The global dietary fibers market is estimated at USD 6.8 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 12.3 billion by 2027, recording a CAGR of 12.6% during the forecast period. Increasing elderly population across globe coupled with rise in the consumption of fortified food products have driven the dietary fiber market. Dietary fibers can enhance the structure and taste of food; therefore, they are used as one of the prominent food additive.
Market Dynamics
Driver: Growing demand for dietary fiber supplements
According to IOM, functional fiber “consists of isolated, non-digestible carbohydrates that have positive physiological effects in humans.” Therefore, it has been observed that many supplements consist of dietary and functional fibers. From the past few years, the supplement industry has grown manifold. Increasing health awareness among consumers around the world combined with sensitivity toward nutrient-rich products have been some of the major driving factors uplifted the growth supplement industry. This has helped to upsurge the demand for dietary fiber supplements from the past few years as a significant means of consumption of dietary fibers.
Restraint: Saturated water stability and reactivity
Humans unable to digest dietary fibers owing to the lack of required enzymes in the digestive tract. More specifically, dietary fibers are resistant to hydrolysis. As dietary fibers remain undigested, they surpass via body almost unchanged and can’t be utilized as a source of energy. These properties of fibers are helpful in the physiological roles that they play. While the same saturated water stability and least reactivity create a barrier when the dietary fibers are being used as ingredients. This characteristic can lead manufacturers to incorporate dietary fibers as an ingredient, which is expected to act as hindering factor in the growth of this market.
Opportunity: Growing applications in the form of fortified snacks, dairy products, and meat products
Snacks is one of the popular food categories and found wide array of products with various functional ingredients and it has been observed that, consumers are preferring healthy-snacking items that can provide nutrition and functional benefits. Hence, this segment has generated and expected to continue generate huge opportunities for the global dietary fibers market in the next few years. Apart from this, it has been also observed that flour-based products, dairy products such as yogurt and cheese have been widely accepted by health-freak consumers around the world.
Challenge: Changing standards and guidelines across regional regulatory bodies
The definition of dietary fibers changes from one country to other, based on regulations in that particular country. For instance, in the United Kingdom, dietary fiber is defined by chemical properties and digestibility, however in the United States, ingredients that can be fermented in the colon are considered as dietary fiber. France’s definition for dietary fiber is aligned with Codex’s. In that, it considers the composition and polymerization of carbohydrates and their physiological properties. This can create challenge for international food and ingredients manufactures who want to sell and market their products on the global platform.
Increasing demand for nut-based superfoods
Superfoods such as almond, peanut, cashew, chia, flaxseeds are considered as wholesome and superfood. Flaxseeds have around 27 g of fiber per 100 g of serving. Peanuts are known to lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes. On the other hand, almond aid to relief constipation and various of skin conditions such as acne and eczema. Furthermore, almonds can cure gastroenteritis, renal aches, diabetes, face neuralgia, head lice, and gastric ulcers. Therefore, these superfoods are always in high demand for consumers around the world that has led manufacturers to introduce products enriched with these superfoods, which in turn anticipated to increase dietary fibers market growth in the upcoming years.
Growing awareness regarding nutrition-rich animal-feed products
Conventionally, dietary fiber has been considered antinutritional because of its side effects on feed consumption and nutrient digestibility. Soluble fibers such as pectin from sugar beet, beta-glucan from oats and barley, and arabinoxylan from rye and wheat can improve viscosity and mitigate the passage rate in young poultry and pigs. The fiber-rich raw materials for pet food and feed are easily available at low costs. The key objective of revitalizing pet food with dietary fiber is to enrich it with prebiotics that support the growth of good bacteria in the intestine. It also helps maintain healthy digestive and immune systems of animals. Hence, incorporating dietary fiber to help enhance gut and animal performance, which in turn expected to drive its application in animal nutrition.
Asia Pacific Dietary Fibers Trends
Asia Pacific is poised to be the fastest-growing market for dietary fibers, at a CAGR of 13.5%, in terms of value.
Increasing young population across region coupled with government instructions to include fiber-rich food in daily diets and growing per-capita income are some of the factors responsible for Asia Pacific dietary fibers market growth. Furthermore, fast-paced lifestyle has led consumers to opt for ready-to-eat products, which in turn helped manufacturers to introduce fiber-rich snacking products specifically for health-conscious consumers. In addition to this, Indian and Chinese governments are promoting the health benefits associated with the consumption of dietary fibers that is predicted to generate potential opportunities for dietary fibers manufacturers across the globe.
Key Market Players
Top dietary fibers companies include Beneo (Germany), ADM (US), Tereos (France), Cargill (US), Dupont (US), Roquette Frères (France), Ingredion Incorporated (US), Kerry Group PLC (Ireland), The Green Labs LLC (US), Nexira (France), Tate & Lyle (UK), Nutri Pea Ltd (Canada), Herbafood Ingredients GmbH (Germany), Scoular (US), and Baolingbao Biology Co Ltd. (China).
