Tortilla Market Growth – Fostering Healthy Snacking Propensities

Tortilla extends the convenience of being the trusted food product that can be consumed both as an all-day-snack or as a meal based on the consumers’ gastronomic preference. In tandem with the aforementioned recognition, there is a growing inclination towards the consumption of readily available on-the-go-healthy-snacking options which are not only gaining cognizance because they are derived from plant-based sources but also due to the preference of substituting traditional snacks that have been traditionally consumed, as a result of globalization are one of the factors that are instrumental to the growth of the tortilla market around the world.

Additionally, despite the COVID 19 related prolonged suspension of the global restaurant business, the expansion of restaurant chains specializing in Tex-Mex food, and on the other hand, the growing pool of millennials and single individuals are expected to augment the growth of the global tortilla market. With regards to Tex-Mex chain expansions, a few recent developments like the following are expected to shed light on the plausible acceptance of tortilla as an integral part of the diet. In June 2020, California-based fast-food chain Taco Bell is famous for its Mexican-inspired cuisine comprising a broad range of burritos, nacho bowls, quesadillas, and tacos, among others was reported to open its first outlet in Petaling Jaya in the Surian District of Malaysia. In November 2020, an Orlando, Florida-Based Tex-Mex chain called Tijuana Flats had reportedly announced the unveiling of a brand-new 2,800 square-foot franchise location in Noblesville, Indiana., the USA that was announced to seat 126 guests and mark the 124th restaurant in the company. In October 2020, it was reported that Another Tex-Mex brand called Superica has stayed in line with its plans of a November opening in South Charlotte, North Carolina, the USA after the pandemic caused previous construction delays. 

During the same month, it was also reported that a Tex-Mex restaurant called Primo's MX Kitchen & Lounge which is a concept from Refined Hospitality Concepts was set to be unveiled in November 2020. Cabo Dogs Lounge & Grill which has its menu engineered based on the fusion of Baja Mediterranean and Tex-Mex cuisine was reported in October 2020 to have launched in Missouri City, Texas in August 2020. Also, Tino’s Tex-Mex Cantina which had reportedly held a soft-launch during late October 2020 has been reported to impart vibrant flavors from Tex-Mex dishes and cuisine from Michoacan, Mexico to Ramada Inn in Gainesville, Georgia, the USA, where the eatery is housed. Besides the ramp-up in restaurant chain expansions, small-scale retail operations too, have the potential to take the tortilla market growth to new heights. For instance, in July 2020 it was reported that Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood had witnessed the establishment of a Yoli Tortilleria three years ago by a wife and husband duo which had newly opened in a new location in the same city that now focuses on corn tortillas experienced surpassing of their original production facility. 

World Maize Consumption for Food Use Projections

Source: FAO

In Mt

By Source, the segment of corn (maize) is expected to hold a considerable share of the market partly contributing to its global growth.

The food and beverage industry has from its embryonic inception to present has been revolutionized through a myriad of developments. The evolution and distribution as well as consumption of maize which is also known as corn, range over the major part of thousands of years of human cultural development which until the beginning of European exploration of the Americas, was exclusive to American distribution and consumption. Additionally, due to its extraordinary geographic adaptability and high productivity corn has experienced widespread global diffusion. Over the next decade, global corn production has been forecasted by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) to attain 1315 Mt from 193 Mt with Argentina, Brazil, China, the United States, and Ukraine to witness the largest increase. The United States is expected to experience a higher yield-related production increase with a reportedly stable production area. Argentina and Brazil are projected to experience increase production based on slightly larger planted areas and buttressed by favorable domestic policies, among others. Besides, the cultivation of high yielding domestic varieties of corn that are known to be grown in rain-fed systems will be the reason for Ukraine’s production increase.

Further, from the aspect of human consumption corn is forecasted to increase by 23 Mt which will be based on the global population growth and per capita consumption around the world. With a panoptic view of the source of tortillas, certain recent developments pertaining to corn tortillas is relevant to further substantiate the growth of the global tortilla market which has been forecasted by Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence to grow at a CAGR of 5.58% to attain a market value of US$53.648 billion by 2025 from a market value of US$38.731 billion which has been estimated for the year 2019. In July 2020, it was announced that a new range of corn tortillas products will be added to the developing agro-processing sector of Cambodia by Al’s Tacos with the launch of the first locally sourced and produced products on the market. This new range of corn tortillas will be reported to comprise a diverse range of corn tortillas adaptation that will constitute both soft taco and hard taco shells as well as corn chips. Moving away from the orient, an Irish organization based out of Clonmel, County Tipperary called Blanco Niño which have been catering to 16 European markets had reportedly launched Corn Tortilla Chips to the Irish retail market with an initial introduction in the Dunnes Stores which is an Irish multinational retail chain reported in August 2020. Besides, due to the growing awareness of blue corn which contains naturally occurring anthocyanins with anti-inflammatory and antioxidants properties, and has a higher protein content when compared to its white and yellow counterparts with low glycemic index has also emerged as one of the increasingly used sources from which corn tortillas are being made, subsequently result in commercial adoption. For instance, in November 2020, it was reported that El Paso, Texas-based eco-friendly restaurant called Taconeta has made blue corn tortillas a staple among its offerings.