Abstract
Changing Food Trends Offer Significant Opportunities
Microencapsulation is increasingly attracting the attention of food
ingredients companies as a way of achieving much-needed differentiation and
enhancing product value. Since food manufacturers routinely track consumer
trends and tastes, food ingredients companies are constantly looking to
develop innovative products that help meet these changing needs. New and
advanced microencapsulation technologies offer them the opportunity to do this
since they enable the use of previously difficult-to-use ingredients. At the
same time, food manufacturers need to introduce novel product lines to address
complex consumer requirements as well as growing competition from supermarkets
selling their own brand products. One way of achieving this is by using
ingredients or processes that enhance a product in some way, such as a new
flavor or a health benefit, and microencapsulation is an ideal tool to achieve
this.
This Frost & Sullivan research service presents and analyses key growth
opportunities for microencapsulation in the food ingredients market. It
discusses major technology developments and their implications for food
ingredients companies. The study also highlights key benefits of
microencapsulation as well as important consumer trends that are driving such
companies to increasingly use this technology.
Rising Trend towards Functional Foods Promotes Use of Microencapsulation
With the increasing consumer interest in functional foods, food companies are
looking to incorporate new and health-enhancing ingredients. "The growing
functional foods market is the major driving force behind microencapsulation
innovation," observes the analyst of this research service.
"Microencapsulation offers food companies a viable means of penetrating this
lucrative growth sector because it has the ability to mask the taste
associated with some of these ingredients, allowing firms to include these
ingredients in many more products than before." Microencapsulating minerals or
vitamins in an appetising application can help children get their recommended
intake of these supplements.
Recent developments in microencapsulation are helping promote their potential
in the food ingredients market further. For instance, the encapsulation of
probiotics in hydrocolloid beads is helping improve their survival rate right
through processing and digestion. Other new microencapsulation methods are
enabling food manufacturers to incorporate Omega 3 fatty acids in food
products.
Growing Demand for Convenience Food by Health-conscious Consumers
While consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious, Frost & Sullivans
research service has revealed that they are unwilling to compromise on taste.
Microencapsulation provides food manufacturers the chance to offer consumers
healthy food that tastes good. "New developments in microencapsulation,
targeted in particular at the highly lucrative childrens market, have meant
that chewing gum and candies can be fortified," says the analyst. "Moreover,
the encapsulation of sweeteners can reduce their hygroscopicity, improve their
flowability and prolong their properties."
Microencapsulation can also help food companies capitalise on the growing
convenience food market without compromising on quality. For example, in
home-baked pizza products, sodium bicarbonate can be encapsulated to prevent
early release of the bicarbonate and delay the reaction of the leavening
phosphate until the crust reaches a particular temperature in the oven.
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