enhancer despite controversies
Food flavours are benefiting from a surge in processed food consumption. Food processors are focussing on innovating flavours to meet evolving consumer tastes. The increasing demand from foodservice operators is driving expansion of manufacturing capacities, according to the FMI study.
The study further found that the processing of snacks, savouries and seasonings were among the key categories driving the demand for food flavour enhancers. Meat and seafood are the other key categories.
According to FMI’s analysis, in addition to recording sustained adoption in food and beverage applications, food flavour enhancers continue to witness steady adoption in various pharmaceutical applications, especially oral care products.
While glutamates remain the most sought-after food flavour enhancers, MSG demand continues to be healthy controversies surround its health impact. The Chinese restaurant syndrome prevalent in Europe and North America has been linked to the excessive presence of MSG in Chinese foods served at restaurants.
The report opined that the demand for yeast extracts and hydrolysed vegetable proteins was also picking up. FMI attributed this spurt to the safety quotient associated with the latter two.
Natural food flavour enhancers gradually mainstreaming
Synthetic food flavours have traditionally outsold natural food flavour enhancers due to their easy availability and low cost. However, the cross-industry health and wellness trend has piqued sales of natural food flavour enhancers, with FMI’s analysis revealing that four out of 10 consumers now prefer naturally-sourced food ingredients.
According to FMI, the rising trend of natural and organic is underpinning demand for plant-based flavour enhancers. As veganism expands, it is more likely that naturally-sourced food flavour enhancers will become mainstream in the future. This trend will particularly be observed among the expanding flexitarian and reducetarian consumer base in developed regional markets.
East Asia, South-East Asia, and the rest of APAC (Asia-Pacific) are the top markets for food flavour enhancers, holding nearly 55 per cent share. China’s food flavour enhancer market continues to benefit from escalating packaged food consumption and sustained consumption of MSG (monosodium glutamate) by a majority of processed food manufacturers.
According to FMI, strategic acquisitions of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) by global brands in food processing sector has resulted in a uniform, less diverse global landscape. Some of the top-tier companies continue to augment their investments in product innovation and production expansion. Acquisitions constitute the key developmental strategy to develop a diverse, enhanced product portfolio.
FMI suggested that in line with growing demand for new product formulations, there has been significant growth in the number of R&D (research and development) facilities owned by global as well as regional leaders.
The report has tracked strategic profiles of some of the top companies in the food flavour enhancer market, including B&G Foods Inc, Cargill Inc, Kerry Group, Sensient Technologies Corporation, Ajinomoto Group, Givaudan S A, Archer Daniels Midland Company, and Koninklijke DSM N V, among others.
