In 2018, the world's clinical nutrition market pulled in US$50.9m and the market is set to exceed $87.5m by 2025, growing at a CAGR of more than 8.1% over the next six years, according to a report from Global Market Insights (GMI). Infant nutrition holds the lion's share, generating more than $30.0m last year and set to grow at a CAGR of 9.3% until 2025.
Whilst Asia Pacific remains the largest clinical nutrition market, followed by Europe and North America, Latin America is the world's fastest-growing; forecast to grow at a CAGR of over 9% between 2019-2025, the report showed.
So, what's behind this market growth?
Sumant Ugalmugale, senior research manager at GMI and co-author of the clinical nutrition report, said a closer look at LATAM showed Brazil to be the region's largest clinical nutrition market, valued at $1.58m in 2018, although Mexico would be the fastest-growing over the next five to seven years.
Ugalmugale told NutraIngredients-LATAM clinical nutrition in Latin America was “largely driven by the need to address high and increasing disease-associated malnutrition that is resulting in substantial health and economic burden”.
Approximately 50% of adult patients in Brazil and Argentina, for example, were reported as having disease-associated malnutrition, he said.
Ugalmugale said industry growth and opportunity in clinical nutrition would be fueled by “improving healthcare facilities” and a “developing trend of oral consumption of nutritional products”. On top of that, he said rising government awareness programs and a push for clinical nutrition to be used in alternative cancer treatments would also stimulate the market.
“Increasing trends in home healthcare, a rising geriatric population base and consistent increase in chronic disease burden are the other prominent factors propelling industry growth,” he said.
Mexico's public health and nutri-knowledge push
In Mexico, Ugalmugale said steeper growth would be underpinned by initiatives from the country's National Institute of Public Health to improve nutrition research and from an increasing number of colleges being set up and dedicated to clinical nutrition education. Both of these, he said, “proliferated awareness and demand across the nation”.
NutraIngredients-LATAM previously reported European nutrigenomics specialist Nordic Group had secured a Mexican partnership with VitâgeLab to distribute its DNALife genetic testing platform and oversee the training of medical practitioners to use it.
Speaking to us at the time, CEO of VitâgeLab Mexico Edgar Leon said there was definitely growing interest in nutrition, health food, health coaching and nutrigenomics in Mexico, following 25 years of bad eating habits that had caused widespread obesity and diabetes.
“Knowing our biological heritage and monitoring the proper functioning of the human body is the responsibility of each one of us,” Leon said. “The complex human organism responds to predisposition and lifestyle. At DNALife and VitâgeLab Mexico, we are concerned about clinically analyzing both the genetic predisposition and the biochemical lifestyle. We want to help thousands of doctors and health professionals discover predictive medicine through the wonderful tool of genetics and nutrigenomics and this is probably the biggest challenge – talking with each leader doctor.”
The true potential of such “predictive medicine”, he said, centered on gut health – a core focus of VitâgeLab – as scientific understanding on how the gut or 'second brain' influenced everyday emotional mood and well-being deepened.
Brazil nutrigenomics positioning
Ugalmugale said a similar interest towards nutrigenomics could be seen seen in Brazil that would bolster clinical nutrition . The Brazilian Society for Food and Nutrition (SBAN) board, he said, had reviewed and approved a position statement on nutritional genomics and nutrigenetic tests, for example, to improve the clinical nutrition system across the country.
GMI's report suggested rising obesity levels, growing incidences of chronic diseases and a high prevalence of preterm births would also fuel clinical nutrition demands in Brazil over the coming years.
