Glycerin Market size, Share, Growth, and Industry Analysis, By Type (Technical Grade Glycerin, USP Grade Glycerin) By Application (Food and Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics, Industrial, Others) and Regional Forecast to 2028

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GLYCERIN MARKET OVERVIEW

The global glycerin market is poised for significant growth, starting at USD 4.19 billion in 2024, rising to USD 4.46 billion in 2025, and projected to reach USD 7.41 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 6.51% from 2025 to 2033.

The Glycerin Market is a lively and rapidly growing development of the global chemical market for a wide range of end uses, including in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cosmetics and personal care sectors. Glycerin, also called glycerol is a versatile, safe, biodegradable material from natural sources such as vegetable oils and animal fats. The Glycerin Market continues to grow directly due to demand for bio-based products, as well as the continuing uses in health care needs and industrial uses. Production and consumption continues to be more concentrated in the Asia-pacific region, but North America and Europe also have high demands in the glycerin market due to vertical integrations in the end-user industry. Ongoing awareness and perceptions of sustainability of ingredients is likely to create disruptive and new routes to the future of the Glycerin Market.

KEY FINDINGS

• Market Size And Growth – The Glycerin Market was valued globally at $4.21 billion in 2024, which is estimated at $4.48 billion in 2025, and is expected to grow by 7.52 by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.51% from 2025 to 2033.
• Key Market Driver – Indonesia is independently the largest biodiesel producer in the world, and produced well excess of 11 kiloliters of biodiesel in 2023, and due to glycerin being a byproduct of biodiesel, therefore an enormous amount of glycerin would have been produced as Indonesia produced biodiesel at an industrial anaerobic, and glycerin production was happening simultaneously with biodiesel production.
• Major Market Restraint – In 2023 crude glycerin prices fluctuated by over 20% with changing supply from feedstock, from vegetable oils, etc.
• Emerging Trends – There was a last demand increase of 15% year-on-year for demand of plant-based glycerin in the personal care/cosmetics sectors globally in 2023.
• Regional Leadership- In 2023 Asia Pacific accounted for 36.94% of the glycerin market with the largest producer and consumer being China.
• Competetive Landscape – Top producers include Wilmar International, Cargill, and ADM and produce more than 40% of the world's supply for refined glycerin.
• Market Segmentation – There were over 1,200 thousand tonnes of glycerin in the personal care segment that were used globally in 2023 which is one of the largest applications segments.
• Recent Development - In 2024, Argent Energy launched a technical-grade biobased glycerin product which increased the industrial chemical market with various thousands of tonnes of new capacity.

COVID-19 IMPACT

Glycerin Industry Had a positive Effect Due to increased glycerin demand in healthcare during COVID-19 Pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with the market experiencing higher-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. The sudden market growth reflected by the rise in CAGR is attributable to the market’s growth and demand returning to pre-pandemic levels.

For several reasons, the Glycerin Market exhibited a healthy trend due to COVID19. In general, glycerin was positively affected because it is a major ingredient in personal hygiene and pharmaceutical products. There was significant global demand for hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and personal hygiene products, therefore, glycerin was becoming critical to many formulations, ultimately leading to an increased demand for glycerin. (and an increased number of health-conscious individuals which ultimately increased the demand for health-based products related to COVID19).The result was an increase in production and the development of the supply chain because of this huge increase in global demand that resulted in a larger impact on the market. Glycerin's usage generally increased due to the increased use in the pharmaceutical sector related to cough syrup formulations and capsules. Health-conscious individuals opted for health-based products during a global pandemic. Generally, health-based products had an overall positive impact on the glycerin market, and had increased acceptance and appreciation for glycerin in common consumer products and medicines, all generated from the pandemic.

