The food and beverage industry globally has experienced a significant growth over the past few years. This is majorly attributed to the industry's strong developments and innovations, which have further enhanced and strengthened consumption and spending. There has been a marked movement in consumer preferences and demands, which is further indicated by a drive towards premiumization and customization. Manufacturers of a number of food and beverage products are now looking at creating differentiated products, whereby consumer preferences are being accounted for, to create new market opportunities.
Furthermore, there is a clear shift in food consumption patterns from unprocessed foods to processed and ultra-processed foods. Hectic lifestyles in developed nations have led to a declining trend of cooking and a growing trend of snacking. Consumers are nowadays more inclined to buying processed foods such as bread & cereals, frozen & packaged meals, and processed meat & fish. This has resulted in the growing demand for various types of convenience foods, which, in turn, is expected to drive the consumption volumes of food processing ingredients in the food & beverage industry.
Similarly, there are various other factors also affecting the consumer choice of food & beverage products, including their preference for clean label products. Clean label products are products that are free from GMOs, synthetic ingredients, and allergens and are natural and organic. The trend of clean label is gaining global significance, especially in North America and Europe, with markets in emerging regions such as Asia Pacific, South America, and the Rest of the World, experiencing a steady rise in demand. Consumers are increasingly becoming more aware of the ill-effects of the usage of artificial ingredients. The rising consumer demand for clean label products and the industrial response to these demands can be well depicted from the growing market for these products, further affected by a number of product launches of the product type, in various sub-categories of food in 2015.
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