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Euromonitor forecasts $2.9 trillion packaged food industry

Euromonitor International says that its recent data reveals that the global packaged food industry will grow 2.4% to reach US$2.9 trillion in 2019. Key trends in the industry are: The global consumer has a sweet tooth – over 20% of the packaged food we eat today are sweet snacks The US is the biggest gluten-free […]

Euromonitor International says that its recent data reveals that the global packaged food industry will grow 2.4% to reach US$2.9 trillion in 2019. Key trends in the industry are:

• The global consumer has a sweet tooth – over 20% of the packaged food we eat today are sweet snacks
• The US is the biggest gluten-free food market in the world in 2014, followed by Italy which represents the largest in Europe
• New policies against obesity affect food players’ strategies – the world buys 1.5 trillion calories a day and will be buying 90 more calories a day by 2019

“Snack products are driving the market due to busier lifestyles which makes snacking more prominent in people’s diets,” said Lianne van den Bos, Food Analyst at Euromonitor. “We will see more companies offer solutions in easy-to-consume, on-the-go formats in the future.”

“Health and wellness is also playing an important role in packaged food,” said Dimitrios Dimakakos, Euromonitor’s Lead Analyst for Western Europe. “Despite the value growth of overall baked goods, staples such as bread suffered a decline in sales over 2014, while the “free-from” food products, such as dairy-free ice cream and gluten-free pasta, are moving from niche channels to mainstream.”

“Despite over 40 percent of the global population being overweight and obese, Euromonitor’s nutrition data shows that by 2019 the world will purchase 90 calories more a day,” said Lauren Bandy, Euromonitor’s Senior Nutrition Analyst. “It’s important that food players, governments and retailers continue to play their part in providing and promoting healthy products.”