(Food-Beverage-News.Com, April 10, 2020 ) Increasing adoption of shortenings in bakery products for better texture is
expected to propel the market
Shortenings are used in various food and industrial applications for their functional properties. Their potential to enhance textural properties makes them one of the key ingredients in snacks, chocolate, confectionery, and bakery products. Specialty fat & oil products such as shortenings enhance the taste and appearance of food. Shortenings impart multiple functionalities when used for different applications. When applied in bakery & confectionery products and snacks, shortenings provide emulsion stability, crispness, and tenderness, enhance creaming properties, and improve mouthfeel and appearance in the desired product. Shortenings offer an advantage of neutral taste, thereby enabling further addition of flavors in the products. This factors has accelerated the market growth.
The global shortenings market is projected to reach USD 4.6 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 4.2%
Nowadays, consumers prefer ready-to-eat and convenient food products over home-cooked food, and bakery goods serve this purpose well. The increasing number of nuclear families and working women in the developing regions, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas, and changing food consumption habits & patterns of people are driving the growth of the bakery industry, which in turn is driving the demand for bakery ingredients. Thus, a rise in the demand for baked products and growth in per capita consumption drives the shortenings market, as shortenings are a vital ingredient in baked foods.
Oil segment is dominating the shortenings market owing to its increasing adoption in bakery products as it enhances the texture of the final product
Oils such as palm oil, palm kernel oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and olive oil are used in the production of shortenings. The oils are subjected to modification by various processes such as hydrogenation, fractionation, and interesterification to obtain shortenings. This are dominating the key ingredient segment as they are cost effective compare to butter. Shortenings are predominantly soybean oil-based. It has been found to be the perfect base oil and hard stock for liquid shortenings that require a beta crystal form for a stable pourable product. It is frequently found in mayonnaise, salad dressings, frozen foods, imitation dairy & meat products, and commercially baked goods.
Geographical Prominence
The global shortenings market was dominated by the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Europe and North America in 2016. Shortenings are produced mainly from vegetable oils such as palm oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil, and fats such as butter, tallow, and lard. The Asia-Pacific countries such as China, India, Indonesia, and Japan are the major producers as well as consumers of shortening products. An increase in disposable income has led to an increase in the per capita expenditure on processed foods, such as bakery & confectionery products and snacks & savory foods. This factor has proved positive for the shortenings market growth. The rapid expansion of applications of fats & oils such as palm oil and butter has resulted in the growth of their market in the region, which has further increased the demand for fat & oil derived products such as shortenings.
Increase in consumption of various baked products using natural ingredients, such as breads, cakes, rolls, pastries, and alcoholic beverages, has propelled the market in the forecast period. The emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, and Asia have potential for growth in the consumption of bakery products due to changes in lifestyles and dietary habits of consumers owing to a rise in per capita consumption. China is emerging as a potential market for bakery products. The baking industry launches new products on a continuous basis to cater to the constantly changing demand from consumers, globally.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.), Cargill (U.S.), AAK AB (Sweden), Wilmar International Limited (Singapore), and Bunge Limited (U.S.) held a leading market position through strategic developments such as expansion & investment, new product launch, acquisition and joint venture, collaboration, agreements and partnerships. Other companies gave tough competition to the key players in the shortenings market. In order to maintain their market position, the key companies focused on expansions & investments as their key growth strategy. These factors have further propelled the market growth in the forecast period.
