09.21.12
A new report on whey and lactose products from 3A Business Consulting—”Global Market for Whey and Lactose Ingredients 2012-2015”—demonstrates, how whey and lactose ingredients continue to show positive growth rates in volume and value terms, although prices have weakened for most products in 2012 compared to 2011. The report shows several clear product trends. For whey, the high-end protein products—WPC80, isolates and hydrolysates—are growing by double digit figures, whereas whey powder and other low-end products are stagnating. The nutritional sectors including infant formula, clinical nutrition and sports nutrition products are mainly responsible for the strong growth in the high-end protein ingredients. For the lactose product group, high growth is apparent for permeate, but also for standard lactose, pharmaceutical lactose and galactooligosaccharides.
Whey powder, whey proteins and whey protein fractions represented a global market value of $7.2 billion in 2011—more than 20% higher than in 2010 given higher prices—and are forecasted to grow to approximately $8.5 billion in 2015, corresponding to a CAGR of 4%. Lactose, pharmaceutical lactose, permeate and lactose derivatives were worth more than $2 billion in 2011, and market value is estimated to reach nearly $2.4 billion in 2015, resulting in a CAGR of close to 4%.