Air-based Foods Market

Air-based Foods Market Outlook (2022-2032)

The global air-based foods market is estimated to surge ahead at a CAGR of 11.7% to top a market size of US$ 100 million by the end of 2032. The prime reason for the rapid adoption of air-based foods is the need for sustainable food production and depleting availability of cultivable land.

Air-based foods are expected to account for more than 2% share of the global alternative protein market by the end of 2032.

Report Attributes	Details
Forecasted Air-based Foods Market Value (2032F)	US$ 100 Million
Global Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	~11.7% CAGR
North America Market Share (2032)	~38.3%
Europe Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	~16.9% CAGR
United States Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	~14.8% CAGR
Market Share of Top 5 Companies	~62.8%
Key Companies Profiled	Air Protein (Kiverdi) Solar Foods Calysta Novonutrients Deepbranch Air Company

Air-based Foods Market Forecast Outlook (2022-2032)

The concept of air-based food was first introduced by NASA in the 1960s, where the idea to turn carbon dioxide into bio-based food products for space travel was suggested. However, the technology to achieve the same was developed only recently.

Extremophiles (e.g. hydrogenotrophs), when combined with water and energy, have the ability to convert CO2 into biomolecules. Air Protein (Kiverdi) and Solar Foods are the pioneers of air-based food products. Solein, air-based protein by Solar Foods, will be launched commercially in 2023, and have key applications in the food and feed industry.

Rising awareness about alternative proteins across different domains is creating new opportunities for air-based food manufacturers. Additionally, increasing carbon emissions and limitation of land availability for plant- and animal-based food production will drive rapid adoption of air-based food products, with the market expected to surge at 11.7% CAGR through 2032.

• Short Term (2022 Q2 to 2025): 2023 will witness the first launch of air-based food with rapid adoption in aqua feed and animal feed industry. Use of air-based protein as an ingredient for human food will remain latent initially.
• Medium Term (2025-2028): Over the medium term, air-based food consumption is expected to gain rapid traction across domains, though geographically limited to Europe and North America.
• Long Term (2028-2032): Rising negative impact of greenhouse gas emissions on human health will generate huge space for air-based food across regions and varied domains.

According to Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, due to the product's focus on animal husbandry sustainability and carbon dioxide emission reduction with CO2 to protein technology, the market is anticipated to experience high growth after the product's initial years of launch.

Market share analysis of air-based foods based on product type and region is provided in the above image. Under the product type segment, the protein sub-segment will dominate the market share by 2032.

Why are We Seeing Surging Popularity of Air-based Food Products?

“Growing Negative Impact of Rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Drive Market Expansion”

Social awareness regarding the negative impact of severe food wastage across the world is gaining attention for sustainable food production such as air-based foods.

• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted per year globally with a valuation of US$ 2.6 trillion.

This food waste demonstrates a harmful impact on the environment; for instance, it is accountable for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Replicating the social involvement of these worrying environmental issues, consumers are progressively insisting on speeding up carbon-negative food production. This factor is anticipated to upsurge the claim for air-based food technology, thereby reinforcing the demand for air-based food products.

“Rising Malnourishment Fatalities Alarming the need for Increased Protein Supply”

With unhealthy diets causing 8 million fatalities annually, concerns about the need for more food production resources are peaking. Air-based food, with high nutritional value and taste, can fill this demand-supply gap.

Government programs, initiatives, and funding, such as the U.K.'s 100 kcal snacks campaign and WHO's action framework for developing and implementing public food procurement and service standards for a healthy diet, and reimbursements on utilizing CO2 for production of end products, would significantly enhance the market for air-based foods.

What Difficulty Might Air-based Food Producers Face?

“Low Acceptance of Novel Food Products among Population Can Limit Market Growth”

There are mixed sentiments of consumers in terms of acceptance when it comes to any new product with such innovative food technology. Explorers are open to new offerings; however, establishing a brand identity is of prime importance to increase penetration amongst conserved consumers. Consumers may find air-based food less appealing if they think of it as a research lab food rather than regular food.

