Encapsulation is a method to entrap the core phase material into shell material. Food encapsulation technology has enabled the food & beverage industry to overcome challenges involving taste, color, nutrition, and preservation of the food product, mainly through its ability to make easy coating of food particles or ingredients such as acidulants, fats, flavors, and whole ingredients such as raisins or nuts. Factors such as growing consumer preferences towards consuming convenient packaged food & beverages is helping towards the growth of the food encapsulation industry. Increasing innovations in the industry help to bring down the cost and to launch new technologies with different formulations for various applications.

The end-use product sectors are exhibiting buoyant growth driven by rising population and disposable incomes. The food encapsulation market was dominated by the functional foods segment while the meat, poultry, and seafood segment exhibits rapid gains. Shifts in the consumer’s buying decisions lead to a rise in demand for foods, such as quick/ready-to-eat meals, health-promoting functional foods, and fortified foods.

The shell material used for encapsulation includes hydrocolloids, lipids, polymers, melts, and other composites. The encapsulation technology is categorized as microencapsulation, macroencapsulation, nanoencapsulation, and hybrid technologies. The food encapsulation technology is used in various applications, such as bakery & confectionery, dairy & frozen desserts, snacks/convenience foods, functional foods, meat, poultry & seafood, and beverages.

Factors such as increase in the income levels and the trend towards urbanization will propel the demand for encapsulated technologies and products. Growth in other regions such as Latin America and the Middle East & Africa is slow due to lack of technical know-how and low adoption rate by manufacturers.

To capitalize on the growth trend in this market, the key players are launching innovative technologies and are increasingly expanding in emerging economies to gain market share. The leading players of this industry have also been profiled with their recent developments and other strategic industry activities. These include Balchem Corporation (U.S.), LycoRed Ltd. (Israel), Symrise AG (Germany), Sensient Technologies Corporation (U.S.), and International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. (U.S.).