Acerola is a cherry-like fruit native to South America, southern Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, and Central America. It’s also grown in Texas, Florida and the subtropical areas of Asia. Traditionally the fruit has been used to treat liver ailments, diarrhea, dysentery, coughs, and colds. Acerola contains high levels of vitamin C; therefore, it is also used to treat or prevent scurvy. Because the fresh berries and the juice made from them spoil easily, acerola is most often found in supplement form: capsules, chewables, liquid extracts, and powder.
Acerola fruit is also high in vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, carotenoids, and bioflavonoids. Because of this, its extract is used as an additive in functional foods. Functional foods are modified foods that claim health benefits beyond their traditional nutritional value. Globally in 2018, functional food sales totaled $153.6 billion. By 2025 sales are forecast to grow to $260.4 billion, creating a growing market for these extracts.
In addition to its use as a food supplement, acerola extract is used as a food preservative in packaged food, snacks, beverages, confectionery, and meat. Consumers around the world are incorporating more prepackaged convenience foods in their diet. At the same time, consumers desire healthy foods made from natural sources. In response to this, the market for acerola extracts for food preservation is expected to grow. However, this growth will be tempered due to the high cost of acerola extract compared to artificial preservatives. Overall, the market for acerola extracts is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 8.2% from 2018 to 2026.
Today’s market size shows the global sales of acerola extracts in 2017. Acerola extracts in powdered form provided most of the revenue in 2017 and are expected to continue to dominate the market through 2026. Some major manufacturers of these extracts include Amway, Blue Macaw Flora, Diana Naturals, Duas Rodas Industrial, Herbal Bio Solutions, Nature’s Power Nutraceuticals Corp. Naturex, Nichirei Corporation, NutriBotanica, Optimally Organic Inc., and The Green Labs LLC.
Geographic reference: WorldYear: 2017
Market size: $8.68 billion
Sources: “Acerola Extract Market – Global Industry Analysis, Share, Size, Trends, Growth and Forecast to 2026,” Reuters Plus, December 4, 2018 available online here; “Malpighia emarginata,” Wikipedia, August 2019 available online here; “What Is Acerola Cherry?” Healthline available online here.
Image source: Zaiane Sá, “Acerolas,” Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0], March 26, 2016 available online here. The editors did not make changes to the photo.