LATEST TREND

Market Growth Driven by Eco-Friendly Glycerin in Personal Care

The glycerin market is experiencing a shift towards eco-friendly and bio-based production methods, spurred by growing consumer preferences for natural ingredients, along with industry-wide sustainability initiatives. One of the trends is the rise of personal care and cosmetics applications of glycerin, which comprise the majority of the glycerin market—about 31% volume in 2024—because of the benefits of glycerin, including moisturizing benefits and skin-barrier properties. In particular, the growing demand for skin and haircare products is encouraging producers to focus on higher-purity plant-derived glycerin grown from renewable feedstocks. This trend is focally evident in the Asia‑Pacific region, where natural cosmetics and hygiene products are leading innovation and regional market dominance. Another factor is glycerin from biodiesel by-products is positioned to be central to sustainable glycerin production development to minimize waste, cost effectiveness, and increase new markets in green chemistry.

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GLYCERIN MARKET SEGMENTATION

By Type

Based on Type, the global market can be categorized into Technical Grade Glycerin, USP Grade Glycerin

• Technical Grade Glycerin: The antifreeze, resins, paints, and chemical intermediates industries utilize Technical grade glycerin. Technical grade glycerin can be used in many applications because it was produced to an acceptable level of pureness, but has only some degree of unacceptable impurities that removed it from a use of food or medical standards. The automotive, construction, and textiles sectors utilize technical grade glycerin a lot. The price and availability is very applicable for mass production.
• USP Grade Glycerin: (United States Pharmacopeia) is the most purified grade, utilized in food, pharmaceuticals, and personal care. It passed the rigorous testing of safety, quality, and compositional suitability to be safe for ingestion and skin application. The market is driven by the quality of ingredient required for syrups, capsules, topical creams, salted nuts, and other processed food applications. The global demand for USP grade glycerin, as is the general trend, is increasing due to an emphasis by consumers on health, hygiene, and clean labeling.

By Downstream Industry

Based on Downstream industry, the global market can be categorized into online sales, convenience stores, hypermarkets, and supermarkets

• Food and Beverage: Beyond serving as a humectant, sweetener, and preservative in food and beverage applications, glycerin also offers functionality in moisture retention, texture modulation, and shelf-life extension in baked goods, confectionary and beverage applications. The growing demand for processed and convenience foods has contributed to the upward trend of glycerin usage in this sector . Furthermore, the shift for more clean-label and plant-based products is also driving further usage of glycerin in food formulations.
• Pharmaceuticals: Glycerin's soothing, moisturizing and stabilizing characteristics have established glycerin as a valuable component in the pharmaceutical industry with products such as syrups, lozenges, capsules and topical products. Additionally, as a solvent and lubricant, glycerin has many applications in the broad set of formulations from cough syrups to laxative formulations. Increased health awareness and the demand for over-the-counter drugs have led to greater use of glycerin in this sector. In general, glycerin's status as a generally regarded as safe and non-toxic compound adds to its attraction as an excipient in drug and drug delivery systems.
• Cosmetics: Glycerin is experiencing tremendous growth across the personal care and cosmetics category due to usage in these categories e.g., moisturizers, lotion, shampoo, and toothpaste. Glycerin is a naturally occurring component of our skin, a humectant ((creates an environment and pulls moisture to the skin) and naturally increases hydration and softness. The thin clean-beauty movement and customers (or consumer) awareness of natural and skin supportive ingredients with engage with are also increasing, and where engagement with is occurring; it has Rogers innovation adoption characters, glycerin is being adopted in the cosmetic category. Glycerin is present in many products that enable customers to have complicated routines with many products. Cosmetics has become the fastest growing products for glycerin.
• Industrial: Glycerin has been used historically, in many industries for a variety of purposes including, antifreeze, plastics, resins, and even explosives. Glycerin is ecologically neutral versatile, and completely biodegradable and, therefore, effective as an eco-friendly alternative in many manufacturing processes. The need for green chemicals and bio-based raw materials has opened up the market for glycerin as an effective material in automotive, construction, and other sectors. The sustainable trend is likely to endure and so will the industrial use of glycerin.

