Lactic Acid Market Forecasts to 2028 – Global Analysis By Product (Food Grade, Industrial Grade), Form (Liquid, Dry), Raw Material (Cassava, Corn, Sugarcane) and By Geography

Lactic Acid Market

According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Lactic Acid Market is accounted for $1.33 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $3.63 billion by 2028 growing at a CAGR of 15.4% during the forecast period. Lactic acid is a group of acid that is emerging in sour milk and is produced in muscles after a lot of exercises. Lactic acid, also known as hydroxypropionic acid, or 2-hydroxypropanoic acid, an organic compound included in the family of carboxylic acids, available in certain plant juices, and in the muscles and blood of animals, and also in soil. It is the familiar acidic constituent of fermented milk products like sour milk, cheese, and buttermilk.



Market Dynamics:

Driver:

Growing Demand from the Textile Industry

Lactic acid is widely used as a mordant in the textile industry wherein it also fulfills the function of chrome level effluent control during the process of dye application, which leads to better dye-yields. Considering that there is no other sustainable solution for the process coupled with the fact that textile manufacturing units will continue to use lactic acid, there will be growth prospects in the market for the existing vendors and the emerging entrants. The continuously developing economy is instilling a demand influx in the textile industry. This attributes to the fact that the rise in per capita income will lead to demand growth of not only wearable textile products but also the household ones. Evidently, this is followed by the escalation in the disposable personal income that will bring upon a need for various textile companies to reinvent their product portfolio with different colors combinations.

Restraint:

Instable Raw Material Prices

Raw sugar taken out from sugar beet or sugarcane, or dextrose from cassava starch or corn starch is the key raw materials used for 2-Hydroxypropanoic acid production. The raw sugar is generally sourced locally based on a particular province's most readily available feedstock. Thus, it is based on agricultural factors such as soil and climate conditions, as not all feedstock can be grown effectively in all districts. Though, fluctuating raw material prices and a rise in commodity costs are likely to restrain demand.

Opportunity:

Multi-Functionalities of Lactic Acid

Lactic acids play a significant role as a substance in the processing of numerous industrial products. These acids have classically been used in the majority of industrial applications, such as biopolymers, food & beverages, textiles, packaging, and personal care & cosmetics. The market for it has witnessed significant growth as it is increasingly used as a substitute for toxic chemicals and plastics, particularly in food & beverages and pharmaceuticals. In the food & beverage industry, it is preferred over synthetic chemicals, as they alter the flavor, texture, or characteristics of products to increase their shelf life. In the dairy industry, they are used to coagulate milk and produce cheese flavors. Whereas in the brewing industry, lactic acid improves starch conversion in beer, thereby increasing the yield. In the baking industry, lactic acid helps in controlling the acidity of the dough and improving the shelf life of baked goods. Major uses of lactic acid in the food industry are found in cheese manufacturing, baking, confectionery manufacturing, processed meat, and vegetable processing. Due to the various and versatile uses of lactic acid across industries, as well as the multi-functionalities of lactic acids, the market is projected to witness significant growth opportunities during the forecast period.

Threat:

Maintaining Supply To Demand of Lactic Acid

The major threat in front of the vendors in the market is keeping supply to demand. New applications in the market are being discovered every year, and prospective customers show a predilection for the product because it complies with environmental regulations. So, it’s difficult for the vendors to suffice the demand, and this subsequently warrants the expansion in terms of more manufacturing units which will need further investment, but the continuous demand in the future will ensure that the vendors will get the desired return on investment and attain the breakeven point.

Sugarcane segment is expected to be the largest during the forecast period

The sugarcane segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period, owing to the abundant obtainability of biomass materials. Sugarcane bagasse and harvesting residue are the most available resources, which can be utilized as feedstock. Sugarcane is used for bioplastics development and in biochemical and food industries.

