Newly published market report: Opportunities in Whey Products and Lactose

Dec. 13, 2009 - PRLog -- Advances in  whey processing technology and investments in research and development  have combined with a greater understanding and recognition of the potential health benefits of Whey Products. As a result  both ingredients suppliers and product manufacturers alike seeking to exploit the potential of an area which many see as currently "exploding".

Undoubtedly the functional benefits of certain Whey Products (in particular concentrates and isolates) are driving renewed interest and market momentum. But less-hyped areas should not be forgotten: use in Animal Feed and in human food use as a food (as opposed functional) ingredient will fuel demand. Lactose’ use as a relatively cost effective, low glycemic index, carbohydrate source should not be overlooked either as this category will see greater volume growth in the future than overall Whey Products.

Functional applications will be at the forefront of shaping the future direction of Whey Products however, with markets like Sports Nutrition, Seniors’ Nutrition and Nutritional Management  creating demand for higher quality, value-added Whey Products in the future. Certain Whey Products, particularly concentrates and isolates (WPI) are potentially well placed to take advantage of these developments.

But growth will not just happen by itself - there are significant problems to overcome. First, much greater scientific substantiation of product benefits is required to establish efficacy and to pass regulatory hurdles, particularly in Europe. Beyond that marketers must also ensure the marketing messages have high integrity and accurately represent product benefits as misleading marketing has the potential to undermine the market.  The potential for growth is there, but successful targeting requires carefully constructed strategies to be followed.

Scope of this report

- Provides extensive market data on the size, growth and segmentation of the Whey Products and Lactose markets across 4 major regions and 15 countries, with forecasts up until 2013. Assessments of use by end-use markets are also provided.
- Analysis of the relative strength of demand both now and in the future from different uses of Whey Products and Lactose, both as an ingredient in product formulation sand as a specific functional ingredient.
- Uniquely detailed product launch analysis examines the pattern of product introductions containing Whey Products and Lactose across the globe over the past 3 years.
- Detailed chapters provide extensive insight into the emerging role of Whey Products in both the Sports Nutrition and Infant Formulas markets, highlighting the growth potential for Whey Products in these areas and how manufacturers can effectively utilize these ingredients.
- Examination of the latest scientific evidence that points towards the likely future direction of Whey Product use in burgeoning markets like Seniors’ Nutrition and Immunity and Gut Health.
- Examination of the key issues that marketers need to be addressed in order to unlock the full potential of the Whey Products and lactose markets.

Highlights from this report

- Global production volumes for Whey Products  in 2008  were over 3.2 million metric tonnes, and over 0.9 million metric  tonnes for Lactose.  Europe is the dominant region in global Whey Products and lactose production, accounting for more than 50% of total production in both markets in 2008.
- Functional uses for Whey Products are the hot area of the market due to the potential for Whey Products to leverage their excellent nutrition profiles (in particular their amino acid and protein profiles) into high quality nutrition for consumers.
- Product markets which offer a role for Whey Products as a functional ingredient include Infant Nutrition, Sports Nutrition & Body Composition, and Immunity & Gut Health products, Weight Management and Satiety and Nutritional (disease) Management.
- Issues that require addressing for growth in the market to continue include; the need to maintain product integrity and to market these products responsibly, the need to tackle head-on consumer mistrust of functional foods and the need to mitigate, as far as possible, price fluctuations.

Key market issues addressed

- The key challenge for Whey Products remains how can ingredients suppliers and manufacturers maximize their potential?  To achieve this a key aim will need to be taking the more refined Whey Products beyond  specialist markets like Sports Nutrition and into the mass market.
- Achieving widespread distribution will require careful marketing approaches. In common with all functional foods marketers must take care to ensure that products have demonstrable benefits and that marketing messages are clear and accurately portray product benefits.
- Furthermore, consumer mistrust of marketing messages also needs directly tackling. In 2008 around 77% of Europeans and 67% of American s did not feel that "nutritional claims on food and drinks were trustworthy". This is a massive barrier which needs to be overcome for growth to continue in functional applications of Whey Products.
- Competition between suppliers of Whey Products is likely to be intense in the future. For suppliers this means that establishing effective whey processing capabilities now is important. For manufacturers this means that more, better, Whey Products will become available in the future for them to use in product development.
- Whey Products also need to establish their credentials compared to other high nutritional value ingredients (such as soy proteins) in consumers’ minds. This needs to be achieved in a manner which does not bombard consumers with claims and counter-claims for different ingredients, as this runs the risk of alienating consumers from functional foods altogether.

For more information or to purchase this report, go to http://www.fastmr.com/catalog/product.aspx?productid=43097

About Business Insights

Business Insights appreciate the importance of accurate, up-to-date incisive market and company analysis and their aim therefore is to provide a single, off-the-shelf, objective source of data, analysis and market insight. Business Insights work in association with leading industry experts to produce a range of reports across a wide range of industry sectors.  By working in association with so many experts they are able to provide clients with more incisive market analysis specific to the client's industry sector. No other market analysis company provides such focused and trusted market analysis, across such a wide range of industry sectors.  View more research from Business Insights at http://www.fastmr.com/catalog/publishers.aspx?pubid=1003

About Fast Market Research

Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.

For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.