Global Fatty Alcohols Market: The growing cosmetics & personal care industry in developing countries, with a surge in demand for premium skin and hair care products.

The global fatty alcohols market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2 %, by value, during the forecast period. The market is estimated to be USD 5.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 7.0 billion by 2027. The demand for fatty alcohols is mainly driven by their increasing use as non-ionic surfactants in numerous applications, including detergents, household and industrial cleaners, laundry softeners, textile coatings, mineral processing, and agricultural chemicals. The growing cosmetics & personal care industry in developing countries, with a surge in demand for premium skin and hair care products, child beauty care products, and color cosmetics, coupled with rising per capita disposable income are factors expected to drive the growth of the global fatty alcohol market.

Fatty alcohols are high-molecular-weight, straight-chain primary alcohols. Fatty alcohols can be categorized as lauryl alcohol (C12), myristyl alcohol (C14), cetyl alcohol (C16), stearyl alcohol (C18), and behenyl alcohol (C22). They are commonly used in the production of detergents as nonionic surfactants due to their amphipathic nature. They also find applications in cosmetics and personal care products, foods, lubricants, plasticizers, and pharmaceuticals.

Earlier, due to stringent regulations in developed countries, such as Japan, the US, and Germany, many manufacturers started the production of fatty alcohols to promote the use of environmentally friendly products. This resulted in large-scale manufacturing of oleochemicals in ASEAN countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, which used natural raw materials such as vegetable oil and fats to synthesize fatty alcohols. Easy and abundant availability of raw materials and numerous manufacturing facilities further augmented the production. This prompted regions, such as North America and Europe, to import the naturally-derived fatty alcohols on a large scale.

Changing consumer preferences are observed to drive the demand for bio-based chemicals. Consumer awareness regarding the impact of hazardous petroleum-based products on the environment has increased exponentially over the past decade. Growing environmental concerns are encouraging consumers to use eco-friendly products. Such factors are impelling chemical manufacturers to use bio-based raw materials to manufacture their products.

The major raw materials used for manufacturing fatty alcohols are palm oil, PK oil, tallow, and rapeseed oil, among others. Regions such as North America and Europe import these raw materials from APAC, as the latter’s geographic conditions support the production of raw materials for fatty alcohols. Due to this, prices may fluctuate often depending on the trading scenario between these regions.

The prominent players in the global fatty alcohol market are Univar Inc (US), KLK Oleo (Malaysia), VVF LLC (India), P & G Chemicals (US), Eco green Oleochemicals (Singapore), Kao Corporation (Japan), Sasol Limited (South Africa), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (The Netherlands), Emery Oleochemicals (Malaysia), BASF SE (Germany), Berg+ Schmidt GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Wilmar International Ltd (Singapore), Godrej Industries Ltd (India), and Arkema SA (France).

APAC is the largest and fastest-growing fatty alcohols market, owing to its increasing usage in various end-use applications, such as personal care and industrial & domestic cleaning application. The increase in demand is because of the growing population, rising disposable income, and economic growth in China, South Korea, and Taiwan. These factors are expected to fuel the demand for fatty alcohols in the region during the forecast period.