MARKET DYNAMICS

Market dynamics include driving and restraining factors, opportunities and challenges stating the market conditions.

Driving Factor

Market Growth Fueled by Rising Demand for Natural Glycerin Products

Another market driver is the increased awareness and use of glycerin in personal care, skin care and hair care products. Glycerin is very appealing to consumers for personal care because it is natural and a humectant that retains moisture in the skin. This is exactly why glycerin must the majority ingredient in lotions, creams and cleansers. Moreover, while consumers are interested in the types of ingredients in their skin care products and the naturalness and nestle scope of safety, there is also a real connection to moving away from petroleum-based capitalism and looking toward bio-based glycerin. This is happening even as developing economies in Asia-Pacific and North America are in transition. In relation to the prior paragraph, this imperfect world contains staggering evidence related to organic vs premium product demand, and appears to be increasingly calling for both ultra-high pricing cost and ultra-low pricing.

Market Growth Driven by Pharmaceutical Demand and Glycerin’s Medicinal Uses

Glycerin's safe, stable, and functioning properties have enabled it to be widely incorporated in both prescription and over-the-counter products. In dosage forms, glycerin is utilized as an active ingredient in cough syrup formulations, capsules, suppositories and topical products as lotions for skin care products. As the appeal for more accessible medicines rises, and global health consciousness increases, the demand by pharmaceutical companies for glycerin has also grown. Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the familiarity and acceptance of glycerin as a medicinal and hygienic medicine significantly increased. As consumers will be making more discretionary purchases of personal hygiene medicines, it spurred new sales of various medically and hygiene-oriented medicines and it created general long-term sustained growth in the market.

Restraining Factor

Market Growth Limited by Biodiesel Dependency and Synthetic Glycerin Competition

A significant constraint for the glycerin market relating to both availability and price of raw materials - particularly through biodiesel production, is that with much of glycerin receiving biodiesel through production as the by-product, this factor essentially means that the availability of glycerin will likely slow if biodiesel production slows as well. This has one’s volatility on the glycerin market pricing when availability is primarily based on the production of biodiesel. Further, because of the volatility of glycerin they cannot plan for profitability due to inconsistency in the production, as a whole. Additionally, any ability to grow the glycerin market will be tempered by the fact that synthetic options to glycerin exist in some industrial options - but only to the level of competition being present in the market, creating hindrance to growth capability.

Market Growth Driven by Rising Demand for Green Glycerin Solutions

Opportunity

On the other hand, a tangible opportunity for Glycerin Market growth is the upward trend towards an increased usage of glycerin in bio & green products.  As they shift towards more sustainable practices by incorporating the use of renewable resources in production, glycerin is becoming more sought after in the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food industries.  The increase in demand for green chemicals and biodegradable products has inspired more innovation in, and investment in glycerin utilization.  There will also be continued research and development on glycerin for bioplastics and renewable energy storage, that opens other channels for growth and expansion.  All of these factors create a potential empowerment for long term growth in the market.

Market Growth Challenged by Oversupply and Crude Glycerin Price Pressure

Challenge

One of the major obstacles for the Glycerin Market is the oversupply from unpredictable biodiesel production levels. In times of significant biodiesel production levels, the availability of crude glycerin at marketplace due to, excessive raw taken off put significant downward pressure on the product price, dethroning profit margins for producers. This will create an undesirable cycle causing companies to not be able to efficiently run their operations on an ongoing sustainable level. Furthermore, when companies want to market crude glycerin as value-added products, they have to distil crude glycerin to get a higher-quality product added cost and complexity.

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GLYCERIN MARKET REGIONAL INSIGHTS

• North America

Market Growth in North America Driven by Biodiesel and Industries

The Glycerin Market in North America is dominant as the personal care, pharmaceutical, and food processing industries are all established. North America has access to advanced production technologies and demand, and consumers are looking quality of the bio-base glycerin. A major driving factor in the United States Glycerin Market is increased consumption of final products in the cosmetic, healthcare products, and packaged food industries. To support Glycerin Market growth, the U.S. has large scale biodiesel production levels to provide a steady supply of glycerin. Developing technologies; and growing regulation regarding sustainable ingredients, North America will continue to create an impact for the global market.

