Overview
Rising demand for craft beer on a global level as a result of increasing awareness among the millennials to pay a premium for discovering various beer styles namely Belgian style, and dark lager is expected to promote the scope of brewing ingredients. Furthermore, the growing awareness towards plant-based beer as an alternative beer thanks to the rising popularity of products with vegan-free and gluten-free labeling, is expected to open new avenues for the brewing ingredients.
The growing millennial population coupled with the extensive social marketing campaigns aimed at expanding the scope of organic alcoholic drinks on a global level is expected to promote the use of craft beer product forms. It was predicted that the global craft beer market was USD 2.47 billion in 2021 is projected to reach USD 5.02 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 12.3% from the forecast period of 2022 to 2029.
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Over the past few years, the food and beverage industry is also prospecting for increasing spending on plant-based materials in order to achieve sustainability and address the concerns of buyers who are aware of the negative effects associated with the use of synthetic or chemical-derived ingredients. The industry participants have responded well to this situation and are increasing the spending towards new product developments for not only enhancing the quality of beer but also reducing carbon footprints.
In May 2023, Kerry Group launched two plant-based processing aids for improving the process efficiency, enhancing the beer quality, and inducing cost savings while brewing. These products are available in the preposition of brand names, Biofine Eco and FermCap Eco. The company developed these products with the intention of aiding the brewers to create buyer-friendly beer along with reducing the negative impact on the environment.
Biofine Eco is a plant-based clarification aid that improves beer clarification through the delivery of instant yeast flocculation. This processing aid is capable of operating with or without centrifuge and thus developed as an allergen-free alternative to the conventional brewing aids. The product is also capable of reducing turbidity and producing a compact sediment that could be removed easily and limit the scope of disposal.
- On the other hand, FermCap Eco is a plant-based foam-control product form that optimizes process efficiencies by enhancing fermenter capacity, limiting overfoaming, and improving hop utilization. Furthermore, the company claimed that the effective use of such processing aids will help in the improvement of beer foam stability and excellent compatibility with crossflow membrane filtration. As compared to conventional anti-foaming agents, FermCap Eco reduces the cleaning-in-place (CIP) time and paves the way for extensive filter run lengths without membrane fouling.
Gaining Popularity of Plant-Based Beer
The rapid expansion of plant-based beer as a result of increasing awareness towards alternatives to conventional beer product forms has remained one of the influential factors in the near future. Furthermore, consumers in developed economies of North America and Europe have been increasing spending by paying premiums for purchasing products which are labeled with either gluten-free or vegan.
New product launches and futuristic collaborations aimed at plant-based beer product forms are projected to open new avenues. For instance, in June 2022, vegan protein firm Quorn announced a new collaboration with the U.K. based beer company BrewDog to launch a new plant-based Mexican Vienna Lager. The company claimed that the product contains 5.1% ABV, low-mouth bitterness, medium-body mouth feel, and excellent citrus aromas. Furthermore, this product will be available in the packaging format of a 330 ml can and the customers can purchase it from BrewDog website. These product launches are expected to facilitate the brewing ingredients manufacturers to increase spending on plant-based solutions to not only enhance the beer quality but also to reduce carbon footprint.
Some of the key brands include Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Bard’s Beer, and Voodoo Ranger IPA. These product forms are available from the stores namely, grocery stores and liquor shops. As a result, growing demand for plant-based beer is expected to open new avenues for plant-based grains as ingredients as well as additives in the brewing process over the next few years.
Shifting Preference Towards Carbon Neutral Brewing among Alcoholic Beverages Companies
Increasing occurrences of drought along with extreme heat wave are projected to threaten the cultivation of crops such as barley, which is one of the key brewing ingredients for beer manufacturing. As a result, brewing companies have been increasing spending towards the incorporation of sustainable practices internally so that plant-based solutions could be deployed to overcome not only supply-related issues but also to gain an edge over competitors. For instance, the Netherlands-based Heineken pledged to be a carbon-neutral beer producer by the end of 2030 and thus, planned to have a green supply chain such as agriculture, packaging, distribution and cooling.