Another challenge for novel food manufacturers is stringent government regulations. As the food industry becomes more globally interconnected, political and regulatory elements are becoming more and more important.

Accelerated integration of global markets and rising number of international joint ventures lead to international legislations, influencing the food companies, especially novel food and novel food ingredients. This could affect the product launch dates of air-based foods in the market.

Country-wise Insights

Why is Europe Expected to Exhibit High Demand for Air-based Foods?

Consumers in Europe are working to incorporate nutritive foods into their daily meals, which is accelerating the sales of alternative proteins. This is creating a huge market opportunity for air-based food suppliers as well.

The offering claims and labels used by emerging key players, such as 'land and sea independent food production', 'carbon-negative food', etc., are highly lucrative for the European government and consumers. Such initiatives are garnering significant support from Europe governments, boosting the market for air-based foods.

• For instance, Deep Branch Biotechnology, which is one of U.K. and Netherlands-based CO2 recycling company, gets US$ 5.7 Mn in funding from the U.K. government to produce protein from microbes that feed on CO2.

How is the U.S. Air-based Foods Market Progressing?

In accordance with increased acceptance of alternative proteins in North America, air-based food is expected to enjoy significant demand growth opportunities in the country. The U.S. will be the prime contributor to the growth of the air-based foods market in North America.

This is also true because of the well-established food sector and growing concerns over food production in the country.

The U.S. population consumes 815 billion calories of food each day, which is roughly 200 billion more than needed. This rising demand for food production, across North America, makes it a favorable region for air-based food manufacturers to make their mark.

Category-wise Insights

Why Does Air-based Protein Account for Higher Market Share?

Among the product type segments, air-based protein is expected to hold the highest market share. The prime reason for this will be increasing commercial consumption of air-based protein, mainly as an ingredient to produce a true meat analogue.

Life's most important aspect is nourishment, and with the rising demand or concerns over diet food consumption, demand for healthy food is on the rise, including proteins.

In response to environmental changes and sedentary lifestyles, consumers all across the world have shifted their attention from the intake of fundamental foods to the addition of alternative proteins and supplements. Increasing sports nutrition will be one of the key drivers for the air-based protein market.

Will Expanding Applications of Air-based Foods Accelerate Market Growth?

Adoption of air-based food for human consumption is expected to be limited in the initial years. Once the bottleneck is surpassed and consumer faith is instated, air-based protein and sugar will find increasing applications in the processed food industry, HoReCa, and other food & beverage industry sectors.

Air-based food will also be a key component of animal fodder and aqua feed, sufficing the protein requirements of animals and fish. Air-based food will be highly adopted as human food in regions with limited cultivable lands.

Competitive Landscape

Prominent air-based food manufacturers are Kiverdi, Solar Foods, Deep Branch Biotech, Novonutrients, Calysta, and Air Co.

Leading manufacturers of air-based food products use sustainable technologies and end-user-specific optimization techniques. As air-based protein does not require fertile soil for its processing, key manufacturers are concentrating on developing innovative product designs to address the challenges with product placement in harsh operating environments such as desert areas.

Robust R&D in the field is creating the best strategies, layouts, and approaches for turning carbon dioxide into protein, which can then be used to produce foods such as artificial meat, protein supplements etc.

• In September 2019, Solar Foods entered into an agreement with Fazer to develop products using Solein, which can then be used in future products such as lab-grown meat or already-existing plant-based products.
• In January 2020, A US$ 32 million investment venture for Air Protein, a firm that uses fermentation to create a meat substitute out of components in the air, was organized by ADM Ventures, Barclays, and GV (previously Google Ventures).

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the price points of key manufacturers of air-based foods positioned across regions, sales growth, production capacity, and speculative technological expansion, in the recently published report.

Segmentation of Air-based Foods Industry Research

• By Product Type :

  • Protein
  • Sugar

• By End Use :

  • Aqua Feed
  • Animal Feed
  • Human Food

• By Region :

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • MEA