• Europe

Market Growth in Europe Supported by Sustainability and Biodiesel Supply

A large proportion of the Glycerin Market takes place in Europe based on the values of sustainability and green chemistry. The bio-diesel industry is one of the most established industries in Europe so bio-based glycerin will be in steady supply in this region. There is also growing consumption of glycerin in personal care, pharmaceuticals, and food products in Europe, subject to strict quality and safety regulations. Underpinned by bio-based product evaluation and development in Europe, and a steady regulatory environment, the markets should develop further.

• Asia

Market Growth in Asia Driven by Production, Demand, And Affordability

Asia has already had an important role in the Glycerin Market share as, it has one of the largest base industries of manufacturing, and a base of demand for personal care, food, and pharmaceutical consumer-based industries and increased. There are significant production and exporting facilities for glycerin production and supply chains in countries like China, India, and Indonesia. These economies are fortunate that not many supply substitutes exist as they have access to many of the raw materials needed for production as well as low cost production costs. Rapid urban population growth causes behaviour patterns of disposable income going to disposable items which has increased consumption growth for many glycerin-based products. Furthermore, the biodiesel industry continues to consume resources as it grows in southeast Asia, but for the purposes of bio-based glycerin, this continually contributes to the supply.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Market Growth Driven by Key Players' Innovation, Sustainability, and Expansion Efforts

The Glycerin Market is being significantly influenced by key industry players who are prioritizing innovation, forming partnerships, and taking their products global. Multinational leaders, such as KLK OLEO, IOI Corporation Berhad, Croda International and Oleon NV, are committing significant capital to R&D for bio-based glycerin with specifications and purity levels to suit various applications. They’ve also been committed to sustainable sourcing and environmentally responsible manufacturing practices with the intent on meeting the mounting consumer demand for natural products. They have also been pursuing mergers & acquisitions, increasing and expanding capacity, and consolidating, streamlining & developing their value chain models to grow market share. They are also actively innovating customized glycerin resulting in potential to drive broad market growth across the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and industrial sectors.

List of Top Glycerin Companies

• KLK OLEO (Malaysia)
• IOI Corporation Berhad (Malaysia)
• Louis Dreyfus Company (France)
• Oleon NV (France)
• Croda International (U.K.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

May 2024: A Belgian oleochemical producer named Oleon introduced a new product line of pharmaceutical-grade refined glycerin under the name GlyPure Med. Oleon designed the product for use in sensitive formulations such as cough syrups, skin ointments and eye drops. The product launch demonstrates Oleon’s intention to expand its pharmaceutical ingredients line and cater to the increased global demand for high purity glycerin-based solutions. The launch of GlyPure Med was made at the CPhI North America 2024 trade show highlighting Oleon’s strategic entry into the North American pharmaceutical excipient market.

REPORT COVERAGE        

The study encompasses a comprehensive SWOT analysis and provides insights into future developments within the market. It examines various factors that contribute to the growth of the market, exploring a wide range of market categories and potential applications that may impact its trajectory in the coming years. The analysis takes into account both current trends and historical turning points, providing a holistic understanding of the market's components and identifying potential areas for growth.

This research report examines the segmentation of the market by using both quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a thorough analysis that also evaluates the influence of strategic and financial perspectives on the market. Additionally, the report's regional assessments consider the dominant supply and demand forces that impact market growth. The competitive landscape is detailed meticulously, including shares of significant market competitors. The report incorporates unconventional research techniques, methodologies and key strategies tailored for the anticipated frame of time. Overall, it offers valuable and comprehensive insights into the market dynamics professionally and understandably.