Sophorolipids Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

The global sophorolipids market is expected to witness growth on account of the rising importance of bio-based chemicals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sophorolipids are derived from natural sources and expected to be alternative to petrochemical products such as detergents and pesticides. The effectiveness of sophorolipids to break down oil into droplets is expected to increase the market penetration as oil dispersants. The growing importance of cleaning agents for oil spills in the energy sector on account of reducing exposure to marine life located in offshore is expected to have a positive impact on the market. Increasing deployment of sophorolipids for bioremediation applications in the agriculture industry on account of the effective removal of oil and pesticides from the soil is expected to have a positive impact on the market. Rising application of sophorolipids in manufacturing biopesticides on account of effectively removing pathogens is expected to have a favorable impact on the market. Increasing deployment in the pharmaceuticals industry owing to its antiviral and immune regulatory properties is expected to boost the market over the forecast period. Excellent biosurfactant properties have resulted in the rising popularity of sophorolipids to manufacture personal care products such as shampoos and deodorants. Sophorolipids possess antifungal properties, which are expected to increase its application to manufacturing anti-dandruff shampoos and bacteriostatic agents. This trend is expected to fuel demand over the next seven years.

Sophorolipids are commercially manufactured from vegetable oil and glucose by the addition of anon-pathogenic yeast, Candida bombicola. The rising application of vegetable oil in the food & beverage industry is expected to have a negative impact on the market on account of the low availability of raw materials over the forecast period. Growing application of rhamnolipids, mannosylerythritol lipids, and trehalose lipids is expected to hinder the market growth. High cost associated with extraction and distillation of bio-based surfactants as compared to petrochemical counterparts is anticipated to be a major challenge for the market players.

Asia Pacific is expected to be a major market on account of the growing agriculture industry in India and China amid the implementation of advanced agricultural technology. Favorable regulatory policies coupled with low production costs in India and China as compared to Europe and the U.S. have resulted in promoting the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, sophorolipids are expected to find the application in the manufacturing of antiviral and antimicrobial drugs is expected to have a positive impact on the market. Gaining popularity of organic personal care products in Japan and South Korea in light of new product launches is expected to increase market penetration in the near future. The increasing importance of the halal standard for the production of food products in the Middle East is foreseen to fuel the demand for biopesticides such as sophorolipids and is expected to have a favorable impact on the market. The robust manufacturing base of crude oil and natural gas in Saudi Arabia and Russia is anticipated to fuel the sophorolipids market demand in an oil spill and bioremediation over the forecast period.

The rising importance of health safety and cleanliness in Africa is expected to play a crucial role in enhancing production output in the pharmaceutical and cleaning industry which is expected to fuel sophorolipids demand. In January 2014, the European Commission launched the Horizon 2020 Strategy, aimed at developing a sustainable bio-economy in Europe by 2020. This is expected to result in increasing consumption and production of bio-based products and is expected to have a favorable impact on the sophorolipids market. The growing importance of healthy food consumption in the U.S. has resulted in the increasing production of organic food products in the region. This trend is expected to fuel the demand-based pesticides in the farming of organic crops and is expected to have a favorable impact on the market. Increasing production of shale gas in the U.S. is expected to increase the availability of petrochemicals which is expected to be a challenging factor for the market over the forecast period. The implementation of agroecology farming technology in countries of Latin America such as Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Mexico is expected to provide a constant supply of raw material for sophorolipids production.

Key players in the sophorolipids market include Saraya, Ecover, MG Intobio, Soliance, and Cognis. In February 2014, Royal DSM announced a collaboration with SyntheZyme LLC to develop and manufacture a range of sophorolipids, based on SyntheZymes biosurfactants platform.