Freeze Drying Plant Market – Market Drivers, Opportunities, and More
Freeze drying is a unique process that allows the production of food products with an extensive shelf life and an extended service life. This process removes moisture from the product, making it suitable for extended storage. As it stands, freeze-drying can eliminate 95% of the water in the initial stages, leaving only 1%-4% to be addressed during the end. This is exceptional efficiency considering that it employs sublimation instead of heating (different from conventional water-removal processes).
For that reason, freeze-drying is considered to be a cost-effective and sustainable solution for a wide variety of products. As a result, the process is employed in several industries, including the medical (pharmaceutical), food, cosmetics, and aerospace.
Freeze Drying — A Primer
Freeze drying is an ideal solution for various frozen products. A freeze-dried product has been freeze-dried using sublimation. The frozen unit is immersed in a dryer that removes all the moisture present during the freezing and re-crystallisation process. This type of drying process causes a gradual reduction in the volume of liquid water without any scorching or decomposition of other compounds in the process.
Freeze Drying Plant Market Overview
The freeze-drying plant market has been expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period of 2019-2026. The high demand for freeze-dried products is presumed to be a significant driver for the growth of this market. In addition, picky consumers who are particular about their diet are expected to lay the foundation for the market’s growth in developed regions.
As far as the freeze-drying equipment market is concerned, several products feature as major contributors to the market size. The tray-style freeze-dryers, for instance, boast a market share of 72%. Likewise, industrial-scale lyophilisation equipment soars through the ranks when considered based on the scale of equipment employment.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the industrial lyophilisation equipment industry is projected to lead the growth of the freeze-dried plant market. Besides, the high demand for self-contained freeze-drying systems and freeze-drying plants is expected to provide a tremendous boost to the market players during the forecast period.
Add the availability of state-of-the-art technology and growing demand for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and food products across developed regions into the mix — the idea of the freeze-drying equipment market gaining momentum automatically comes to light.
Market Drivers and Opportunities
- Growing demand for freeze-dried food
- High standardisation and quality in production processes of freeze-dried food
- Larger scale and larger production capacity for freeze-dried foods
- Process optimisation and quicker turnaround
- Significant improvements in launch systems
- Growing demand for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and food products across developed regions
- Increasing investment in research and development of freeze-dried food products
- Growing numerical control manufacturing
- Developments in packaging technology
- Developments in continuous manufacturing of freeze-dried food products
- Increasing demand for freeze-dried food products from healthcare distribution
- Growing demand for food components, in general
Freeze Drying Plant Market Segmentation
The freeze-drying plant market can be segmented based on product type, application, and end-user. By product type, the freezer drawers and dryers are the most dominant products being used by the freeze-drying plant market players. These products are also preferred in terms of their cost-effectiveness and high performance.
Segmenting the freeze-drying plant market based on application, we have pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food & beverage, and cosmetics & personal care. Among all these applications, the nutraceuticals segment is the most prominent. This is because of the rising demand for healthy foods among consumers across regions. Thus, it is to be expected that the growth of this segment will be highest during the forecast period.
Based on end-user, the industrial sector expects to witness the largest growth during the forecast period. The automobile & transportation industry has been a very valuable contributor to the formation of the freeze-dried plant market. Growing demand for pharmaceuticals and food products further significantly boosts the growth of this segment during the forecast period.
Based on region, the Asia Pacific region is the largest market for freeze-drying plants — about 34.6% of the total market share. To that end, it would not be an overstatement to claim that future growth will be driven by a large base of clients across economies in the APAC region.
COVID-19 Has Had an Impact on the Freeze-Drying Equipment Market
The unprecedented impact of COVID-19 has been felt by almost every industry, and the freeze-drying plant market is no alien to the same. Issues like the shortage of staff in the sectors (mainly pharmaceutical) and the fallout in the manufacturing and supply chain have been the most noteworthy problems in the freeze-drying equipment industry. The things sophisticate even further when the enormous product demand decline and the academic institution closure are brought into the discussion.
However, such impacts would start to fade away in the coming years. The various advancements in freeze-drying technology and the increase in product demand are expected to be the major factors that would lead to the growth of this market in the short and long run. At present, the freezing technology has hit a plateau which requires new management techniques and business models for the industries to earn profit from it.
For more information about the Freeze-Drying Plant Market, please reach out to us.
