Natural Antioxidants Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Vitamin C, Vitamin E), By Application (Pharmaceuticals, Food), And Segment Forecasts, 2016 - 2022

Industry Insights

The global natural antioxidants market size is anticipated to grow on account of increasing demand for natural antioxidants in food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and animal feed. Rising demand for fortified food and beverages owing to growing inclination towards a healthy lifestyle is anticipated to drive the global market over the forecast period.

In addition, increasing the use of natural antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E, and polyphenols in cosmetics owing to their benefits in the post skin application is expected to propel market growth. Moreover, increasing demand for these antioxidants in manufacturing quality animal feed to promote cattle growth and reduce the occurrences of diseases is likely to stimulate market growth.

At present, vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, and polyphenols are extensively used in manufacturing pharmaceutical supplements. Expansion of the healthcare industry on account of rising consumer spending on basic medical check-ups, coupled with increasing focus of the government to provide its population with basic healthcare facilities, is likely to fuel market growth over the next few years.

However, abundant availability of synthetic antioxidants including BHA, BHT, propyl gallates, and EDTA is expected to restrain market growth for natural antioxidants over the projected period. Increasing demand for natural antioxidants in niche applications including coloring agents is expected to open new opportunities for the market in the projected period.

Product Insights

Natural antioxidants are abundantly found in various natural sources including plants, fruits, meats, herbs, and spices. Vitamin C dominated the global market in 2014 as it is widely used in pharmaceutical, food, beverages, and feed applications. In addition, the non-toxicity of vitamin C has resulted in its widespread use as pharmaceutical supplements. Vitamin E is predominantly used in animal feed applications.

Growing demand for animal feed on account of increasing consumption of dairy products and meat products on a global scale is expected to augment the vitamin E market growth over the forecast period. Rising demand for functional food and beverages is expected to be the primary factor for augmenting polyphenol demand over the next few years. Carotenoids are extensively used as an additive in manufacturing animal feed to impart coloration. However, the high price of carotenoids is expected to adversely hamper the natural antioxidants market demand.

Application Insights

Each type of antioxidant is used for different applications as the functions performed by the products vary in nature. For instance, vitamin C is extensively used in small doses in manufacturing pharmaceuticals as it reduces the risk of cancer and occurrences of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, it is used in the treatment of the common cold. Pharmaceutical is likely to remain the largest application segment of vitamin C over the forecast period.

Food is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment in the market owing to the increasing demand for food with natural additives. Vitamin E is extensively used as an additive in manufacturing animal feed as the antioxidant cannot be naturally synthesized by pigs and poultry. Thus, vitamin C is used extensively across feeds to promote animal growth.

Demand for superior quality cosmetic products has witnessed an upswing over the past decade due to a rise in awareness about skin disorders including aging lines, wrinkles, dark circles, loss of skin elasticity and pliability, and dull skin. Natural antioxidants help counter the creation and presence of free radicals present in the body that pose a threat to the lipids, proteins, and DNA and help beautify the skin.

Additionally, sales of natural antioxidants are increasing consistently in the cosmetic industry owing to its extensive usage as preservatives to improve the shelf life of numerous formulations. This, in turn, is likely to offer sustainable growth prospects to the global natural antioxidants market.

Regional Insights

In 2014, Asia Pacific witnessed the highest demand for natural antioxidants, closely followed by North America. In addition, Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth in the global market owing to the presence of a robust manufacturing base for foods, beverages, and feed. China was the largest producer and consumer of vitamin C in 2014. Expansion of the food and pharmaceutical industries in the region is expected to augment vitamin C market growth over the projected period. Latin America and MEA are expected to witness above-average growth in the global market owing to rising consumer awareness regarding general well-being.

Natural Antioxidants Market Share Insights

Key players operating in the global market include DSM, Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont-Danisco, Prinova, Tianjin Jianfeng Natural Products Co. Ltd. (JF Naturals), Indena S.P.A, Naturex, and Ajinomoto OmniChem Natural Specialties. The market is fragmented in nature owing to the presence of a large unorganized sect