The Latin America and the Caribbean region generates a wide variety of food products, including several specialized ingredients used in small amounts to manufacture food and beverages.

The increase in added value is the key factor to the growth of this dynamic market that follows global trends in the production of food and beverages. Consumers seek products that provide more in terms of taste and quality, health and well-being, natural qualities, comfort and ethical positioning, than just simple nutrition or hydration.

The export of special ingredients for the food and beverage industry comprises a market that in 2014 grew more than 2% with respect to the previous year and an increase of over 2.5% is expected in the next three years, reaching 30 million tons. This data is revealed in the Euromonitor annual report.

The best performers are natural and healthy ingredients, due to the growing demand for healthy, high-fiber processed quality food. This already exceeds some of the more chemical strongholds and a sharp increase is expected in the next few years in an industry that is increasingly demanding “clean label” products.

This trend especially impacts the production of saccharides and proteins and similarly the production of vitamins and minerals that take advantage of this trend, seeking healthier food and beverages formulas.

Sector growth

Specialized ingredients represent almost 5% of the total use of ingredients in the food and beverage industry. Of the more than 27 million tons of ingredients used in 2014, 77% were used in food and 23% in beverages, where soft drinks or non-alcoholic beverages make up the biggest single market. Recall that many of these products only need to be used in small amounts in order to have a significant impact on the overall finished product.

While the Asia Pacific region has been for some time the biggest market for food and beverage ingredients (39% of the global volume) it could now be exceeded by the Middle East and Africa that will remain strong in the radar of the main suppliers.

Although developed countries are more static, they continue to be the most innovators and are the first in using new high-value ingredients as they appear.

The decline in global resources means that innovative ingredients have a vital role to play in helping to feed the population, leading to new areas and the harness of untapped potential.