The global shelf-life testing market is expected to reach USD 9.55 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.57% from 2022 to 2030. Rising diseases would drive shelf-life testing market growth due to consuming food contaminated by pathogens, bacteria, rodents, insects, and other animal vectors. The unhygienic surroundings, poor handling of products during packaging and distribution, and faulty equipment, given the lack of oversight by the federal authorities, also contribute to the market's growth. On the other hand, the increasing government initiatives aimed at introducing stringent food safety laws will bode well for the market.

Market Overview:

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of sanitation as one of the most effective practices that can save one from mild to severe diseases. Following protocols like wearing a mask and sanitizing hands and surroundings frequently can prevent the spread of infections or downscale its impact by restricting it. Similarly, one's daily habits have been more vigilant regarding the safety and hygiene of the food consumed daily due to Covid-19. Dairy, dairy products, packaged foods, beverages, bakery & confectionery products, meat and meat products, and fruits and vegetables are among the products regularly consumed in every household. Ensuring that these products are free from pathogens, impure foreign material, harmful chemicals, dust, or any other unwanted substances is important; shelf-life testing is a process that ensures this. This testing ensures that the highest standards of quality and safety are maintained. Shelf-life can be described as the duration of time that describes a food product's consumption as safe/usable or fit for consumption. Shelf-life testing uses thorough chemical, physical, microbiological, and physical investigative methods to evaluate the food product's quality and hygienic standards. Such evaluation enables the food producers and manufacturers to confidently ascertain the products' shelf-life, thereby protecting their reputation and consumers' safety.

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Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

• An increase in cases of food-borne illnesses

Every household consumes packaged foods, beverages, dairy products, baked goods, confectioneries, and meat products daily, exposing them to a wide range of illnesses if they are contaminated while processing, packaging, storage, or distribution. For instance, according to the US CDC, food-borne illnesses infect around 48 million Americans. Out of which about 150000 are hospitalized, and approximately 3000 people die. Given the large processed and packaged food market, governments have introduced stringent food safety guidelines regarding acquiring raw materials, processing, storage, distribution, and marketing of these products to reduce deaths from food-borne illnesses. Additionally, increasing consumer awareness about food quality standards and food safety laws have encouraged the market players to adopt sophisticated shelf-life testing technologies to provide highest quality products to stay in the market. Advancement in technologies with sophisticated processes to test products has also increased the adoption of these methods.

Restraints:

• Lack of infrastructure in developing nations

The infrastructure for shelf-life testing is only established in the developed world like the European countries. Despite Asia being a vast market for packaged foods, beverages, meats & meat products, dairy and dairy products, and bakery and confectionery products, there is poor infrastructure regarding shelf-life testing. Furthermore, packaged goods are only limited to urban clusters. In contrast, most of the countryside or rural regions still deal in loose unbranded goods, which are not governed by any guidelines given their unorganized and informal nature of business. The lack of infrastructure limits the growth of the shelf-life testing market.

Opportunities:

• New advanced technologies

The various methods utilized to test products are evolving with new equipment. The testing market is dominated by major players with capital, which excludes smaller players. However, with constant innovations, the new equipment is now comprehensive, reliable, simplified, accurate, and cost-effective with decreased turnaround time. The reduced cost of testing equipment with technological advancement and the improved accessibility to such technologies, given growing technology transfer agreements between stakeholders, will offer lucrative opportunities for market growth. The small laboratories will also gain from the advanced technologies, increasing affordability and accessibility as it will allow them to expand their services and thereby contribute to the growth of the shelf-life testing market.

Challenges:

• No uniform regulations and guidelines

Every nation has its safety and quality standards, which are implemented and kept in check by applying various methods and guidelines. The world is a global village, and with trade and supply chains becoming resilient and seamless with time, the mismatch and duplication of guidelines to be followed have resulted in increased costs and waste of time. A uniform code adopted and ratified by all the countries will make the process of testing, compliance, audit, and delivery of products cost-efficient.

