Fatty alcohols are aliphatic hydrocarbon containing long carbon chain and hydroxyl group attached to the terminal carbon. Fatty alcohols can be sourced from natural as well as synthetic routes of manufacturing. Naturally derived fatty alcohols usually contain even number of carbon atoms and synthetically derived fatty alcohols contain odd number of carbon atoms. Fatty alcohols can be saturated, branched, and unsaturated depending upon the chain length. Some of the commercially used fatty alcohols are lauryl, stearyl, and oleyl alcohols. They are used in a wide range of applications such as personal care, soaps & detergents, pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, lubricants, flavor & fragrances, food products, and others applications which includes textile and paper & pulp.

The global fatty alcohols market is projected to reach USD 6.01 Billion by 2022. The growing use of fatty alcohols in surfactant-based industries such as personal care & cosmetics, soaps & detergents, textiles, oil & gas, etc., as well as the flexibility in feedstock availability and extensive consumption of fatty alcohols in emerging clusters of Asia Pacific are some of the key factors driving the global fatty alcohols market. Based on type, the pure & midcut fatty alcohols was the largest segment of the global fatty alcohols market, by type in 2016. Pure & midcut fatty alcohols are used extensively in the synthesis of surfactants. Surfactants are used in manufacturing laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, liquid soaps, and other household cleaning products. These are also used as lubricant additives in aluminum processing and metalworking applications. Such wide-scale applicability of pure & midcut fatty alcohols drives their market across the globe. Based on application, industrial & domestic cleaning was the largest application segment of the fatty alcohols market in 2016. Fatty alcohols and their derivatives such as fatty alcohols ethoxylates and sulfates are used to manufacture soaps and detergents for industrial and household cleaning purposes. The increasing concerns for sanitation and hygiene to promote public health and increasing per capita expenditure on household cleaning agents is expected to drive the market for fatty alcohols in industrial & domestic cleaning application globally. The Asia Pacific region led the global fatty alcohols market, in 2016. The growing demand for fatty alcohol-based surfactants in industrial cleaning, cosmetic & beauty products, household laundry, food processing, polymer & plastics, and lubricants is driving the market of fatty alcohols in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to cater the most flourishing end-use industries worldwide with China, India, and Japan being the major forefront players contributing significantly to the region’s economy. Mounting population, growing disposable income of people as well as their tendencies to adopt a modern lifestyle to be at par with the Western culture is giving a boost to the growth of the aforementioned industries. This largely drives the demand for commodity chemicals such as fatty alcohols in the region. The global fatty alcohols market is witnessing moderate growth. Factors restraining and challenging the growth of the fatty alcohols market are the surplus production leading to oversupply and instability in raw material prices.

Fatty Alcohols Market vendors are placed into 4 categories based on their performance and reviews in each criterion: “visionary leaders,” “innovators,” “dynamic differentiators,” and “emerging companies".

Visionary leaders are the leading market players in terms of new developments such as product launches, innovative technologies, and the adoption of growth strategies. These players have a broad product offering that caters to most of the regions globally. Visionary leaders primarily focus on acquiring the leading market position through their strong financial capabilities and their well-established brand equity.

Dynamic Differentiators are established players with very strong business strategies. However, they have a weaker product portfolio compared to the visionary leaders. They generally focus only on a specific type of technology related to the product.

Innovators in the competitive leadership mapping are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. The companies have focused on product portfolios. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business, when compared with the visionary leaders.

Emerging companies have niche product and service offerings. Their business strategies are not as strong as that of the established vendors. The emerging vendors include the new entrants in the market, emerging in terms of product portfolio and geographic reach, and require time to gain significant traction in the market.