Global Soap Noodles Market is Segmented By Source(Vegetable Oil and Tallow), By Process(Saponification Route and Fatty Acid Route), By Application(Personal Hygiene Soap, Laundry Soap, Multi-Purpose Soap and Others), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2024-2031
Market Overview:
The global soap noodles market is estimated to reach at a high CAGR during the forecast period 2024-2031
Soap noodles are small noodle-like oil-based products. A typical blend of the product comprises varying percentages of palm oil and kernel or coconut oil such as 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, and 90:10. However, 80% palm oil and 20% palm kernel or coconut oil is commonly used in industries owing to the proper balance of lather, rate of cleaning ability, and hardness. It is primarily used as a base material in the production of household and toilet soaps along with the additives like pigments, distinctive fragrance, and others.
They are generally made from a sodium hydroxide reaction with vegetable oil-based fatty acids or tallow-based fatty acids. These materials are used as a feedstock for producing soap. Its consistent composition, high quality, exceptional detergency, ease of application and bio-compatible nature are the important trends and factors influencing the market positively.
Market Dynamics:
Growing preference of consumers towards hygiene and personal cleanliness
Maintaining cleanliness is of utmost importance to reduce occurrence and spread of diseases caused due to unhygienic practices. Washing off infectious microorganisms from hands helps to limit the spread of germs. Prevalence of infectious diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and SARS, among others, can be significantly reduced by following proper hygiene. Rising demand for personal hygiene and laundry soap bars from the household sector is the key factor driving the market growth. Moreover, rising demand for soap noodles from the soap manufacturing industries owing to its affordability, cleaning efficiency, proper balance of lather, and hardness is the crucial factor propelling the market growth. The plentiful availability of palm and kernel oil acts as an opportunity for soap noodles manufacturers. By using different ratios of combinations new toilet soaps, cleaning soaps, as well as, bathing soaps are being manufactured by the companies.
However, rising popularity of liquid soaps and shower gels may hinder the market growth over the coming few years. Reports suggest that a person, on an average, uses over 1 L or 15 mL of liquid shower gel per shower. This is likely to bring down the demand for soap bars globally.
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Market Segmentation:
Vegetable oils segment is expected to hold highest market revenue share in the year 2020
Vegetable oil segment, comprised majorly by palm oil and palm kernel, held the largest share in 2020. Developing countries in Asia Pacific region are highly dependent on palm oil for soap noodle production. The presence of the significant palm oil manufacturing countries in the region namely Indonesia and Malaysia have made easier feedstock availability, which is the major factor attributing the industry growth. Additionally, countries such as China and Japan also use animal fat for soap noodles production in the region. On the other hand, Tallow is a common source to produce soap mainly in North and Latin American countries. The abundant availability of tallow at a low cost in these regions is fueling the soap noodles market segment growth.
Based on manufacturing process, saponification held highest market revenue share in the year 2020. The most commonly used method for manufacturing soap noodles is saponification route. Saponification process involves the conversion of oil or fat into soap noodles in the presence of an aqueous alkali. This process is highly preferred over fatty acid route owing to its operational ease and inexpensive nature. Soap noodles produced from this process are associated with good perfume retention and excellent combination of oils. More than 70% of manufacturers of soap noodles commonly invest in the saponification route.
Geographical Penetration:
Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region during the forecast period
In Asia, the product is mainly manufactured from palm oil blended with either palm kernel oil or coconut oil. In China, the product is made from animal fats (tallow), palm oil, or a blend of both. Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest manufacturers for the product over the forecast period owing to the rapid development in the soap noodles industry. India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines have rising demand for PFA and POS products owing to abundant availability of palm and other vegetable oils. In addition, the product is growing much faster in developing countries including India and China and is expected to fuel soap noodles market over the forecast period. Currently, Indonesia and Malaysia are the largest sources of soap noodles based on palm oils, which turns out to be effective in catering to various requirements of soap industries. The increasing awareness about the importance of hygiene and continuous expansion of various end-user industries like the healthcare sector and hospitality industry are some of the mentionable factors supporting the growth of the market. The continuous growing demand for handcrafted soaps is another mentionable factor, supporting the growth of the market in the region. According to Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Malaysia’s palm oil plantation area reached 5.85 million hectares in 2018 which showed an increase of 0.7% since the previous year. Moreover, the MPOB also states that Malaysian export of oil palm products in 2018 accounted for over 24 million tons that showed a 3.8% rise from the previous year. Thus, dynamics shall subsequently boost the soap noodles market share as Malaysia is one of the major suppliers of soap noodle feedstock.
Competitive Landscape:
The global soap noodles market is fragmented with players such as KLK Oleo, IOI Oleochemicals, Jocil Limited, Wilmar International, and Olivia Impex Private Limited among others. The companies have focused on various strategies like new product launches, partnerships, acquisitions, and mergers for retaining their existing customer base and further increase their market share. Soap noodles market has been undergoing tremendous transformations and upgradations lately, eventually bolstering the expansion of the business space. This growth can be attributed to the recent advancements in the market by several manufacturers. For instance, A UK based specialty ingredients firm- Stephenson on 2019 announced the launch of its ‘groundbreaking new soap noodle’- Syndopal. According to official sources, the newly introduced addition is considered to be ultra-mild, 5.5 pH base, and soap free noodle that taps into trends around the balanced pH and soap free formulation. Major players like Wilmar, KLK, Musim Mas started producing soap from fatty acids moving from vegetable oils. Hindustan Unilever has also started sourcing soap noodles made from fatty acids from Indonesia for their white soaps, which are of higher purity. Evyap the top soap manufacturer has set up a soap noodle producing unit in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia to manufacture soap noodles from fatty acids and not tallow or vegetable oils
COVID-19 Impact: Positive impact on the soap noodles market
Given that soaps are an intrinsic need for the maintenance of proper hygiene, their elevating demand during COVID-19 health crisis is expected to boost the soap noodles market over the forecast period. The dreaded coronavirus has raised significant concerns amongst people which resulted into a dramatic rise in the soap demand. According to Economic Times, India, it was observed that prolific rise in soaps had kept various companies on toes to fulfill the surging requirements. In this regard, a consumer health and hygiene brand- RB- which is highly acclaimed for its Dettol brand- was seen ramping up the soap production to meet sudden spike in demand post the coronavirus outbreak. Despite stringent enforcement of lockdown in wake of the COVID-19 situation in March, the company kept working under all precautionary measures to step up its manufacturing activities, thus accelerating the demand for soap noodles.
