Sweet Potatoes Market - Forecast (2020 - 2025)

According to the findings by WHO, there are as many as 350 primary immunodeficiency diseases in the world. While this makes a multitude of people vulnerable to these diseases, in an era of health-consciousness, it also opens up the market for food products such as sweet potato that aid to the immune system. According to the food and beverage market analyst, sweet potatoes market size was around $42.0 billion to $43.5 billion in 2020. Additionally, the analyst projects the sweet potato market growth (or CAGR) to be 1.1% to 1.6% during the forecast period of 2020-2025.

Sweet potato or Ipomoea batatas is a dicotyledonous plant which is distantly related to potato or Solanum tuberosum but is different from botanical yams that belong to monocot family. It is radiocarbon-dated in the Cook Islands to 1000 CE. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, and growing emphasis on intake of these invaluable compositions for adequate metabolism as well as overall health, the sweet potatoes market is growing.

Sweet Potatoes Market Trends –

Health Concerns Stroking Sweet Potato Market

• Sweet potatoes are healthy and rich in nutrients, and they help alleviate the following health issues –

The Prevalent Cancer-Threat Widening the Prospects of Sweet Potato Market –

According to a press release by WHO dated September 12, 2020, there were 18.1 million new cases of cancer patients and 9.6 million deaths in 2020 attributing to the disease. Additionally, one in five men and one in six women develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in eight men and one in eleven women die out of cancer. These alarming figures are giving rise to a consistent demand for products such as sweet potato that reduce the risk of cancer.

Sweet potatoes contain anthocyanins which are a group of antioxidants that slow down the growth of certain types of cancer cells including those of bladder, colon, stomach, and breast. Now, given that there is a multitude of people vulnerable to cancer, sweet potato is going to be a staple food ingredient in the diet as a precautionary measure. Deepening obsession with social media is adding to the awareness levels at a radical rate and general masses are adopting sweet potatoes in their diet without any consultancy with physicans.

The Conspicuous Rise in Blindness and Vision Impairment –

According to WHO, 1.3 billion people have vision impairment. Moreover, pre-school children and pregnant women are highly vulnerable to night blindness. However, the good news is 80% of all the vision impairment globally is avoidable, and the best way to counter the situation is by adding food products such as sweet potato in the diet. This is particularly because sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, which gets converted into vitamin A and in turn improves vision.

Now, the deficiency of vitamin A is the leading cause of deaths of pre-school children due to diarrhea and also childhood blindness according to UNICEF. The enormous number of children susceptible to these health issues make up for a huge sweet potatoes sugar marketplace.

Issues Pertaining to Gut Health Creating Sweet Potatoes Market Revenue Avenue –

Digestive disorders have gained prevalence since quite a few years now. Conditions like Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and issues regarding bowel movement like inflammatory bowel movement (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have become ubiquitous.

Now, sweet potatoes contain both types of fiber – soluble and insoluble, in abundance. Fiber-rich sweet potatoes lead to smooth bowel movement and lesser risk of colon cancer. It happens to be a major reason why people prefer to add sweet potato in their diet, which further propels the sweet potato market size.  Apart from the aforementioned benefits, sweet potatoes also help in enhancing brain function due to the presence of anthocyanins in them.

Owing to the fact that sweet potato has health benefits, its leading application is in the food market. According to the predictions by the publisher’s analyst, its application CAGR in food will be a considerable 1.3% and 2.3%.

The Increasing Health Awareness Bolstering the Sweet Potato Market –

The global digitalization has led to easy accessibility of the Internet, and content management systems have made it possible for people to find information for the health-related topics online. Furthermore, a lot of people search for food products that are healthy for eyes and digestive system or the ones that help in eliminating the risk of fatal diseases. In contemporary times, this is one passive but very effective factor responsible for the thriving sweet potato market.

Sweet Potato Market: A Regional Market Analysis –

According to the International Potato Center, Asia alone accounts for 86% of the sweet potato production with China contributing 80%. This attributes to APAC holding 80-83% sweet potato market share as per the business intelligence report by the publisher’s analyst.

Key Players in the Sweet Potato Market –

McCain Foods Limited is the market leader in sweet potato products, and recently, the organization increased its range of sweet potato products in Australia. This largely attributes to the popularity of sweet potatoes in the region. Some other key competitors crusading for sweet potato market share are The J. R. Simplot Company, Dole Food Company, Inc., Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc., Nash Produce, LLC, Yantai China Pet Foods Co., Ltd., and The Kraft Heinz. Recently, The Sweet Potato Company innovated its liquor and manufactured a sweet potato gin, which is making strides in the market.

A large number of people suffer from health issues that root to low immunity. Additionally, there is a persistent threat of a fatal disease like cancer. Considering that the consumption of sweet potato is highly beneficial for health, and it helps in alleviating perils like blindness, vision impairment, and problems regarding digestion, the product bears a sustainable demand in the future. Furthermore, with the enhancement in health-awareness and people looking for nutrient supplements in their diet, the sweet potato market size is expected to grow in the forecast period of 2020-2025.