READY TO USE THERAPEUTIC FOOD MARKET ANALYSIS

Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food Market 2017–2027

Ready to use therapeutic food (RTUF) is nutrient-enriched food used for treating malnutrition in children. This food contains important vitamins and minerals and is a rich source of energy and protein. These foods are prepared from peanut-based paste, sugar, oil, and powdered milk. Ready to use therapeutic food is easy to consume, does not require refrigeration and are available in affordable price with excellent shelf-life. This product saves money and is also highly effective in treating children's lives. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 98% of children treated with RUTF were well-nourished after six months and 96% were well-nourished after a year.

The global ready-to-use therapeutic food market is projected to reach around US$ 835.1 million by the end of 2027, in terms of revenue, growing at CAGR of 10.3% during the forecast period (2019-2027).

Drivers

Growing cases of malnutrition around the globe are projected to propel the market growth of Ready to use therapeutic food. According to the World Health organization, in 2016, an estimated 155 million children under the age of 5 years were suffering from stunting, while 41 million were overweight or obese. Around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition. Therefore, growing cases of malnutrition around the globe are propelling the market growth of ready to use therapeutic food.

Growing demand for drinkable RUTF products is expected to foster the market growth of ready to use therapeutic food. It is difficult to feed infants RUTF paste to treat malnutrition, hence this factor is expected to raise the demand for drinkable RUTF products such as therapeutic milk. Hence, drinkable RUFT products are gaining huge demand from infants and this, in turn, is augmenting the market growth of ready to use therapeutic food. 

On basis of the region, Europe region dominated the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market in 2018, accounting for 61.7% share in terms of volume, followed by Middle East & Africa and North America, respectively.

Figure 1. Global Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food Market, Revenue Share (%), By Region, 2018

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Market Restraints

Factors such as inconsistency in RUTF milk products and risk of microbial contamination and absence of specific commodity standards in the Codex Alimentarius for therapeutic milk by UNICEF are expected to hinder the market growth of RUFT. Moreover, many manufacturers of ready-to-use therapeutic food products are not following the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of food product preparation which is leading to microbial contamination.

RUFT products are too expensive to use besides the treatment of severe acute malnutrition and their provision highly depends on short-term external funding for emergency programs or humanitarian. This factor is expected to hinder the market growth of ready to use therapeutic food over the forecast period.

Market Opportunities

Growing research for developing alternative of raw materials used for the preparation of ready to use therapeutic food. At present RUTF products are prepared by using peanuts, vitamins and minerals, oil, and milk powder which are significantly high, resulting in a higher cost of the end product. In order to deal with this, various manufacturer are conducting research and development activities for developing a cost-effective substitute for these raw materials.

The rising focus of manufacturers to launch of bar and biscuits RUTF products is expected to lucrative growth opportunity to the market of RUTF. Moreover, various manufacturers are also focusing on developing powder form of RUTF products which is creating a huge opportunity for the manufacturer to expand their presence in the market. 

Figure 2. Global Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food Market– Opportunity Analysis

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Market Trends

The growing trend of using an alternative to sugar such as pure jaggery or icing sugar for producing ready-to-use therapeutic candy bars, paste or cream and biscuits is expected to foster the market growth of ready to use therapeutic food. Moreover, major companies are focusing on producing ready-to-use therapeutic food products based on whey permeate powder, a good substitute for sugar is further projected to augment the market growth of RUTF.

An increasing number of partnerships in the market for the procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is expected to accelerate market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in May 2018, the Federal Government of Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), for the procurement of ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF). The partnership is to serve as counterpart contribution for the procurement and distribution of the commodity in the six geo-political zones of the Country.

Figure 3. Global Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food Market, Revenue Share (%), By Product Type, in 2018

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On the basis of product type, in 2018, the semi solid paste accounted the largest market share of 91.3% in terms of value, followed by drinkable therapeutic food and solid respectively.

Competitive Section:

Key players operating in global ready-to-use therapeutic food market are GC Rieber Compact AS, Diva Nutritional Products, Edesia USA, Hilina, InnoFaso, Insta Products, Mana Nutritive Aid Products, Nutriset SAS, NutriVita Foods, Power Foods Tanzania, and Tabatchnik Fine Foods.