Segmentation Analysis:

The global shelf-life testing market has been segmented based on method type, technology type, parameter, application, and regions.

• The method type segment is divided into real-time and accelerated shelf-life testing. The accelerated shelf-testing segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 59% in 2021. Accelerated shelf-testing is a method in which the products/commodities are tested for their stability under conditions that increases their rate of deterioration. For instance, conditions like temperature and humidity are increased to test the product's stability over time. The products are tested with varied temperature and moisture changes over time to conclude a product's expiration date or shelf-life. By accelerating the deterioration process, the products are studied in a shorter period which expediates their introduction in the market. It also enables the producers to understand the thresholds of temperature and moisture for various products, which allows them to clearly instruct the customers on the necessary storage information, thus improving brand transparency. Since accelerated shelf-life testing saves time and other resources, they can be diverted to other profitable endeavors, allowing the producers to achieve efficiency in the business.
• The technology type segment is divided into manual tests and equipment & kit-based testing. Over the forecast period, the equipment and kit-based tests segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 13.88%. Equipment and kit-based testing are newer and faster. They are accurate and reliable. They are cost-effective and informative with the instructions to be followed while performing the tests. They reduce human errors associated with manual testing. Equipment and kit-based shelf-life testing have a low turnaround time compared to manual testing technology, which saves time and resources for the company, allowing them to optimize resource allocation and achieve efficiency. They can overcome the challenge of a lack of skilled professionals for manual shelf-life testing. Technological advancements have led to the development of more reliable, accurate, and affordable equipment and kit-based shelf-life testing technology, increasing its popularity and adoption among the market players.
• The parameter segment is divided into microbial contamination, rancidity, organoleptic properties, nutrient stability, pathogens, yeast & molds, and others. In 2021, the microbial contamination segment dominated the market, accounting for around 45% of global revenue. Microbial contamination is the non-intended or accidental introduction of harmful microbes in the products/commodities like fruits, meat, dairy, and other beverages. Microbes like fungi, bacteria, or protozoa are common agents of microbial contamination. The increasing pace of climate change has led to drastic temperature changes in the environment, which are favorable for the growth and multiplication of microbes. Packaged food and beverages, meat products, fruits, and vegetables are highly vulnerable to these changes. The growing consumption of these products increases the chances of microbial contamination. Unsanitary processing, packaging, and assemblage of products/commodities also increase the chances of microbial contamination. The shelf-life testing for microbial contamination dominates the market, given the increasing prevalence of pathogens in the environment.
• The application segment is divided into packaged foods, beverages, meat & meat products, bakery & confectionery products, dairy & dairy products, processed fruits & vegetables, desserts, and others. The packaged foods segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 39%. The rapid urbanization has led to several lifestyle changes, one of which is the growing consumption of packaged foods. The increase in disposable income of the population is also contributing to the increasing demand for packaged foods. The pandemic has shifted the consumer mindset, which perceives packaged food as more hygienic, sanitary, and safe for consumption. Packaged foods go through a series of food safety and security tests before being marketed, further contributing to their demand. Packaged food manufacturers are employing several strategies to retain the positive development of the market's growth, including shelf-life testing. Manufacturers use advanced shelf-life testing to provide better products and information to attract customers. Accurate information about product shelf-life makes the brand reliable and improves its market standing, thereby increasing its sales. It reduces the chances of product recalls or bad product experiences by consumers, which acts in favor of the market player. Given the increasing demand for packaged foods, the market players in the said industry will adopt shelf-testing to retain their consumer base and expand their market share.

Regional Segmentation Analysis:

The regions analyzed for the market include North America, Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Europe emerged as the largest market for the global shelf-life testing market, with a 35.92% share of the market revenue in 2021.

