Tortilla Market – Sustaining Vegan, Promoting Plant-Based, Encouraging Healthy-Consumption

The global market of Tortilla is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.58% by the estimates of Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence to attain a market value of US$53.648 billion by 2025 from the US$38.731 billion which are estimates for 2019. The growing cognizance of Tex-Mex cuisine and its ensuing popularity coupled with a healthy proportion of the Hispanic population are the primary factors that have set the ball rolling for the tortilla market. Nevertheless, the momentum is powered by certain recent market developments which are inclusive of but not limited to recent profusion in plant-based food offerings, the growing acknowledgment of healthy, whole foods from the Earth is good for one wellbeing of more and more consumers especially that of developed economies and those who belong to the growing middle-income group in the emerging economies, and the altered post-COVID mainstream consumption trends which are increasingly fueling the growth of plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy as well as those of sugary snacks.

Further during the past few decades, there has been a tangible expansion of Latin American culinary influence which has been exemplified by the popularity of tacos, carnitas, and so forth. On the account of the growing Hispanic and Latino immigrant population, Latin American influences have permeated the American dietary preferences which during the immediate post-world war era was gradually evolving to include the popularity of amalgam of Northern Mexican peasant food with Texas farm and cowboy fare. The American diet otherwise has been constantly influenced by military conflicts from the revolutionary war to the post-9/11 era. Additionally, a lot of Mexican American tacos are adaptations of Mexican food to the ingredients that are available through the U.S. food-processing industry. Besides the food and beverage industry which is a cornucopia of stakeholders, processors, growers and marketers have also been generously endowed by the investments made by retail food chains which explain how the likely invention of tacos by Mexican silver miners, its probable reinvention by the Mexican Americans of the Southwest and its mass-marketing to anglicized palates via the crunchy Taco Bell shell founded by American entrepreneur Glen William Bell Jr. which have been instrumental in facilitating the global tortilla market growth.

As far as the retail food sector is considered the world all over is witnessing the need for catering to the constantly evolving consumer preferences.  Further, high internet penetrations, the upswing in eCommerce sales and its reinforcement brought about by the lockdown restrictions brought about by the COVID 19 pandemic and the rapid expansion of offline channels like hypermarkets, supermarkets, and shopping malls which are deemed by the consumers as the trusted venue due to the fact all types of tortillas, among others and the varieties thereof are available under one roof. Also, with growing urbanization, a growing pool of singles and millennials are expected to positively influence the already forecasted upward trajectory of the market. Further with the effects of COVID 19 offline source of distribution channels is suffering due to uncertainties brought about by short-term discretionary spending that has led to a heavy dependence online purchase.  Despite the retail automation market is forecasted by Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence to grow at a CAGR of 12.36% the quality of a lot of aspects which are integral to the smooth functioning of a supply chain logistics and the extent of its development is also another important factor that is expected to enable the online distribution space to expand and occupy a substantial share of the global tortilla market. Nevertheless, the estimates by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that retail and food services sales between February and April 2020 were down 7.7% compared to the same period in 2019, in the USA with sales increased for grocery stores and non-store retailers (mostly e-commerce providers), by 16% and 14.8% respectively reaffirms the newly realized potential of online distribution channels which is poised to positively influence the global tortilla market growth.

Speaking of the supply chain, it is relevant to note that to facilitate the production of tortillas, the cultivation of corn and as well wheat is the point where the entire tortilla tale starts. Also, in certain cases, as exemplified by new product developments the production tortilla is contingent on the availability of ingredients like okara flour which is a blend of tapioca fiber, lime juice, chia seeds, cassava flour, cactus nopales, and avocado oil, among others. When it comes to the raw materials which go into the making of tortilla favorable government policies are of utmost importance that would in part facilitate the sustenance of the tortilla supply chain. For instance, the new Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has made improving the livelihoods of small agricultural producers in economically marginalized regions of Mexico a centerpiece of his administration. During the first hundred days after assuming office, several new agricultural support programs were created by the president’s administration to aid in the achiever of increasing rural incomes, enhancing food security thereby facilitating self-sufficiency as far as the production of certain commodities is concerned.

A few of the program are essential modified versions of previous programs which were implemented during the previous administration. In view of the goals which the administration had campaigned before the election the programs are intended for marginalized and small farmers with a special focus on small producers of the southern and central states of Mexico instead of focusing on larger commercial operations. The objective of Produccion para el Bienestar aka Production for Wellbeing is to facilitate the increment of domestic grain production to help small producers reach a higher level of food self-sufficiency. A total of nine billion pesos (approximately 474 million USD) will be available for this program in 2019, including some payments to settle debts inherited from the previous cycle of the Proagro Productivo program. The program will prioritize small producers of corn, among others. Thus, with corn being one of the major ingredients that go into the production of tortillas such an instance of the favorable government program is anticipated to contribute to the forecasted growth of the global tortilla market.