Food Encapsulation Market Growth Driven by Consumer Inclination towards Fortified & Convenient Foods

Increasing consumer preferences for healthy and convenient food products is projected to cause a positive impact on the food encapsulation market. Growing consumption of junk food with higher fat and lesser nutritional value has increased the incidences of obesity and malnutrition across the globe. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 2 billion people around the globe were anemic in 2018 and around 0.8 million deaths can be attributed to iron deficiency each year. Fortified or encapsulated foods are meant to improve the nutritive value of food items. Prevalence of cases of malnutrition and obesity are growing around the world, and people are becoming more conscious while choosing food products. Consumers are becoming more health-conscious and hence the demand for nutrient-rich products has increased globally, which can be met through food encapsulation technique. Food encapsulation enables the bad taste of food ingredients to be removed or masked, and allows for flavor retention. Growing demand for natural flavors and clean label foods are key factors for growth of the food encapsulation market. The global food encapsulation market was valued at $4.5 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.36% throughout the forecast period of 2019-2025. The food encapsulation method helps in increasing the shelf life of food products, and their appeal with improved color and taste. Growing demand for fortified and convenience foods is boosting the food encapsulation market globally. Micro-encapsulation is a process in which small-size particles are surrounded by a food-grade biomaterial coating, and it is widely used to incorporate enzymes, cells, food ingredients and other materials on a micro-scale. This encapsulation method is extensively used to reduce dosage frequency and prevent the degradation of pharmaceuticals. Spray drying is a widely used microencapsulation technique by which sensitive materials such as proteins can be encapsulated. One of the most important reasons for the encapsulation of active ingredients is to provide improved stability to final products and during processing. Another benefit of encapsulation is lesser evaporation and degradation of volatile actives such as aroma. Furthermore, encapsulation is used to mask unpleasant feelings during eating, brought about by the bitter taste and astringency of polyphenols. Since encapsulated materials can protect food items from heat, moisture and other extreme conditions, applications of this technique have grown in the food industry. Changes in lifestyles are triggering the demand for processed and ready-made meals which, in turn, is driving demand for food encapsulation. Increasing consumer awareness and their increased spending on foods and beverages, is fueling the demand for food encapsulation. Growing demand for packaged foods is expected to fuel growth of this market. Rising consumer preferences for healthy and convenient foods, owing to increasing health consciousness, is projected to have a phenomenal impact on growth of the global food encapsulation market. Increase in demand for encapsulated food ingredients such as sweeteners in confectionery food items including chewing gums, chocolates, and candies, in turn, is spurring demand for food encapsulation. North America Holding Major Share of the Food Encapsulation Market North America accounted for 33% of the food encapsulation market in 2018. High availability of shell materials such as emulsions and hydrocolloid polysaccharide in North America is the factor driving growth of this market. In the U.S., according to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) fortification policy, 100 kilocalories of proteins, minerals and vitamins are to be added per 2,000 kilocalories of food as a daily standard. Increasing health awareness among people of different age groups of the benefits of tasty and nutrient-rich food products is augmenting demand for the food encapsulation market in this region. The application segment that will be creating the most lucrative opportunities for the food encapsulation market is polysaccharide shell material, which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% through to 2025. There is growing demand for polysaccharides as encapsulating shell material to protect bioactive ingredients and sensitive oils which, in turn, is spurring growth of the food encapsulation market. Polysaccharides as shell material play a critical role in the microstructure of food items owing to their abundance and property of structural stability. Presence of reactive functional groups makes polysaccharides the carrier matrices in food items. Polysaccharides as carrier molecules offer high stability during the production of encapsulated food items which, in turn, incites demand for the food encapsulation market. Major Players in the Food Encapsulation Market: Prominent players in the food encapsulation market include Appvion, Inc., AVEKA Group, Balchem Corporation, BASF SE, Firmenich International SA, Givaudan SA, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., Koninklijke DSM N.V., Symrise AG, Sensient Technologies Corporation, and TasteTech Ltd.