FMI analyst Megha Dodke said, “High demand for tahini is due to its versatile nature as an ingredient in sweet/savoury spread/dips, halva and a major ingredient in hummus. Technological advancement in tahini production and increasing demand through exports are the major underlying factors fuelling the growth of the Middle East & Mediterranean tahini market between 2015 and 2020.” The trend is even more pronounced in the emerging markets of GCC and Mediterranean Europe (France, Spain, Italy and Greece), she added.
Region-wise, Middle East excluding GCC (Turkey, Israel, and Lebanon) was the largest market with over 46% of market share in 2014. It is expected to exhibit the lowest CAGR through 2020 though the absolute dollar opportunity is highest in this market, FMI said.
On the basis of product type, the tahini market is segmented into three: pastes & spreads, halva & other sweets, as well as sauces & dips. Pastes & spreads commanded the largest market share of 52.6% in 2014 in terms of value. On the other hand, sauces & dips segment, which possess the lowest market share by product type, is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.5% due to the competitive dressing sauces and dips market, in which manufacturers spend significantly on differentiatiation. Food processing companies are also trying newer spread varieties such as tahini with pomegranate and tahini molasses.
Key Middle East & Mediterranean players in the tahini market include El Rashidi El Mizan, Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar, Halwani Brothers, Haitoglou Brothers and Prince Tahina. Most of the major players are based in Middle East. They are adopting various go-to-market strategies to expand market share, such as participating in international food expos, rolling out novel and attractive products for various demographics, customer-friendly packaging and upgrading their technologies for tahini production.
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