Specialty Malt Market Expected to Reach $4.8 billion by 2026

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, " Specialty Malt Market by Source, Form, Application and Product: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026," The specialty malt market size was valued at $3.3 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2019 to 2026. Europe is one of the prominent regions in the market that accounted for approximately half of the total specialty malt market share in 2018.

In 2015, 22 million tons of malt was produced; out of which 90% of the malt was derived from barley. The economics of the malting industry critically depends upon barley selection, protein composition, plumpness, and moisture content. Large brewing companies are not completely integrated in terms of sourcing malt. Some companies such as Anheuser-Busch have their own malting facilities, but also purchase malt from independent maltsters. Over the years, the malt industry has evolved and has come up with specialty ingredient. Specialty malt is one such ingredient that has been gaining traction among its target customers specifically from the brewing and the food industry. Specialty malts range in flavor from the light and sweet carapils to the astringent, carbon-like black malt.

Specialty malt has large-scale application in the food industry, which is mainly attributed to its key functional properties. Specialty malt has been considered as the most preferred natural flavoring or coloring agent in various food processing sectors such as processing of baked goods, bars, cereal, cookies, crackers, granola, gravies, roux, prepared food, pet food, snack food, and others. Apart from the food industry, specialty malt has been incurring high demand from the craft brewing industry. For instance, carapils, one of the types of specialty malt, is primarily used to improve head retention and add a sweet character to beer. Increasing consumption of malt based alcoholic and non-alcoholic products and high demand for malt-based drinks in emerging countries have been

Considering the large scale applications of specialty malt in the food and beverages industry, the malt has been witnessing high demand in the global market. However, over the past couple of years, uncertain climatic conditions of crop sources have resulted in irregularities in the supply-demand trend for the specialty malt market. For instance, the U.S. is known for excellent growing conditions for barley crop. However, in 2014, the region reported poor rainfalls condition, which resulted in a negative impact on the overall yield of the crop. Thus, barley derived specialty malts incurred higher marginal prices, which affected the overall sales for that particular season.

According to the specialty malt market analysis in 2018, barley segment accounted for the maximum share in the global specialty malt market while the rye segment is expected to experience rapid growth during the forecast period.

Based on specialty malt market forecast, the alcoholic beverages segment had the maximum contribution in the global specialty malt market share in 2018 and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. However, the dairy & frozen products segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR through the forecast period

Europe and North America were the prominent markets in 2018 and accounted for the maximum share in the global specialty market. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness robust specialty malt market growth throughout the forecast period. Major players in the specialty malt market focused on business expansion to improve their stance in the global market and overcome competition.

Key Findings of the Specialty Malt Market :

• Based on region, Europe was the highest contributor to the global market in 2018 and is estimated to reach $1.9 billion by 2026.
• Based on source, the barley segment was the highest contributor to the market in 2018 and is estimated to reach $3.9 million by 2026.
• Based on form, the dry segment was the highest contributor to the market in 2018 and is estimated to grow at a moderate CAGR during the forecast period.
• Based on application, the alcoholic beverages segment was the highest contributor to the market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period.
• Based on product, the caramelized malt segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% throughout the forecast period

Some of the key players operating in the global specialty malt industry are Cargill Inc., Malteurop Groupe, GrainCorp Ltd., Soufflet Group, Barrett Burston Malting Company Wa Pty Ltd., Rahr Corporation, Simpsons Malt, Crisp Malting, Muntons PLC, and Axereal Group