Acquire a taste for it: Ceresana publishes study analyzing the growth market flavors

19-Dec-2012 - Germany

Flavors are gaining economic importance. Both natural as well as synthetic flavors are mainly used for improving the taste of foodstuffs and beverages. In 2011, about U$S10.6 billion were generated with the sale of flavors; this development is mainly due to utilization of industrially processed and packaged foodstuffs.

Utilization in the food and beverages industries

Consumers are becoming wealthier and adjust their consumption behavior accordingly; they spend an ever increasing part of their income on industrially processed foodstuffs supplied by supermarkets. Following the market leader beverages, dairy products are the second largest application area for flavors. At the same time, this sector also generates the most dynamic growth rates. Other applications for flavors, such as the segments confectionary, processed food, bakery, ice cream, and snacks are also projected to experience positive growth, albeit with considerable regional differences.

As numbers of single-person households and smaller families rise, increased use is made of convenient prepared or ready-made food. Urbanization processes and modernized infrastructure improves supply channels in the growing markets of emerging and developing countries. "Emerging markets such as China, Russia or Mexico in particular saw demand for flavors increase at above-average rates in the past eight years. China is projected to expand its share of total global consumption to about 10% by 2019", explains Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana.

Market leaders and suppliers of niche markets

The flavors industry is becoming increasingly dependent on innovation and research. Companies need a sound understanding of the market in order to interpret demand of customers correctly. Additionally, technical know-how is important for the development of new combinations of individual tastes. Only few companies can undertake such complex development processes. Innovative niche products open up opportunities for expansion of market shares to smaller companies.

Health and Wellness

On saturated markets in industrialized countries, demand for food and beverages is increasingly dominated by demand for products that are said to have positive impact on health and wellness. Consumers intend to heighten their well-being by foregoing foodstuffs with high sugar, salt or fat content. A growing number of legal obligations require effects beneficial to health to be proven; therefore, research efforts in this segment will have to be increased. These developments have effects on all suppliers of additives, including producers of flavors. They have to take current trends and legal requirements that are already in effect into consideration.

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