Food Market Japan
16 Sept 2022
Trends and growth areas in the Japanese food and beverage industry
The Japanese domestic food industry is forecasted to grow in the second half of 2022, with major contributors being cereals, ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages and sweets. The other key area of growth comes from plant-based foods (PBF), an emerging field within 'food tech' to solve global issues amidst Covid-19, including sustainability, as well as rising health consciousness and food diversification concerns.
Plant-based Foods on a rise, Source of image: https://www.pexels.com/ja-jp/photo/1072824/
Price increases and savings in food consumption
The Japanese food market is expected to see temporary recovery from restaurants and inbound consumption following the ease of Covid-19 restrictions in the second half of 2022. However, due to macroeconomic factors such as the Ukraine war and the rise in U.S interest rates, the Japanese yen has also decreased acceleratedly, leading to price hikes and re-pricing of food products that will continue into next year.
In response to that, most Japanese have been saving on food consumption with some exceptions. Based on a study done by Japan Food Journal on Japanese food consumption across 105 common food categories, cereals (especially oatmeal), ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, sweets, and plant-based foods (PBF) are expected to grow at a high rate of 7% or more.
Japan is embracing PBF passionately as the Japanese become more aware of health risks and sustainability. With major national brands making inroads in PBF, the market was forecasted to exceed 30 billion yen in 2021 and 100 billion yen in the next few years. In addition, the number of PBF alternative meat, dairy and egg products has increased tremendously over the past years. Consumers can expect more PBF product choices, including seafood, as the market diversifies and grows.
The source of the text is the following article from " THE JAPAN FOOD JOURNAL " (*Japanese only, paid article)
