Malaysian Exporters Should Not Shy Away From Food Allergy and Intolerance F&B Products
TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, KUALA LUMPUR: The food allergy and food intolerance food and beverage (F&B) products market holds strong growth potential to Malaysian exporters due to the increasing demand from consumers for such products in European countries such as Germany.
While the market size for such products are difficult to gauge, it is estimated that Germany has Western Europe's largest market for gluten free foods (which is a subset of the food allergy/food intolerance market), with sales worth in the region of Euro250 million in 2012. Currently, it is estimated about 90 per cent of the exports are from European sources while exports from Asian countries including Malaysia are negligible.
According to S.Jai Shankar, the MATRADE Frankfurt’s Trade Commissioner, several Malaysian exporters of food and beverage have already started exploring this lucrative market. A case in point is Yuen Chun Industries Sdn Bhd, which focussed on offering gluten free products when it participated in the MATRADE-organised ANUGA 2013 trade fair.
‘Consequently, MATRADE hopes that Malaysian companies which will be participating in forthcoming food and beverage trade fairs in Europe such as SIAL Paris 2014 will be giving more focus on healthy products such as allergy-free, gluten-free or organic produce,’ Jai added. MATRADE will be organising a national pavilion during the forthcoming SIAL Paris trade fair from 19 to 23 October 2014.
He pointed out that it makes a lot of strategic sense for more Malaysian exporters to explore this growing market as Asian suppliers are clearly under-represented and there is much scope for strong future growth. ‘The market continues to register healthy growth despite the economic crisis as consumers tried to cut on their medical bills by opting for healthier food options,’ he added.
Over the years, the food allergy and food intolerance products market has gradually evolved from a nascent sector to mainstream food business in German-speaking countries, driven by a host of factors, both on the consumer and the manufacturers’ front. Other demand factors include the improvement in diagnostic technologies.
In addition, the products should also not contain glucose from wheat, fructose from corn, artificial meat and GMO food products.
This being the case, Malaysian exporters of food products, especially those with R&D capabilities should consider offering allergy-free range of their respective products to serve this niche, yet growing segment of the market.
