Market Trends of Food Preservatives Industry
Surge in Demand for Clean Label Food Products
As the need for natural antioxidants, antimicrobials, and other natural food preservatives has grown, so has the need for "clean label" foods. Consumers are becoming more health conscious, preferring products with clean labels over those with artificial ingredients. Consumers are frequently checking the ingredients of products before buying them. There are high expectations among consumers globally that food products, including meat and poultry, should have clean-label ingredients. This growing consumer concern is pushing them much further down the value chain, back to the ingredients, and increasing demand for natural food preservatives. The food preservative manufacturers have also adapted the production of clean-label additives that can be helpful when developing clean-label products. These clean-label preservatives have found their applications in varied food products and other applications. Thus, food and beverage manufacturers are also increasingly reformulating their products to meet the changing consumer demand for natural ingredients. For instance, Millbo, an Italy-based company, got nominated for the Fi Europe Innovation Award 2021 for the creation of a natural ingredient, namely X-Tra Guard, which eliminates the need for sorbic acid preservatives.
So, using ingredients with clean labels also helps companies with their marketing and branding. As people want to know more about the ingredients and additives in the food they eat, the market for clean-label food preservatives is expected to grow quickly during the forecast period.
North America Holds the Maximum Share in the Market
The rising demand for convenience and processed foods is propelling manufacturers to use food preservatives to enhance the shelf life of food products. Moreover, North America is a major exporter of fruits, thus increasing the demand for preservatives. Awareness related to several risks associated with chemical preservatives has driven the market for natural preservatives. North America has highly regulated policies with respect to the commercialization of food products and ingredients. Such regulations have offered lucrative growth opportunities for manufacturers to introduce novel preservatives with minimal or no side effects on human health. As a part of their strategy, the companies are spending significant amounts on developing techniques to produce preservatives using more natural ingredients than synthetic inputs. For instance, in 2021, Corbion NV was granted a European patent for its fruit ferment, which contains natural organic acid and other flavor components and has wide application in different food industries, like a bakery. This patent is extended to the United States.
The demand for clean-label products has been escalating the demand for natural preservatives. Consumers' added concern about artificial preservatives and flavor enhancers has led manufacturers to reformulate their products. The growth of this segment of the market may also be attributed to the increasing acceptance of natural preservatives by different government organizations. Further, as an illustration, Canadian consumers' shift towards organic food and beverages is driving the demand for natural food additives including preservatives. For instance, Natural Products Canada announced a USD 50 billion investment fund in 2021 to help early-stage Canadian businesses create naturally derived substitutes for synthetic products in order to boost the penetration of natural ingredients and replace their synthetic counterparts.