The food & beverages segment is expected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The food & beverages sub-segment accounted for considerable market share during the forecast period owing to the incremented demand from the growing population. This is integrated with the demand for preserved food in which lactic acid is used as a food preservative. This food and beverages are significantly supporting the lactic acid market. Additionally, there is also a noticeable increase in the pharmaceutical sector, and that is also creating a marketplace for the vendors.

Region with highest share:

North America is projected to hold the highest market share, owing to its growing usage of it in several end-use applications and the high level of consumer awareness within the country. The increasing number of consumers in the market who depict a willingness to pay a premium to source the organic lactic acid category is also driving growth in the province.  Its sustainable production of it has proven to be a big opportunity for the market as depending on the plant source, less energy requirement, low cost, and eco-friendly benefits.

Region with highest CAGR:

Europe is projected to have the highest CAGR, due to the changing and busy lifestyles of consumers and rapid urbanization led to high demand for processed and convenience products. The major driver for the market is an increased demand for market in meat and other food applications, availability of cheap raw materials, innovation in technology, and strong support of big manufacturing companies in the region. Increasing population, high purchasing power, and growing awareness, as well as changing perception towards healthy features of natural products are propelling the demand and consumption of organic acids such as lactic acid across Europe.



Key players in the market:

Some of the key players profiled in the Lactic Acid Market include Musashino Chemical, CargilCofco Biochemical, Corbion, Danimer Scientific, Dupont, Foodchem International, Galactic, Henan Jindan Lactic Acid Technology, Henan Xinghan Biotechnology, Jungbunzlauer, Sulzer, Unitika Ltd, Vaishnavi Bio-Tech, Vigon International company.

Key developments:

In September 2020: Cargill’s NatureWorks announced a series of manufacturing technology projects, including lactide monomer purification efficiency. This would increase the availability of the full Ingeo (PLA) biomaterials portfolio by 10% and help in catering to the large industrial.

In November 2020: Sulzer merged with B&F PLA (China) for the expansion and development of its first fully-integrated sugar-to-PLA (polylactic acid) plant located in Bengbu, China. The facility utilizes Sulzer’s distillation, crystallization, and polymerization technologies to produce 30,000 tons of PLA per year. This would improve the presence of the company in the Asia Pacific market.

In September 2020: Total Corbion PLA announced to build its second PLA plant with a capacity ramping up to 100,000 tons per annum in Europe. This expansion would make TotalEnergies Corbion the global market leader in PLA, firmly positioned to cater for the rapidly growing demand for Luminy® PLA resins. The new plant is planned to be located on a Total site in Grandpuits, France and to be operational in 2024.

Products Covered: 
• Food Grade             
• Industrial Grade            
• Pharmaceutical Grade  

Forms Covered:
• Dry
• Liquid 

Raw Materials Covered:
• Cassava            
• Corn             
• Sugarcane

Synthesis Covered:
• Chemical Synthesis            
• Microbial Fermentation
  
Sources Covered:
• Natural
• Synthetic

Functions Covered:
• Anti-Forming Agent             
• Anti-Microbial Agent            
• Emulsifier             
• Flavouring Agent            
• Mineral Fortification            
• pH Regulator            
• Preservative

Applications Covered:
• Lactic Acid Application
• Polylactic Acid Applications
           
End Users Covered:
• Automotive            
• Biomedical            
• Chemical             
• Textile     

Regions Covered:
• North America
o US
o Canada
o Mexico
• Europe
o Germany
o UK
o Italy
o France
o Spain
o Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
o Japan       
o China       
o India       
o Australia 
o New Zealand
o South Korea
o Rest of Asia Pacific   
• South America
o Argentina
o Brazil
o Chile
o Rest of South America
• Middle East & Africa
o Saudi Arabia
o UAE
o Qatar
o South Africa
o Rest of Middle East & Africa

What our report offers:
- Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments
- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants
- Covers Market data for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025 and 2028
- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)
- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations
- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends
- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments
- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

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• Company Profiling
o Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3)
o SWOT Analysis of key players (up to 3)
• Regional Segmentation
o Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the client's interest (Note: Depends on feasibility check)
• Competitive Benchmarking
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