US Personal Care Ingredients Market Forecast to Grow at a CAGR of 2.2% through 2014, According to Kline

The total market for personal care ingredients in the United States is estimated at 355 million lb in 2009. It is the second largest market for personal care ingredients behind Europe.

Aug 25 2010 --- Demand for personal care ingredients in the United States is driven by a stable consumption of personal care products, and increased consumer awareness of products with skin protection benefits such as anti-aging and sun care. The market posted 3% growth since 2005, and is forecast to grow further at a CAGR of 2.2% through 2014 according recently released study Global Personal Care Ingredients 2010: Market Analysis and Opportunities, by worldwide consulting and research firm Kline & Company.

The total market for personal care ingredients in the United States is estimated at 355 million lb in 2009. It is the second largest market for personal care ingredients behind Europe. Conditioning polymers are the leading product category followed by surfactants constituting a market share of about 32% and 23%, respectively, by volume. Alkyl polyglucosides (APG) or so-called "green" surfactants that are plant-derived augmented by increasing environmental awareness and consumer demand exceeded the growth of traditional surfactants by over 2% in 2009.

Spurred by growing consumer awareness, the natural personal care end product market has persevered through the recession registering a healthy 8% sales gain in 2009 in the United States. Natural ingredients benefited from a strong demand for natural products, capturing a small but increasing growth in their sector. "Although there is still perceived issue with performance of natural ingredients prohibiting their usage in many formulations," notes Anna Ibbotson, Industry Manager, Chemicals & Material practice at Kline," the opportunities for growth surpass those more traditional ingredients, creating a forum for innovation."

Hair fixative polymers and conditioning polymers are the most consolidated categories with the top three players constituting for more than 75% of the overall market. The top 10 players in the U.S. market account for about 65% of the total market across all product categories covered in the report.

The overall market share is split among the leading five players accounting for about 43% of the market. Due to various levels of consolidation, this figure may soon change. 

In June 2010, BASF announced plans of acquiring Cognis which would enable BASF to become the leading player in the personal care market, globally. The acquisition is an ideal fit for BASF as Cognis is strong in emollients, emulsifiers, and surfactants markets where BASF has had limited exposure. Some of the other recent M&A activity in the personal care industry has been Dow's acquisition of Rohm and Haas, BASF's acquisition of Ciba, Rhodia's acquisition of McIntyre, and Galaxy Surfactants' acquisition of Tri-K Industries.