BCC has reassessed the vitamin industry based on major developments that have taken place in the global market for vitamins. The compound feed sectors in Europe and the U.S. were saturated in the ‘90s, but companies now are experiencing new demand for most vitamins in Asia, particularly China. In food, and also partly in the supplement area, some vitamins still enjoy a high growth rate. This is due to the popularity of new food concepts such as ACE, and volume growth in sports nutrition. However, price levels for most vitamins have fallen because of the market entry of Chinese companies. The impact of this has been considerable, with the demise of companies in the West, and the recent acquisition by DSM of the Roche Group.
The highly competitive field has eroded marketing and product concepts such as customer focus and service, and the production of value-added products. Small margins have diminished profits, minimizing R&D that in the past was very intensive. Companies now are focused on streamlining production and lowering costs. All of this may result in a much greater emphasis on fermentation that offers a higher potential for low-cost production. It may work to the disadvantage of many producers expert only in chemical synthesis, and to the advantage of companies expert in the fermentative production of fine chemicals.
BCC’s timely and comprehensive report reviews each type of vitamin in detail. It provides insight into an industry shaken by market developments, and confronted by unprecedented dynamic change. Product identity and major formulations are presented, and the rationale for past, current and future applications is discussed. Quantitative consumption by application and geographic area, combined with more than 10 years of price trends, provide the basis for a solid extrapolation of demand and prices through 2007. The study details company market shares for each vitamin, but even more prominent is the analysis of the mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in recent years, and the possible consequences for the industry.
This report includes:
- Markets by type of vitamin, including
- characteristics
- physiological function
- consumption
- pricing
- Five-year forecasts
- Applications, including
- feeds
- food
- supplements
- cosmetics
- Industry structure
- Company profiles.
The methodology that is applied in this report is mainly based on the analysis of the markets for which vitamins are used. The structure of trends in these markets is identified. Developments in each relevant market are discussed and shown. And for each of the so defined application fields, the most important vitamins are identified and volumes and market values estimated. Price trends complete the picture.
In previous time, the sources of information were limited, as there were only a few players controlling the . Due to the developments in the market, many journals now report on vitamins. However it is still the direct contacts with the production industry, traders and the application industry that yields the most reliable information and guarantees the high quality of this report.
Ulrich März is a research analyst in BCC's food and feed ingredients group and is experienced both as a food scientist and technical economic analyst. Dr. März has made significant contributions to technology, and performed industry and market analysis of vitamins, colorants, enzymes, organic acids, amino acids, and other fermentation derived food and feed ingredients, with BCC multi-client and custom studies. Dr. März has been with BCC for nearly 10 years. M.S., Chemical Engineering; Ph.D., Economics and Management, University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Report Code: FOD014C, Published: October 2003, Analyst: Ulrich Marz
