Starter Cultures Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the starter cultures market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global starter cultures market reached a value of nearly $1.29 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $1.29 billion in 2023 to $1.78 billion in 2028 at a rate of 6.7%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2028 and reach $2.52 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the increase in demand for dairy products, rising consumption of healthy products and growing demand for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were increasing cases of lactose intolerance.

Going forward, the rising penetration of organized retail, increasing focus on food security initiatives and strong economic growth will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the starter cultures market in the future include stringent government regulations.

The starter cultures market is segmented by microorganism into bacteria, yeast and molds. The bacteria market was the largest segment of the starter cultures market segmented by microorganism, accounting for 54.2% or $699.9 million of the total in 2023. Going forward, the bacteria segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the starter cultures market segmented by microorganism, at a CAGR of 7.4% during 2023-2028.

The starter cultures market is segmented by composition into single strain, multi strain and multi-strain mix. The multi-strain mix market was the largest segment of the starter cultures market segmented by composition, accounting for 58.6% or $756.5 million of the total in 2023. Going forward, the multi-strain mix segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the starter cultures market segmented by composition, at a CAGR of 7.2% during 2023-2028.

The starter cultures market is segmented by form into freeze-dried, frozen and other forms. The freeze-dried market was the largest segment of the starter cultures market segmented by form, accounting for 43.9% or $567.1 million of the total in 2023. Going forward, the freeze-dried segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the starter cultures market segmented by form, at a CAGR of 7.1% during 2023-2028.

The starter cultures market is segmented by application into dairy and dairy products, meat and sea food, alcoholic beverages and other applications. The dairy and dairy products market was the largest segment of the starter cultures market segmented by application, accounting for 53% or $684.3 million of the total in 2023. Going forward, the alcoholic beverages segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the starter cultures market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 7.5% during 2023-2028.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the starter cultures market, accounting for 37.4% or $483.5 million of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the starter cultures market will be Asia-Pacific and Western Europe where growth will be at CAGRs of 7.5% and 7% respectively. These will be followed by North America and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 6.7% and 5.2% respectively.

The global starter cultures market is concentrated, with a few number of large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 48.1% of the total market in 2022. The market concentration can be attributed to the presence of large number of players in different geographies. Prominent players are acquiring the products and entering into partnerships with the other companies to consolidate their market positions across the globe, while others are distributing products. Koninklijke DSM N.V. was the largest competitor with a 11.1% share of the market, followed by International Flavors & Fragrances with 9.6%, Lesaffre Group with 7.3%, Lallemand Inc. with 5.8%, Dohler Group with 4.8%, Chr. Hansen Holding A/S with 3.4%, Ingredion Incorporated with 3.3%, Kerry PLC with 1.9%, LB Bulgaricum with 0.6% and Biochem SRL with 0.5%.

The top opportunities in the starter cultures market segmented by microorganism will arise in the bacteria segment, which will gain $300 million of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the starter cultures market segmented by composition will arise in the freeze-dried segment, which will gain $232.8 million of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the starter cultures market segmented by form will arise in the dairy and dairy products segment, which will gain $271 million of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the starter cultures market segmented by application will arise in the multi-strain mix segment, which will gain $313.5 million of global annual sales by 2028. The starter cultures market size will gain the most in the USA at $110.9 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the starter cultures market include focus on developing and introducing new plant tool kits to gain a competitive edge in the market, focus on developing and introducing high performing cheese starter cultures to strengthen their position in the market, focus on developing advanced technologies that enable manufacturers to create stirred yogurt, focus on development of the iCinac wireless acidification analyzer to monitor and analyze the acidification activity of Lactic Acid Bacteria (L.A.B.) in various cultures and fermented foods and focus on increasing their investments to develop new products, expand their product portfolio and drive revenues.

Player-adopted strategies in the starter cultures market include focus on expanding operational capabilities through business expansions, focus on enhancing business capabilities through the launch of new products and focus on enhancing business operations through strategic collaborations and partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the starter cultures companies to focus on innovating plant toolkits, focus on advancing cheese starter cultures, focus on innovating technologies for premium stirred yogurt, focus on strategic investments for advanced starter culture development, focus on expanding presence in multi-strain mix and single strain segments, focus on accelerating growth in the freeze-dried segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on broadening distribution channels for market reach, provide competitively priced offerings, focus on strategic pricing for market competitiveness, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on strategic promotion for enhanced market visibility and focus on capitalizing on the growth in alcoholic beverages segment.