Development Opportunities for Probiotics Business Worldwide

With the poor performance of the global economy today, what is the global performance of probiotics consumption? Which regions are the vibrant markets for probiotics consumption, and which categories can become popular? These questions have been lingering in people's minds. This article elaborates the performance of probiotics-related products in various regions of the world for the readers.

1 Asia Pacific and Western Europe lead the consumption of probiotics

Despite the current global economic recession, the probiotics business remains unmoved. According to data from Euromonitor International, the global consumption of probiotics increased from 30,294t in 2005 to 50,361t in 2010. Although the growth rate has stabilized, the consumption growth rate in 2009 and 2010 still reached about 8%.

Currently, the Asia-Pacific region is the region that consumes the most probiotics. The consumption in this region accounts for about 50% of the total global consumption, and the consumption in China accounts for half of the total consumption in the region. From 2005 to 2010, the intake of probiotics in China more than doubled, from 3,775t to 12,975t.

Regional consumption in Western Europe ranks second, after Asia Pacific. The region's total consumption is only lower than that of China, which reached 11,466t in 2010. North America has made slow progress in the formation of probiotic consumption trends, with a total consumption of only 3,219t. For cultural reasons, consumers in North America initially found the very idea of consuming "live cultures" to be distasteful, so companies like France's Danone have invested heavily in trying to raise awareness of probiotic yogurt brands. Acceptance. Danone and others ultimately succeeded, as evidenced by the fact that North America eventually became the fastest-growing region in the world in consumption of probiotics from 2005 to 2010, with consumption soaring 265%.

In the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, driven by markets such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary, consumption has also doubled.

2 The markets in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are full of vitality

According to statistics from Euromonitor International, retail sales of probiotic/prebiotic ready-to-drink and spoon-on yogurt totaled $21 billion in 2010; Sales also reached $2 billion. As a result, most probiotic strains end up being marketed as probiotic yoghurts rather than additives. This means that the most dynamic markets for probiotic strains and probiotic yogurt tend to overlap.

From 2005 to 2010, Ukraine and Romania, two Eastern European countries, remained distant* in the probiotic/prebiotic ready-to-drink yogurt category, although the global recession did have a profound impact. Consumer purchasing power in Ukraine declined in the fall of 2008; throughout the winter, small-scale producers were forced to start curtailing production due to milk shortages and difficulties accessing bank credit. As a result, the price of dairy (among other foods) has risen, and consumers are shifting away from high-end health and wellness foods, including probiotic/prebiotic yogurt.

According to Euromonitor International, sales of probiotic/prebiotic ready-to-drink yoghurt at retail prices in Ukraine soared from 43 million hvm (approximately $5.2 million) in 2005 to 314 million hvm in 2008 (approximately US$37.97 million), but then dropped to 306 million hvm (approximately US$37 million) in 2009. In contrast, the retail price sales of yogurt drinks achieved a compound annual growth rate of 27% between 2006 and 2009, reaching 1.4 billion hvm (approximately US$176 million) in 2009. In 2010, probiotic/prebiotic ready-to-drink yogurts finally returned to growth as economic pressures eased, although momentum did slow somewhat compared to the first few years.

Consider traditional fermented yogurt drinks such as kefir and the traditional “baked” milk drink ryazhanka (or ryazhenka). These 2 traditional drinks are considered real health food by Ukrainians. The survey results show that even in 2009, which was hit by the economic recession, people's interest in products targeted at health and wellness remained undiminished. This pattern confirms the point: gone is the easy consumption of high-quality products by the average middle-class consumer.

Also, given that the global recession is not over, manufacturers of probiotic strains may wish to focus some of their new product development efforts on identifying local and traditional types of Patented probiotic ingredients.

In Saudi Arabia, probiotic/prebiotic yoghurt performed extremely well. From 2005 to 2010, Saudi Arabia became the most dynamic market in the world for the probiotic/prebiotic spoonable yogurt category – albeit from a relatively small base. Retail price sales have increased significantly from 1 million riyals (approximately US$ 280,000) in 2005 when the species was initially introduced to the Saudi market, to around 18 million riyals (approximately US$ 5 million) in 2010. Danone's BIU dominates sales in this category, accounting for 99% of retail price sales. But as the category continues to thrive, local market competitors are sure to want a piece of the action. Separately, probiotic/prebiotic ready-to-drink yogurts are also doing very well in Saudi Arabia. From 2005 to 2010, the market price and sales increased by 162%. The per capita consumption of ready-to-drink yogurt in Saudi Arabia was 20.1 kg in 2010, ranking second in the world (after Iran). Saudi Arabia is the largest functional ready-to-drink yogurt market in the Middle East and Africa region, with retail value sales of 144 million riyals (approximately $38 million) in 2010, equivalent to a quarter of total regional sales .

3 The opinions of the European Food Safety Authority are conducive to the development of the European market

Western Europe is an extremely important region for the probiotic/prebiotic yogurt category, accounting for 30% of global retail value sales in 2010. Among them, Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and France are the largest markets. However, sales began to decline in 2009 and 2010. The lackluster growth is partly due to the impact of the recession, which has further saturated the market by shifting many consumers to lower-priced brands. In addition, a more stringent regulatory environment has also made the market situation more difficult.

At present, the European probiotics market is facing a dilemma: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is drastically revising the health claims regulations for food products sold in the EU, and currently completely rejects all health claims made by manufacturers for their respective probiotic products. This means that unless manufacturers can present the "appropriate kind" of scientific evidence acceptable to EFSA, they will stop making claims about boosting immunity or helping the digestive system (such as relieving bloating and helping achieve regularity) statement of. EFSA is currently under debate for being too strict on this matter. This fact has caused panic in the industry.

This problem is difficult to solve in the short term. Euromonitor predicts that the probiotic/prebiotic ready-to-drink yogurt market in Western Europe will be flat during the forecast period 2010-2015, and that the probiotic/prebiotic spoonable category will only achieve a CAGR of 3%. growth rate. In Eastern Europe, where these two products are still relatively new, I believe the results will be slightly better, with a CAGR of around 7% for both products.

Euromonitor predicts that the global consumption of probiotics will increase by 33% between 2010 and 2015, and will increase to about 70,000 tons by 2015. The development of probiotics in the Middle East and Africa has just started, and there is great growth potential. Therefore, this region is expected to become the most dynamic market. In addition, fermented dairy products, such as ready-to-drink yogurt, have been the main dairy products in the Middle East for a long time. This category is relatively mature and it is a category that can expand its added value.