Shortenings Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the shortenings market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global shortenings market reached a value of nearly $4.2 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.54% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2023 to $5.2 billion in 2028 at a rate of 4.14%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.70% from 2028 and reach $6.5 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from emerging markets growth, rise in online food delivery, changing dietary patterns, growing health consciousness among consumers. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were health concerns related to shortenings and their products.

Going forward, rising disposable incomes per capita, increasing demand for bakery products, public health campaigns regarding dietary guidelines and nutritional recommendations, increasing demand for vegetable oil will drive the market growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the shortenings market in the future include high installation costs.

The shortenings market is segmented by variant into solid, liquid, cake/icing and all-purpose. The solid market was the largest segment of the shortenings market segmented by variant, accounting for 35.6% or $1.6 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the all-purpose segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the shortenings market segmented by variant, at a CAGR of 5.06% during 2023-2028.

The shortenings market is segmented by source into vegetable shortenings and animal shortenings. The vegetable shortenings market was the largest segment of the shortenings market segmented by source, accounting for 58.3% or $2.5 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the vegetable shortening segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the shortenings market segmented by source, at a CAGR of 4.60% during 2023-2028.

The shortenings market is segmented by sales channels into direct sales and indirect sales. The commercial indirect sales was the largest segment of the shortenings market segmented by sales channels, accounting for 65.5% or $2.8 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the direct sales segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the shortenings market segmented by sales channels, at a CAGR of 4.53% during 2023-2028.

The shortenings market is segmented by end-user into HoReCa, bakery, confectionery, processed food and household/retail. The bakery market was the largest segment of the shortenings market segmented by end user, accounting for 32.6% or $1.4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the household/retail segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the shortenings market segmented by end user, at a CAGR of 4,72% during 2023-2028.

Western Europe was the largest region in the shortenings market, accounting for 32.2% or $1.4 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Asia Pacific, North America and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the shortenings market will be Asia Pacific and North America where growth will be at CAGRs of 5.2% and 4.4% respectively. These will be followed by Western Europe and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 3.6% and 2.9% respectively.

The global shortenings market is concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 48.1% of the total market in 2022. The market concentration can be attributed to the presence of large players in different geographies. Cargill was the largest competitor with a 20.3% share of the market, followed by Archer Daniels Midland Company with 11.8%, Bunge Limited with 4.2%, Wilmar International Ltd with 3.9%, AAK AB with 2.8%, Conagra Brancs Inc. with 1.4%, Fuji Oil Co. Ltd with 1%, J.M. Smucker Company with 1%, Stratas Foods LLC with 0.9% and Ventura Foods LLC with 0.9%.

The top opportunities in the shortenings market segmented by variant will arise in the solid segment, which will gain $353.6 million of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the shortenings market segmented by source will arise in the vegetable shortenings segment, which will gain $623.7 million of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the shortenings market segmented by sales channels will arise in the indirect sales segment, which will gain $591.9 million of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the shortenings market segmented by end user will arise in the bakery segment, which will gain $335.2 million of global annual sales by 2028. The shortenings market size will gain the most in China at $206 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the shortenings market include introducing fresh and improved varieties of shortenings to strengthen their product portfolio and cater to diverse culinary applications, focusing on strategic acquisitions to strengthen their offerings and expand their geographic presence, focusing on plant-based shortening, indicating a significant shift in the culinary scene and providing customers with healthier and more sustainable alternatives, allocating financial resources toward the purchase of new manufacturing facilities and make improvements to their operation, focusing on the launch of innovation centers intended to introduce flavored aerated cookie shortening.

Player-adopted strategies in the shortenings market include focus on establishment of an innovation center, focus on strengthening business capabilities through new product launches, focus on expanding its business capabilities through strategic collaborations, focus on strengthening its business capabilities through new services collaboration to optimize production facilities, focus on strengthening its business capabilities through mergers and acquisitions.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the shortenings companies to focus on innovation in shortenings, focus on plant-based shortenings, focus on facility expansion and modernization, focus on innovation centers for product development, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic acquisitions for expansion, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on tailored solutions for end-users.