Market Dynamics
Market Drivers
Rising Investments in the Starch Market
Starch innovations focus on components of baked foods, such as sauces in frozen meals and fruit filling in desserts. Ingredient suppliers have been broadening their starch sources. Considering how quickly industrial uses and technologies for starch processing are developing, it is also one of the markets with the most significant growth. More businesses are using modified starch in their production procedures and end products, increasing its popularity.
Advancements in the food and beverage, healthcare, biology, and chemical industries have been made possible in China because of the rapid development of starch and starch derivatives. With an annual production of 30.1 million tonnes of starches and 16.3 million tonnes of products from deep starch processing, corn, cassava, potato, sweet potato, and wheat are some of the primary feedstocks for making pre-gelatinized starch, chemically modified starch, starch sugar, polyols, and ethanol. In addition, businesses like Ingredion, ADM, Cargill, and others have been investing in the Asia-Pacific region because of the enormous market potential.
Market Restraint
Volatility in the Price of Raw Materials
To produce modified starch and its derivatives, the modified starch industry uses conventional and organic raw materials such as raw maize, cassava, tapioca, sweet potato, wheat, potato, and rice. These base materials are widely used to create goods containing modified starch and bioethanol. The growing demand for modified starch in the food and beverage, feed, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and paper industries has increased prices for raw materials. One of the most extensively used thickening or binding agents is modified corn starch, produced from the chemically modified endosperm of maize kernels to dissolve quickly.
Increases in the price of corn, wheat, and potatoes as raw materials have forced manufacturers to transition to less expensive modified starch sources, which has slowed the market's expansion. This increase in the price of natural raw materials has a detrimental effect on the cost of producing modified starch derivatives, increasing the overall price of the product. Increased consumer demand for potatoes in nations like China, India, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and the United States, and Germany caused potato prices to soar. At the same time, unfavorable weather circumstances hindered the overall output of cassava and caused its price to fluctuate.
Market Opportunities
Extensive Application with Functional Suits
Food starches can be changed to give unique opportunities for various applications. These functional qualities include texturizing, binding, thickening, gelling, and stabilizing. Using industrial starches as adhesives in paper and packaging is crucial to comprehend the chances for future growth. Modified starches are also widely used in baked goods, confections, soups, and salad dressings because they exhibit functional changes such as solubility, gelatinization, pasting, and retrogradation. To produce flours and pre-gelatinized starches with long-term stability and easy preparation, modified starches are often dried. It has a reduced paste viscosity in cold and hot temperatures, making hydrolyzed starch (acid-modified starches) perfect for mayonnaise and salad dressings.
Modified starches are frequently used for a variety of purposes, including adhesion and binding in battered and breaded foods, formed meat, and snack seasonings; dustings for chewing gum and bakery products; crisping cover for fried snacks; replacing fat and enhancing juiciness in ice cream and salad dressings; flavor encapsulating agents in beverage clouds; and emulsion stabilizers in beverages, creamers, and other dairy products.
Regional Analysis
The global modified starch market is bifurcated into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.
North America is the major revenue contributor and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.90% during the forecast period (2023-2031). The country's government, with its strict laws surrounding product labeling of gluten-free substances, has contributed to the United States' significant inclination toward consuming gluten-free cuisine. As they are made from potatoes, corn, and waxy maize, most modified food starches sold in the United States are gluten-free. Additionally, producers are looking for additional natural sources, such as wheat, cassava, corn, and rice, to get modified starch. Modified starch is produced using these raw materials in large quantities. The need is rising as more modified starch is consumed in food and beverage, feed, medicines, cosmetics, and paper industries.
Asia-Pacific modified starch market rate is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.95% during the forecast period. The primary end-use application fields for modified food starch in China are dairy products and sauces, which account for nearly three-quarters of the total sales volume of modified food starch. Yogurt, milk, and cheese are dairy products that use modified food starch. Noodles, pork products, and confectionery are notable examples of modified starch usage. The busy lifestyles of many Chinese populations, who frequently choose convenience food items, are to blame for the rising demand for modified food starch. The quality and cost of foreign goods often outpace Chinese products, so imports of modified food starch have also been expanding in China over the past few years.
Local/regional players selling a variety of starches manufactured from wheat, potato, corn, and other ingredients dominate the German market. Additionally, the demand for organic pre-gelatinized starch for specialized food and beverage and industrial food applications is rising more quickly in Germany. The country's increased use of modified starches is also a result of the rising demand for free-from goods and nutraceuticals. Key firms have increased their modified starch production due to mounting regulatory pressure to source raw materials domestically. To quadruple its output of wheat starch, the German business Jäcking Group has invested in developing a new wheat starch facility at the current factory in Hamm.
Segmental Analysis
The global modified starch market is segmented by source, application, and type.
Based on source, the global market is bifurcated into corn, potato, wheat, cassava, and other sources.
The corn segment is the highest contributor to the market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.40% during the forecast period. For items consumed immediately or not requiring long-term storage, native corn starch is preferable. However, several characteristics, such as the native starch's insolubility in water and instability when exposed to heat, acid, or shear, restrict its application and should be improved. As a result, the original starch's properties are changed to enhance its performance and adapt it to specific food processing needs. Waxy maize starch has a low amylose content and a high degree of stability, so manufacturers frequently employ it to create modified starch.
Modified wheat starch is wheat starch that has undergone enzymatic, physical, or chemical modification for a particular use. When employed in some food products, modified wheat starches can have better emulsifying qualities than others. The increased lipid content may be to blame for this. New starches created through starch modification can give food goods advantages, including enhanced moisture management and lengthened shelf life. Many items can be made with modified wheat starch, including batters, breakfast cereals, soups, sauces, icings, and jellies. Except for those that start with wheat starch as a base, most modified starches are gluten-free.
