Cold Chain Market Global Outlook, Trends, and Forecast

According to MarketsandMarkets, the "Cold Chain Market by Application (Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy & Frozen Desserts, Fish, Meat & Seafood, Bakery & Confectionery), Temperature Type (Frozen, Chilled), Type (Refrigerated Transport, Refrigerated Warehousing), Region — Global Forecast to 2025", size is estimated to be valued at USD 233.8 billion in 2020 and projected to reach USD 340.3 billion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 7.8%, in terms of value. The rise in consumer awareness to mitigate food wastage and the increasing consumer demand for convenience food & beverages with increased shelf-life has been boosting the cold chain market, globally. Governments of numerous countries have been bolstering the infrastructure investment of the cold chain, which has been augmenting the cold chain market growth.

The bakery & confectionery application segment is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

Based on the application, the cold chain market is dominated by dairy & frozen desserts. However, the bakery & confectionery segment is among the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. Temperature monitoring is a key aspect of quality control and food safety for various bakery and confectionery products. Refrigerated warehousing is used for bakery & confectionery products, which include bread, cakes & pastries, pizza crusts, waffles, biscuits, cookies, pastry shells, bagels, pretzels, and donuts.

The increasing demand for convenience foods has led to a growing demand for frozen bakery & confectionery products. The temperature range of frozen bakery & confectionery products plays an important role in maintaining product quality. Asia Pacific and North America are the two regions expected to drive the market for bakery & confectionery products.

The frozen temperature type segment is projected to account for a major share in the cold chain market during the forecast period

By temperature type, the cold chain market is dominated by the frozen segment. The products that move through the cold chain are either chilled or frozen. Chilling involves reducing the temperature to below ambient temperatures but above –1°C. Chilled products include fresh meat & poultry, dairy products, and fruits & vegetables.

Frozen products include ice cream and meat & seafood. A typical temperature range for frozen food products is –18° to –25°C. With the development of technology, there are wide options available such as chillers, blast freezers, individual quick freezing (IQF), and freeze dryers to maintain cold conditions and better food handling, processing, storage, and transportation.

What are some of the key technologies which are driving growth in the market?

Real-time data: Maintaining the quality of food is a major concern for manufacturers as well as service providers. Retailers and suppliers can now ensure the quality of food in transit by maintaining an optimum temperature setting. Sensors using IoT devices and cloud-based software applications can help to remotely monitor and track refrigerated cargo containers. These sensors respond to temperature fluctuations that may impact perishable goods or medicines.

Cloud platforms: Cloud platforms provide real-time data and collectively analyze and share the data where and when required. Organizations can use this data to unlock the business value across the cold chain. This helps in reducing waste, maintaining brand equity, and gaining larger returns on investment (ROIs).

Solar energy: Solar energy is another promising solution to meet the storage and transportation needs of food products. There are solar direct-drive refrigerators that are based on solar energy. These solutions help store, monitor, and transport temperature-sensitive products at appropriate temperatures, even in hot climates, with major electricity fluctuations.

Asia Pacific to account for the fastest-growing and largest market at a CAGR of 13.1% during the forecast period

The cold chain market in this region is estimated to witness robust growth propelled by the economic developments of countries such as China, India, Japan, and Australia. The shift of industrialization and investments in Asia Pacific has grown substantially over the past decade, especially in China and India, contributing to rapid economic growth. Countries such as India, Japan, China, and South Korea have a strong demand for dairy and meat products, which has led to the strong demand for preserving the quality and nutritive element in the products, which drive the market for cold chain in the region.

Market Research Report Analyst and Consulting