Popcorn market to grow 7%
The global popcorn market is set to grow at a CAGR of about 7% according to Technavio’s latest report, achieving revenues of of over $12 billion by 2020.
In its report, Technavio covers the market outlook and growth prospects of the global popcorn market for 2016-2020. Based on product, the market is classified into two segments, including microwave popcorn and RTE popcorn, of which the microwave popcorn segment led the global popcorn market and accounted for a market share of more than 54% in 2015.
North America was the largest global popcorn market in 2015, according to the company, and accounted for a market share of over 61%. This region has recorded high growth in the past years due to more concentration of snacks companies, such as Kraft, PepsiCo, Great American Popcorn, and Diamond Foods. The popcorn market in North America is set to grow at a CAGR of more than 6% during the forecast period.
In 2014, the US dominated the market and accounted for a market share of about 60% of the global retail popcorn sales. RTE popcorn is driving the popcorn market in the US, contributing around 67% of the market.
According to G Vijay Sarathi, a lead food research expert from Technavio, “Many new launches between 2010 and 2014, including flavours such as maple, green apple caramel, and sour cream and onion, have helped to drive the sales of popcorn. For instance, 479 degrees launched coconut caramel artisan popcorn and Gary Poppins rolled out cheddar and caramel popcorn.”
The popcorn market in Latin America is expected to reach close to $2 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of nearly 8%. Mexico and Argentina are the largest importers of popcorn in this region. The per capita consumption in Brazil of microwave popcorn is around 80 grams per year, which exhibits considerable room for growth and is attracting vendors. The strategic partnership between ConAgra Foods and Cargill in October 2014 is an example of vendors tapping the growth potential.
Although the popcorn market is the smallest of Europe’s snack markets, it is expected to show strong and steady growth of over 7% during the forecast period. High popularity can be seen in the accelerating economies of Eastern Europe such as Hungary and Bulgaria, though the UK has by far the largest popcorn market in the region. Popcorn varieties such as posh popcorn, gourmet, and unpopped popcorn are gaining attraction in the European countries.
“Rising interest in ethnic and exotic flavours has also compelled the vendors to experiment with interesting and innovative flavours such as TNT fruit chutney flavoured popcorn in Nigeria and barbeque popcorn by Top of the Pop in South Africa,” said Sarathi.
The popcorn market in APAC is growing tremendously, with a projected CAGR of over 11% by 2020. Rising disposable income and increasing purchasing of snacks are few factors supporting the growth of this region. “A fast growing trend in APAC is gourmet popcorn, which can be shown by the initiation of a retail chain of gourmet popcorn known as Cornery. These chains started in the markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and Thailand due to less availability of such snack providers. It aims to take the first mover advantage and offer a new high quality of popcorn rather than conventional popcorn,” said Sarathi.
