The future of chia - hype or mainstreaming product?
Lots and lots is being said on the internet about chia, chia seeds and chia oil. People are searching for the product where to buy, it is hard to find they comment, others reply that this superfood can be found in special health stores (for a pretty high price). So what is the future of chia seeds, is it just another hype which in time will fade away or is it a product worthwhile to invest in because it will become mainstream?
As with most farming, cultivating chia seeds requires extensive investments. So making all these investments, the question is, what is the future of the chia seeds? Will the market eventually fade away or will bigger parties step in and chia become mainstream. Today (this article is written June 1, 2013), chia is almost exclusively sold at health stores and thru websites for niche markets. Analyzing the properties of chia, it is more likely to become mainstream then to eventually fade out. From market perspective, profit margins are high so more sellers will step in, making the product more widely available and thru competition for a better price. From product property viewpoint chia has so much to offer and more over so many possibilities for uses that also from this viewpoint chia will most likely become mainstream.
Chia can be grounded and can be soaked into water creating a gelatinous substance. This substance is to be used for almost anything, from dressing, to a smoothy (most popular now), but also pudding and as base of any kind of sauce (meat sauce etc). It may be clear that once a foodprocessor steps in, chia will become immediately mainstream. Besides its possible use for a gelatinous substance, it is to be grounded making chia seeds use for an endless number of possible applications such as bread, crackers, pizza bottoms, cookies etc etc.
Therefore, we believe that yes price will probably drop, but quantities go up provided that supply is able to keep up. We have to remind here that chia is cultivated in third world countries (except for Australia) such as Burma, India, China, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger and Somalia so infrastructure and speed of change besides volumes will not be astronomic. Nevertheless chia seeds is very likely to become a mainstream product in you daily diet.
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