Multifunctional ingredients named ones to watch

Speciality ingredients – “performance-oriented multifunctional ingredients” that do more than one job in a product’s formulation – took a 45% share of the global personal care ingredients market in 2015, up from 40%, according to a report by Kline.

Preservative boosters such as caprylyl glycol, glyceryl caprylate and ethylhexylglycerin, which also add emollient properties to a product, were highlighted in the report – Personal Care Ingredients: Global Market Analysis.

PEG derivatives, which act as rheology modifiers (controlling the structure and texture of a liquid), have also increased in popularity over the past few years and are expected to grow in usage. Emollients are the leading ingredient group in the ingredients market, of which skincare is one of the leading applications, along with haircare.

Despite the perceived surge in uptake of natural ingredients by manufacturers, synthetics still dominate the industry. One problem with natural ingredients is that they can be more susceptible to microbial attacks and, therefore, have the potential to contaminate formulas, affecting the category’s growth.

Kline predicts that sales of speciality ingredients will increase at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 2.8% between 2015-2020, surpassing USD $10 billion (£7bn) in worth by 2020. UV absorbers are the ingredient group expected to post the biggest growth.

The market may see increasing demand for alternatives to traditional preservatives over the forecast period due to regulations in developed markets – things like organic acids and boosters could be used more frequently in product formulations.