Fermentation technology continues offering new and exciting opportunities in human nutrition. 

Nutritional ingredient categories like Vitamins, Carotenoids, Amino acids, Enzymes, and probiotics are largely expected to dominate the fermentation-derived ingredients market. 

Nevertheless, food ingredients such as yeast-derived proteins, additives like organic acids, and several bakery ingredients also significantly contribute to this sector.

Market Growth in Fermentation-Derived Ingredients 

Consumers are showing greater interest in bio-based ingredients made using fermentation. Increasing demand for clean-label solutions from the industry is expected to propel growth in the fermentation-derived ingredients market. 

The market growth is attributed to the growing interest in identifying the ingredients present in food and beverage products worldwide, especially among health-conscious consumers.  

Free-from products have been booming in retail shelf spaces over the recent past across all formats.  

Drivers for Fermentation-Derived Ingredients 

With respect to individual product categories, driving factors vary according to the penetration of the product categories in end-use industries.  

Petroleum Alternatives for the Production of Organic Acids 

For example, with respect to organic acids, the push toward using petroleum alternatives to produce organic acids is expected to drive the market for fermentation-derived organic acids. In the case of amino acids, growing awareness among farmers of reducing the content of crude protein in animal diets is expected to drive the bulk demand for amino acids in both developed and developing regions.  

Demand for Umami Seasonings 

High demand for umami seasonings in India, Japan, and Africa is expected to drive the market for amino acids, especially monosodium glutamate. 

Innovations in Fermentation-based Ingredient Solutions 

Food scientists are constantly innovating fermentation-based ingredient solutions to provide healthier and nutritionally better products to today's consumers.  

One good example could be yeast, which is an endless source of new food ingredients and additives with excellent functional and nutritional properties, now through the use of innovative elaboration and fractionation techniques mainly from biotechnology.  

Takeaways  

• Fermentation technology has come a long way from its humble beginning as a technology to produce functional food ingredients 
• The advancement of fermented ingredients is expected to reduce the use of synthetic ingredients used in foods 
• Fermentation-derived ingredients are now being looked at as a potential solution to achieve coloration, flavor profile, and textural properties in plant-based meat