France Rice Protein Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.91% to reach US$15.348 million by 2027. The market was valued at US$5.142 million in 2020. A vegetarian protein isolate and a widely recognized alternative to whey and soy protein isolates, rice protein is one of the prominent plant protein sources that find its application in a variety of fields. One of the prime drivers of this market is the exponential adoption of a vegan lifestyle and vegetarian dietary patterns. Furthermore, the health-conscious individuals of today’s world ensure they spend a good amount of time in gyms. Thus, arises the requirement to include dietary supplements as part of their dietary regimes, which makes use of a copious amount of rice protein. Another factor is the increasing tendency of consumers to be allergic to gluten. Because of the above, baking and confectionary use it as an ingredient in their superabundance of products that are dished out every day.
Restraints
Concomitantly, the plant-based protein arena is not shrinking but rather is poised to expand in the near and distant future. Therefore, this is allowing quite a lot of room for players in the rice-based protein substitute market. This particularly stands true for soy protein, since it is considered to be a complete protein with the right proportion of amino acids, which boosts muscle growth. Further, on the beverage side, particularly that of health drinks, PlantFusion™ Complete Protein Ready-to-Drink, a product manufactured in North America, sources one of its yellow peas that is grown in the Northern hills of France. The importance of plant-based meat alternatives and dairy alternatives has also permeated the very rationale for the growth of this market. To this end, in October 2018, with the objective of expanding the capabilities of pea protein capacity, Roquette Frères acquired Texpall’s extrusion unit in the Netherlands. Further, in January 2020, Roquette Frères also reinforced its partnership with Beyond Meat, the provider of meat substitutes. Beyond Burger, the latter’s flagship product has pea protein as its main ingredient. This deal will help Beyond Meat to scale up its plant protein supply chain as the global demand for its range of vegan products increases.
Opportunities
France as a country is renowned for having cheese as a part of its daily diet. Moreover, the consumption of meat has been prevalent since time immemorial. Therefore, the uptick in vegan food consumption has been relatively slow. The rationale behind vegan food consumption primarily lies in health consciousness due to the industrialization of meat production that has witnessed an increased use of chemicals. Additionally, the other rationale is the growing environmental awareness that has arisen due to environmental impacts caused by the operations pertaining to animal husbandry that are inclusive of but not limited to, eutrophication, solid acidification, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, this growing sensitivity of consumers toward the positive outcomes of vegan food consumption paves the path towards an opportunity for the French rice protein market. The aforesaid is being gradually exemplified by companies like Carrefour, one of the most popular and leading supermarkets in the country that is dedicated to vegan and organic food. Further, the sense of novelty associated with soy-based beverages is gradually losing the vigour that it had earlier. Therefore, despite the emergence of substitutes for rice milk protein in France, the market for the same is set to grow steadily during the forecast period.
Impact of COVID-19
Unlike other markets, a change in consumer behaviour has led to an increase in demand for a variety of other essential food and beverage goods. Producers of rice proteins are simultaneously deciding how to best respond to anticipated supply chain interruptions and capacity constraints that may prevent them from meeting shifting customer demands. The COVID-19 issue significantly affects the market for rice proteins, causing demand to decline in January and February compared to demand in 2019. The market for rice in France will likely remain weak in the first quarter of 2020 due to the significant effects of COVID-19, although demand may increase in the second.
Market Segmentation