Carrageenan Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The carrageenan market is projected to register a CAGR of 6.50% over the next five years.

The main thing driving the demand for carrageenan around the world is the growing popularity of processed foods.The major driver of the carrageenan market is the rising demand for processed foods. Carrageenan is an essential ingredient in many foods and beverages consumed every day, including nut and soy milk, deli meats, protein shakes and powders, chocolate milk, yogurt, popsicles, prepared meals such as frozen burritos and pizza, ice cream, and infant formula. On the other hand, carrageenan is a well-known additive in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and home care industries, where it can be used as a thickener or film-forming agent.

Various studies have depicted that about 80 percent of the total seaweed production is for direct human consumption, eaten fresh or dried. Seaweed is known for its nutritional value or flavoring and is used in sushi, soups, salads, desserts, and condiments. It acts as a stabilizer, thickener, texturizing, and gelling agent. Kappa is the most used carrageenan in food, where it acts as a stabilizer, bodying agent, and emulsifier in cheese, ice cream, chocolate, and puddings. Iota is used for ready-to-eat meals, whereas lambda is mostly used for whipped cream. Other innovative uses, like a gelling agent in air fresheners, are opening up the lucrative potential for market expansion. In addition, a number of multinational corporations (MNCs) are forming strategic alliances with small businesses in order to launch cutting-edge products and increase their market share. It is anticipated that this will further fuel market expansion.

Carrageenan Market Trends

High Demand for Hydrocolloids as a Food Additive

Hydrocolloids have many uses in food, such as thickening, gelling, emulsifying, stabilizing, coating, and so on. The range of food items that use hydrocolloids varies from heat-treated dairy products to jelly and confectionery products. It is a multifunctional ingredient and behaves differently in water and milk. In the beverage industry, it is utilized mainly as a gelling and thickening agent as it has thickening properties with hydrocolloids. In dairy products, it also has the property of reacting with proteins, providing stabilizing functions. Increasing applications of hydrocolloids in various industries, like personal care, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage, are driving the carrageenan market’s growth, which is a natural form of food additive. The growth in the processed food industry is driving the market, as consumers do not accept an inferior taste from processed foods. Food manufacturers look for ingredients that can improve the properties of their foods, such as texture. The demand for hydrocolloids is increasing in several non-food industries, like personal care and pharmaceuticals, which are projected to experience high growth in the carrageenan market within the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific Holds a Major Market Share

Due to abundant production in nations like the Philippines, China, and India, the Asia-Pacific region fairly dominates the global carrageenan market. The applications of carrageenan have been observed in several industries, such as food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. China is one of the major reasons for its dominant share in the global market, as there is higher consumption of carrageenan in meat, jellies, and other products. With a growing food processing industry, India also utilizes a significant amount of carrageenan. Positive socioeconomic progress has emerged from the product's production in coastal nations. Due to favorable climatic conditions, carrageenan cultivation and processing are growing throughout the Asia-Pacific region, especially in Southeast Asian nations. Owing to comparably simpler procedures and cheaper processing costs, small and medium-sized companies frequently adopt semi-refined processing in these nations. The carrageenan market in Asia-Pacific is expected to expand at a faster pace with a high growth rate in terms of revenue within the forecast period. With existing major players, especially in the food industry in developing countries, like Marcel Carrageenan and J.M. Huber Corporation Ltd., there is substantial growth in the entire food and beverage industry, which is fueling demand for the product and boosting the market.

Carrageenan Industry Overview

The global carrageenan market is fragmented. Carrageenan is a regulated food additive, and there are concerns over the maximum quantity (in mg) of carrageenan that can be added to food. Since the major production of the ingredient takes place in the Asia-Pacific region, a number of major players from the region, especially Asian countries, are engaged in the manufacturing of carrageenan ingredients. The key players in the global carrageenan market are ACCEL Carrageenan Corporation, TBK Manufacturing Corporation, Cargill, Inc., Marcel Carrageenan, and J.M. Huber Corporation.

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