Native tapioca or cassava starch, primarily made by wet milling fresh cassava roots, is the source of modified cassava starch. There are few uses for starch in its natural state. To strengthen the stability of the granules, manufacturers attempt to alter the characteristics of starch. The qualities of cassava's high concentration of starch, which can match or surpass those of other starches, including maize, wheat, sweet potato, and rice, make it a cost-effective raw material. Food producers mostly use modified cassava starch to create a variety of foods, including cereals, meat, snacks, bakery goods, and functional foods.
Modified potato starch, used by the food processing industry as a general thickener and binder for many applications, has seen a significant increase in demand. This starch is used in snacks, meat, poultry, fish, seafood, pasta and noodles, sauces and soups, gluten-free baking, potato products, and confectionery. Like other starches, potato starch can be improved through degradation or cross-linking. Due to its exceptional qualities, modified potato starch is extensively employed in many industries, including paper and medicine.
Based on application, the global market is bifurcated into food and beverages, animal feed, personal care products, and other applications.
The food and beverages segment is the major contributor to the market and is estimated to boost at a CAGR of 5.10% during the forecast period. In the confectionery industry, modified starch serves as a sweetening agent as well as serving other purposes. Corn starch is an essential element in the sector that serves purposes beyond simple sweeteners. Corn starch regulates moisture retention, viscosity development, browning inhibition, crystallization of sucrose-inhibiting graining, and microbiological deterioration. One of the main components utilized in the confectionery industry is maltodextrin. Maltodextrins can be produced in a variety of ways. Corn maltodextrins are the most common, followed by potato, rice, and tapioca. Artisanal baked goods are becoming increasingly popular, especially with customers who value distinctive, premium goods with sumptuous flavors and textures.
Starch is being used more frequently in various animal feeds and health-promoting products. The market has grown significantly, putting pressure on feed manufacturers to satisfy high consumer expectations. Starches have many uses in the feed business, including pig and poultry feed, starting feed for ruminants and rabbits, aquafeed, and pet food, all of which promote healthy and optimal animal growth. Since cassava is less well-known as a feed ingredient and more known for its starch-rich tubers, it presents various opportunities in the animal feed sector. Animal feed pellets contain starch as a nutrition and binder. Dried starch is sometimes used as a moisture absorber in soft feeds for fish and animals with fur.
Many personal care products, including sanitary pads, liquid shampoos and conditioners, deodorants, powders, dry shampoos and conditioners, emulsions, decorative cosmetics, and dry shampoo and conditioners, employ starch. Starches are a good base for powders, absorb lipids and sebum, and improve the skin's texture. Over a wide pH range, starches thicken and stabilize goods. Additionally, they give the bulk and viscosity of the product, encapsulate an active component, or produce a water-soluble film. Sanitary pads are a newly developed starch-based product. Several firms have used this technique to provide inexpensive, eco-friendly sanitary napkins. Since the absorbent base of these biodegradable pads is starch, women can avoid harmful chemicals. As starch is biodegradable, it has better compatibility with skin and does less environmental harm.
Based on type, the global market is bifurcated into etherified starch, pre-gelatinized starch, resistant starch, esterified starch, and other types.
The esterified starch segment is the highest contributor to the market and is estimated to boost at a CAGR of 4.35% during the forecast period. In its natural state, starch only partially functions and has limited uses. However, developments in chemistry and biotechnology have made it possible to modify starch for various uses. Among the reactions, starch can undergo hydrolysis, esterification, etherification, and oxidation. These reactions result in modified starches, which can be used in bread goods, confections, soups, and salad dressings. Esterification is an essential technique for changing starch granules' structure and enhancing uses. These starches are employed in various processes, including film formation, binding, adhesion, thickening, stabilizing, texturing, and food formulation.
In the food and beverage sector, etherified starch aids in giving ready meals consistency, crunchiness, mild tastes, a transparent paste, and a creamy, short, smooth, and mild texture. Starches also help to retain high viscosity, offer good consistency, lessen syneresis, create gloss, and give dairy products a creamy/mild texture. Such starches are appropriate for goods that need to be chilled for storage. There are several applications for etherified starches, such as flocculants, coatings, medication delivery, papermaking, and many more. Several major companies that provide a variety of etherified starches include Cargill Inc., ADM, and Tate and Lyle.
The majority of pre-gelatinized starch is made from cooked and dried corn. Instant puddings, pie fillings, soup bases, salad dressings, and confectionary products frequently contain pre-gelatinized starch. Pre-gelatinized starches are very easily digested. It is possible to pre-gelatinize native and stabilized starches to create a cold-water paste. They produce viscosity without heat, doing away with the necessity for the food producer to cook the starch beforehand. The majority of the functional properties and viscosity of the original base material are retained by pre-gelatinized starches. Pre-gelatinized starch is a non-GMO component used in the food and beverage industry, including in baby food, salad dressings, and sauces, among other items, as a food stabilizer to help extend the shelf life of food products.
Bread, buns, breakfast cereals, extruded foods and snacks, bars, pasta, noodles, biscuits, confectionery items, beverages, and yogurt are just a few examples of food products that contain resistant starch-rich ingredients. These ingredients have several advantages, including increased dietary fiber, improved physiological performance, and improved organoleptic appeal. In addition to increasing loaf volume, lighter crumb color, and similar texture while increasing the nutritional fiber content, resistant starch additions also disrupt the crumb structure due to reduced water absorption capacity. Foods high in resistant starch include oats, rice, green bananas, potatoes, grains like barley and sorghum, and legumes like soybeans, pinto beans, black beans, and high-maize flour.
