Lecithin Market to Witness 5% CAGR during 2015 – 2020

Lecithin is used as an emulsifier in several industries, such as food, animal feed, health & nutrition, and cosmetics. They are primarily sold through two distribution modes, distributors and direct selling. The consumer expenditure on processed and convenience food is growing, due to increase in working population worldwide. The growing health awareness among consumers is supporting the demand for low-fat food, which is consequently driving the growth of the global lecithin market. Based on source, the global lecithin market comprises soy, egg, sunflower and others. Based on applications, the global lecithin market has been categorized into chemical esters, food, animal feed, nutrition and health supplements, cosmetics, and others.

In 2014, the global soy lecithin accounted for the largest share among all the source of the global lecithin market. Soy lecithin is a natural emulsifier and contains three types of phospholipids, namely phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylinositol (PI). Soy lecithin is extracted from soybean oil and predominantly used as an emulsifier, due to its strong emulsifying properties.

Some of the major drivers fuelling the growth of the global lecithin market are increasing demand for low fat and convenience foods, and high flexibility and multifunctional nature of lecithin. The increasing health concerns, along with growing demand for healthy food ingredients is propelling the food manufacturers to use novel ingredients for reducing fat content in the processed food. The rapid growth of the food industry and the corresponding increase in demand for low-fat food is fuelling the growth of the global lecithin market. These factors are encouraging manufacturers to develop individual and blend products, such as non-genetically-modified lecithin with very little, or zero fat. The impact of increasing demand for low-fat and convenience foods in the global lecithin market is expected to be medium in the short and medium terms, and high in the long term. 

Strong presence of other emulsifying agents limits its usage in food industries. The various substitutes of lecithin, such as mono- and di-glycosides, sorbitan esters, sodium stearoyl lactylates, sucrose esters, poly glycerol esters of fatty acids, and poly glycerol polyricinoleate, available in the market, hinders the growth of the global lecithin market to some extent. The impact of wide availability of substitutes on the global lecithin market is expected to be high in the short term, and medium in the medium and long terms.

The global lecithin market was valued at $787.7 million in 2014, and it is expected to grow with a CAGR of 5.4%, during the period 2015 - 2020. Geographically, the European lecithin market accounted for the largest share in the global lecithin market in 2014.

The key companies operating in the global lecithin market include Archer Daniels Midland Company, Lipoid GmbH, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd.