The global nutritional analysis market size is estimated to be valued at USD 5.4 billion in 2021 and projected to reach USD 7.9 billion by 2026, recording a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. The market is strongly driven by shifting consumer preferences, rising health awareness, growing millennial population, and increase in supplementary income among consumers. The convergence of major industry trends is giving rise to new opportunities for key players in the industry. Changing lifestyles and high prevalence of chronic diseases are the key factors driving the demand for nutritional analysis. The growing positive outlook towards sports nutrition would also positively impact the nutritional analysis market.
Drivers: Malnutrition and poor diets constitute the key driver for the global nutritional analysis market
As per the report “FROM PROMISE TO IMPACT: ENDING MALNUTRITION BY 2030,” to meet the key global nutrition milestones set by the WHO, governments and donors will need to triple their commitments toward nutrition over the next decade. Governments should increase their spending and introduce consequent improvements in nutrition to deal with malnutrition. At the same time, civil society organizations, donors, and businesses need to put more efforts to ensure budgets in various sectors—agriculture, education, food systems, health systems, social protection, and water sanitation, and hygiene—allocate more resources to end malnutrition in all its forms.
With governments taking initiatives to frame nutrition policies & regulations and make them effective, a huge demand for nutritional analysis testing is expected in the coming five years.
Restraints: Lack of food control infrastructure & resources in developing countries
Developing regions lack organizations, sophistication, and the required technologies for food nutrition testing. The infrastructure of food analysis laboratories in developing countries is expected to be scant due to the limited resources, restricted technology, and poor management. Issues such as the lack of institutional coordination, outdated technology, and the absence of expertise for the execution of regulations at low levels, equipment, and updated standards have been constraining the market for nutritional analysis. Food control laboratories are poorly equipped, and they lack suitable trained analytical staff, especially in countries such as Ethiopia, Cuba, and Bangladesh.
Opportunities: Rapid industrialization and urbanization of the food & beverages sector to fuel the demand for nutrition analysis
The market for nutrition analysis in emerging economies is being linked to the rapid industrialization booming food trade with Europe (free trade agreements) and North America, a high proportion of the population that drives domestic consumption of food & beverages that utilize better quality water and the growing regulatory focus on protecting consumer well-being. These have led to the increasingly stringent enforcement of laws on food & water safety and environment (USDA, FDA).
An increase in industrialization in regions such as Asia Pacific and Africa has increased awareness among people related to food contamination. This, in turn, has resulted in the implementation of numerous food safety acts, which are the key opportunities for the food nutrition analysis market.
Challenges: Time-consuming testing methods
Food nutritional analysis testing has been witnessing improvements in technology, with the time taken now being one to three weeks for nutritional analysis through advanced and rapid testing. Sample preparation, which involves the extraction of analyses and separation of potential analyses, takes approximately 60% of the total time of the sample being analyzed. The preparation of the report is estimated to account for 20%–25% of the total time. The results obtained after comprehensive testing are used to direct the food manufacturing cycle. Nutritional analysis services are mostly used for new product development and nutritional labeling purposes. The delays in reports being generated result in delays in further processing of product development or product launch in the market.
Key players in this market include SGS SA (Switzerland), Intertek Group (UK), Eurofins Scientific (Luxembourg), Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), Bureau Vieritas (France), ALS (Australia), Mérieux NutriSciences (US), AsureQuality (New Zealand), TÜV Nord Group (Germany), Food Lab, Inc. (US), Compu-Food Analysis (US), NutriData (US), Certified Laboratories (US), Premier Analytical Services (UK), Microbac Laboratories (US).