• Europe currently dominates the shelf-life testing market due to stringent food safety standards of the regulatory authorities in the European countries. Furthermore, the effective implementation of these food laws contributes significantly to the regional market's growth. The effective implementation of food laws has led to several laboratories across the region capable of processing multiple samples daily. The well-established testing infrastructure is one of the region's significant drivers of the shelf-life testing market. Additionally, the European markets are flooded with packaged items/products, unlike the developing and under-developing nations, which have loose and unbranded products in their markets. The packaged goods industry enables the authorities to have better control over the consumer products in the market. It enables them to easily monitor, control, and regulate the market players, furthering the shelf-life testing growth. The Asia Pacific is expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period, given the increasing population coupled with rising disposable income, which is driving the consumer market in the region. The developing consumer market for packaged foods, beverages, dairy, and dairy products has encouraged the government to introduce stringent food safety laws, which will contribute to the shelf-life testing market in the region.

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Competitive Analysis:

The key players are now concentrating on implementing strategies such as adopting new technology, product innovations, mergers & acquisitions, joint venture, alliances, and partnerships to improve their market position in the global shelf-life testing industry.

In October 2019, SGS revealed the plan to expand its brand-new food microbiological testing facility in Fairfield, New Jersey, USA. The 2,000-square-foot microbiological testing facility uses an IT platform to offer producers, manufacturers, and food suppliers across all food categories a comprehensive range of testing services.

List of Key Market Players:

• Agrifood Technology
• ALS Limited
• AsureQuality
• Bureau Veritas
• Eurofins Scientific
• Intertek Group PLC
• Premier Analytical Services
• RJ Hill Laboratories
• SCS Global
• Symbio Laboratories

Key Target Audience

• Market Players
• Investors
• End Users
• Government Authorities
• Consulting And Research Firm
• Venture Capitalists
• Third-party knowledge providers
• Value-Added Resellers (VARs)
• Laboratories

Report Description:

• Global Shelf-Life Testing Market, Industry Analysis, Trends, Analysis and Forecast, 2022 to 2030 is a forthcoming/imminent research report which is to be published by The Brainy Insights.
• 2021 is considered as the base year of the report. 2019 and 2020 are the historic years, and 2022 to 2030 are the forecast years. The global shelf-life testing market is based on revenue (USD Billion). The report incorporates the market study based on revenue. The study covers the market share revenue/market share/volume for each segment, region, and country catering to the global shelf-life testing market. The regions analyzed for the market are Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, South America, and Middle East & Africa. Furthermore, the regions are further analyzed at the country level.
• The report encompasses the relative data & information, which have been validated by the leading industry professionals and experts across the globe. The research report also delivers an outline of the attractiveness of shelf-life testing based on method type, technology type, parameter, application, and regions which are deduced and formulated based on their growth rate (CAGR), market size, and attractiveness by analyzing the present and prospects to fathom market growth and development in future.
• The report illustrates the detailed (both quantitative and qualitative) analysis of historical data, revenues, key developments, along with the crucial strategies adopted by key organizations catering to the global shelf-life testing market. This offers vital and in-depth insights to depict the overall market scenario.
• The report offers the detailed study for the company profiles of key organizations operating in the global shelf-life testing market and a comparative assessment based on their product offering, business overviews, geographic presence, business strategies, segment market share, product development & innovations, recent developments, joint venture, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, SWOT analysis, and key financial information. This helps in evaluating the overall competition present in the market scenario.
• The report provides an elaborative assessment of the porter's five forces analysis coupled with SWOT analysis to provide business related data and information. Porter's five forces model is analyzed to understand the overall competitive scenario that is prevailing in the market. Additionally, the SWOT analysis identifies both the positive and negative attributes of the market development which influences the company's growth and development to sustain and survive in the long run.
• Along with that, the report also focuses on the market related driving factors, growth limitations (restraints), potential industry opportunities, significant trends and development which act as a key potential for the investors.
• Potential growth prospects along with the penetration rate analysis of the product (market related, i.e., global shelf-life testing market) are covered to comprehend the adoption rate and evaluate the market size.