The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by convenience, health and wellness, and environmental sustainability, and the growing importance of technologies such as alternative proteins, nutraceuticals, and food safety & transparency. In the last three years alone, there have been over 450,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Consumer: Probiotic culture preservation. Buy the report here.

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Data Insights Innovation in Consumer: Probiotic culture preservation

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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.

Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.

40+ innovations will shape the consumer industry

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the consumer industry using innovation intensity models built on over 110,000 patents, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Within the emerging innovation stage, hydrogel dressings, dextrin-based compositions, and safety injection needles are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Edible oil non-spreads, textured vegetable protein, and fatty oil extraction are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are whey protein composition and anabolic muscle supplements, which are now well established in the industry.

Innovation S-curve for the consumer industry

Probiotic culture preservation is a key innovation area in consumer

Preservation methods are required in order to avoid the propagation of undesired bacterial growth in bacteria-based probiotics, especially lactic acid-based compositions. Some of the methods used for preservation include anaerobic encapsulation, and emulsification along with some other techniques being explored.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 120+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of probiotic culture preservation.

Key players in probiotic culture preservation – a disruptive innovation in the consumer industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to probiotic culture preservation

4D Pharma is one of the leading patent filers in probiotic culture preservation. Some other key patent filers in the space include Chr. Hansen, CJ CheilJedang, Danone, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Symrise. Recently, Chr. Hansen launched a new solution called Bovacillus, to support dairy and beef cattle health and performance. It is a probiotic consisting of two strains of different species of Bacilli – Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis isolated from nature, an effective choice for supporting the health and performance of the cattle.

In terms of application diversity, 4D Pharma leads the pack, while Quorum Innovations and Glycotope stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Pfizer held the top position, followed by Lesaffre Group and Advanced BioNutrition.

Probiotic culture preservation will become prevalent in the coming years on account of its benefits to the human body, which include helping restore the natural balance of bacteria in the gut when disrupted by an illness or treatment.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Consumer.

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.