Malt industry update: Specialty malts (craft beer) driving the marketplace

Since you are a craft brewer, we know you care about the ingredients you use. So, you might be happy to know that your growing industry is driving the success and further development of the stuff you love.

According to the “Specialty Malt Market by Type, Application, Source, Form and Region — Global Forecast to 2022” published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Specialty Malt Market is projected to reach $3.01 billion by 2022 in terms of value, at a CAGR of 5 percent from 2017.

The specialty malt market

Specialty malts are widely accepted in food and beverage applications, mainly for brewing, owing to their functional properties. They play an important role in determining the desired attributes such as taste, mouthfeel, texture, appearance and flavor in beverage applications. Flavored malts such as chocolate, coffee and caramel have expanded the application areas of malt in the food industry, thus driving the overall market for specialty malt.

Roasted malts, comprising of specialty malts such as Munich Malt, Vienna Malt and Belgian malt varieties accounted for the largest market share in the Specialty Malt Market due to their wide range of applications in the beverage industry. Roasted malts have been used for brewing alcohol for centuries using traditional methods to derive varieties of beer.

The brewing application segment accounted for the largest share in the Specialty Malt Market, in terms of value, in 2016. The extensive requirement of flavored malt in beer brewing has been one of the key drivers of the Specialty Malt Market. With constant developments of new independent breweries and the introduction of continually new craft beers, industrial manufacturers of specialty malt are compelled to optimize their yield and processing capabilities to cater to changing consumer tastes and preferences.

Asia-Pacific is the next hot spot for specialty malt

In 2016, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for a significant share of the global Specialty Malt Market and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rise in population, per capita beer consumption, growing local breweries, increase in awareness of craft beers, buying power of population and rapid growth in malting technologies have led to the growth in opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region for specialty malt.