Fatty Methyl Ester Sulfonate (FMES) Market Analysis By End-Use (Personal Care, Detergents), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa), Competitive Landscape, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global fatty methyl ester sulfonate market size was estimated at 444.6 kilo tons in 2015. This industry is expected to witness impressive growth over the next decade owing to the growing product demand in various applications sectors such as cosmetics, washing powder, and liquid detergents. Increasing natural ingredients demand across the personal care and hair care segments also helps to enhance the global FMES demand.

Europe fatty ethyl ester sulfonate market dominated the global consumption with Germany being the frontrunner in the region. Germany emerged as the leading manufacturing hub for the detergents and personal care products in Europe over the past decade. Growing consumer awareness towards cleanliness and hygiene in countries such as Germany and Italy is expected to propel the detergent demand over the next few years.

U.S. fatty methyl ester sulfonate market by end-use, 2014 - 2025 (USD Million)

Rising consumer disposable income coupled with ongoing urbanization trend across Canada and the U.S. has majorly contributed to the growing social awareness regarding personal hygiene and wellness in North America. Mounting FMES consumption in laundry applications owing to its enhanced whiteness and physicochemical properties is anticipated to offer immense opportunities for market expansion in the region.

Increasing natural ingredients demand in products such as shampoo and soap is another major trend witnessed among consumers in Europe and North America. In addition, detergents with good water solubility, water hardness stability, and wetting power have witnessed increasing adoption among consumers in these regions.

End-Use Insights

Detergents emerged as leading end-use segment in 2015 and its revenue share is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% over the next nine years. Stringent regulatory guidelines in the laundry care sector regarding wastewater disposal can be attributed to the presence of petrochemical surfactants and auxiliary agents. These synthetic compounds impart adverse environmental effect surrounding industrial and residential establishments. This has urged detergent manufacturers to shift towards utilizing natural and highly bio-degradable ingredients in their products.

Global fatty methyl ester sulfonate market by end-use, 2015 (USD Million)

Personal care segment is anticipated to emerge as fastest growing segment and account for over 34% of the fatty methyl ester sulfonate market volume share by 2025. Adverse impact of synthetic chemical products on skin health and product disposal has steered natural ingredients demand across various consumer age groups.

Regional Insight

Europe emerged as the dominant FMES consumer accounting for 32.8% of revenue share in 2015. Growing preference of naturally derived products coupled with favorable regulatory scenario are expected to steer bio-based skin care and fabric care product demand over the forecast period.

Fatty methyl ester sulfonate demand in North America was over 110 kilo tons in 2015. Presence of large number of detergent producers in the U.S. and Canada have contributed to the market penetration over the past few years. In addition, the launch of new product lines in personal care and laundry care sector is anticipated to steer moderate market growth in the region.

Asia Pacific was a prominent FMES market and is expected to witness a CAGR of over 19% over the forecast period. This can be attributed to high growth in end-use industries such as cosmetics, soap/detergent, oilfield chemical, and agrochemicals in China, Japan, and India. Another factor attributed to high market growth is the growing bio-based personal care product demand in South East Asia.

Central & South America fatty methyl ester sulfonate market size is estimated to exceed 270 kilo tons by 2025. Products such as liquid fabric softeners, spot & stain removers, and carpet cleaners have gained prominence in the region. Furthermore, consumption of key consumer products such as hand wash and fabric cleaners in residential and commercial sector is anticipated to drive product demand over the forecast period.

Competitive Insights

The major vendors in fatty methyl ester sulfonate industry include KLK Oleo, Zanyu Technology Group Co., Ltd., Jinchang Chemicals, Sun Products, Lion Corporation, Chemithon, Fenchem, and Emery Oleochemicals. Other prominent companies include Wilmar International, Jiangsu Haiqing Biotechnology, KPL International, P&G Chemicals, Stepan Company, Henan Surface Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., PEMEX Chemicals, China Factories Group Company, and Alfa Aesar.

Lion Corporation of Japan uses its patented acid bleaching process to produce MES that caters to the detergent mainly in Japan and South East Asia. Chemithon offers methyl ester sulfonates (MES) from palm and coconut oil derivatives which are eco-friendly and find application in soaps and laundry. KLK Oleo’s offers Palmfonate, is an active cleaning element in laundry detergents. The product is made from renewable natural resources, and provides enhanced bio-degradability and calcium hardness resistance in hard water.

Report Scope 

Segments covered in the report

This report forecasts revenue growth at regional & country levels and provides an analysis on the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global FMES market on the basis of end-use industries and region:

• End-Use Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Personal Care

  • Detergents

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • U.S.

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • UK

    • France

    • Italy

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Central & South America

  • Middle East & Africa