Asia Pacific is an important region for the soy protein market and increasing disposable income in countries like China and India, continue to open new opportunities
The soy protein market is witnessing a robust competition, thanks to conventional value of soy protein in producing popular food products such as hamburger. The market is extremely fragmented, thanks to a growing regional competition, reports Transparency Market Research. Some key global players in the soy protein market include Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Inc., Wilmar International, Ruchi Soya Industries, The Scoular Company, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.
Major players in the soy protein market continue to benefit from growing popularity of soybean products and increased per hectare growth, thanks to growing advances in agriculture. Soy protein products were used as substitutes to meet daily protein requirements.
Since, the successful introduction of these protein products, the high growth has driven significant opportunities in large-scale commercialized agriculture. In 2005, Brazil (16%), the United States (37%) were major exporters of Soybean. The soy protein market witnessed tremendous opportunities in imports in European Union (22%) and China (41%) in the same year. Moreover, regional demand in Mexico and Japan each accounted for 6% market imports each.
The soy protein market is expected to reach US$7.78 bn by 2024 end. The market was evaluated at US$4.80 bn in 2015 and likely to grow at 5.5% CAGR. Application wise, the soy protein market is segmented into functional foods, bakery and confectionary, animal food, soups & sauces, personal care, and vegetable broths. Among these, the functional foods are expected to witness significant growth. Soybean’s cost effective application, and proven nutritional value are two key factors expected to drive growth. Soy protein market is expected to witness the highest growth in Asia Pacific. As mentioned earlier, Asia Pacific is an important region for the soy protein market and increasing disposable income in countries like China and India, continue to open new opportunities.
Soy Protein Market on the Verge of Dynamic Transformation
Soy protein market continues to witness major agricultural investment in many countries, with the United Statesleading the world in 2018. The country produced 108.0 million metric tons in the same year. This growth in production is fuelled by the rising status of soy protein as the ’most attractive’ for manufacturers and consumers alike. Protein products are becoming the need of the hour for consumers as rising demand for healthy nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and lifestyle illnesses like obesity are on the rise.
On the other hand, natural food is unlikely to make its way through commercial production due to extremely high costs associated with it. On the other hand, soy protein products have shown extremely lucrative promise in filling hamburger patties with nutritional vegetarian content, which is growing in demand. Red meat is known to increase the risk of life-threatening conditions like heart stroke. Additionally, vegan lifestyle and a general push towards organic food are definite signs of a strong consumer push towards a natural and healthy diet. Hence, soy protein market is witnessing a growing demand in various food applications and are likely to create new opportunities for fast-food chains with their nutritional content.
Soy Protein Market Faces a Crossroad Ahead
The good news in the soy protein market is the growing demand in functional foods, which are expected to create more opportunities as well as raise margins. However, due to growing demand for soy protein market products in nutritional enriching food products, the production costs of soybeans are likely to increase. The soy protein market currently serves a large demand for meat production by providing protein rich and cheap diet as animal fodder. However, growing inclusion of soy protein in human diet is likely to divert supply towards higher margin, restricting growth of the animal feed application. This supply-based challenge is likely to affect most major players in the soy protein market in the near future.
This analysis is based on a recent market research report by Transparency Market Research, titled, “Soy Protein Market (Product Type – Isolates, Concentrates, and Hydrolysates; Form – Dry and Liquid; Application – Functional Foods, Bakery and Confectionary and Others; and Function – Nutrients, Emulsifier, Fat & Water Absorption, and Texturants) – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 – 2024.”