The Denmark-based Carlsberg A/S is also actively working on its target of ZERO carbon brewing by the end of 2030. As a result, the company not only reduced in-house carbon emissions by 39% per hl but also declared eight of the brewing plants as “carbon neutral sites”. Furthermore, the company also plans to reduce water consumption by 25% from in-house breweries.
The paradigm shift among alcoholic beverage companies towards the incorporation of new practices and technologies aimed at the reduction of carbon emissions and limiting the usage of water is expected to promote the scope of alternative brewing ingredients to the conventional forms namely hop, yeast, and water. Furthermore, rising concerns associated with the usage of wine-making agents such as casein, gelatin, and albumin (or egg whites) as they have a high potential to release carbon emissions is projected to promote the acceptability of plant-based brewing ingredients for the long-term.
Home Brewing: Next Gen Opportunity
Over the past few years, the craft beer movement has been gaining momentum on a global level as a result of traction of the buyers towards prospecting unique and personalized experiences with their alcoholic beverages. The consumers are showing interest in exploring the new brewing processes along with experimenting with different ingredients to craft their beer. This inclination towards preference towards craft beer culture is projected to open new opportunities for the brewing industry participants in the near future.
Strong advertising and marketing campaigns aimed at increasing the penetration of the craft beer movement in the developed economies of North America and Europe paved the way for the inclusion of a diversified number of beer styles. For instance, The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is one of the key organizations in the U.S., which is dedicated to promoting the spending of home-brewing on a domestic level. Furthermore, the association also plays a key role in supporting home brewers through providing educational resources for beginners as well as experienced interest owners. The association organizes various events namely the National Homebrew Competition, which opens the opportunity for home brewers to showcase their skill sets as well as receive feedback from experienced judges.
As per Databridge Market Research, it is projected that the home beer brewing machine market is expected to gain market growth of more than 10% from the forecast period of 2023 onwards. Shifting consumer preference towards the fresh beer variants along with the rising on-premise sales is expected to promote the scope of home beer brewing machine market. Home brewing machines are mainly preferred by those customers who frequently arrange house parties.
To know more about the study, https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-home-beer-brewing-machine-market
The majority of craft beer enthusiasts are increasing their spending on home brewing to incorporate new features in the beer product forms with the inclusion of unique flavors and incorporation of the best quality of brewing ingredients. As per the information released from the American Homebrewers Association, it indicated that the U.S. had over 1 million dedicated homebrewers in the U.S. for the year 2022. This data clearly indicates the presence of a high concentration of home-brewing community in the U.S.
The positive outlook towards home brewing in developed economies of North America and Europe as a result of the expansion of awareness related to experimenting with new beer styles and taste preferences is projected to promote the scope of plant-based brewing ingredients. The effective use of such plant-based ingredients not only results in enhancing the beer quality but also limits the health concerns which is associated with alcoholic products. Brewing ingredients companies are likely to utilize this opportunity so that they could target the consumer segment or homebrewers to whom they could target the plant-based offerings which could expand their buyer reach in the near future.
Conclusion
It is well known that the alcoholic beverage industry is highly dependent upon the use of good quality of ingredients and the incorporation of healthy ecosystem practices. Therefore, fluctuating climate dynamics and exhaustive use of natural sources have resulted in impacting the supply of crops and various natural materials. This fluctuating supply dynamics in the upstream chain of brewers’ industry participants has played a crucial role in promoting the use of sustainable brewing solutions which will ensure the supply access for the alcoholic beverage manufacturers. Furthermore, these plant-based sustainable ingredients are capable of maintaining their quality for a longer time on account of their natural origin content and inherent nutritional attributes. However, the high price and limited supply access to such plant-based ingredients are expected to remain one of the key barriers which would limit the scope of sustainable solutions in the alcoholic beverage industry. The brewing industry participants are expected to increase the spending on R&D dedicated to plant-based ingredients so that the level of commercialization related to such products will witness an increase in the near future.
