Table of Contents
Overview
New York, NY – October 22, 2025 – The global glycerine market is projected to reach USD 4.7 billion by 2034, rising from USD 2.7 billion in 2024 at a 5.7% CAGR. Asia-Pacific maintained a 45.30% share, driven by its expanding personal care and pharmaceutical sectors.
Glycerine, a tri-hydric alcohol with strong hygroscopic properties, serves as a key ingredient across cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and industrial uses due to its moisturizing, solvent, and sweetening capabilities.
Market expansion is supported by increasing demand for personal care and medicinal applications, where glycerine aids in hydration, formulation stability, and texture enhancement. Additionally, the biodiesel sector continues to generate large volumes of crude glycerine, improving its availability from renewable sources. Industrial applications in plastics, resins, and chemical intermediates further widen its commercial relevance.
Future opportunities include technological advancements in purification, production of glycerine-based chemical derivatives, and integration into sustainable manufacturing systems. A growing shift toward circular economy practices strengthens this outlook. In 2024, AmphiStar secured €6 million in funding to develop a waste-based biosurfactant range, highlighting the trend of leveraging glycerine and related compounds to create eco-friendly, bio-derived materials that reinforce sustainability and downstream value creation.
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Key Takeaways
- The Global Glycerine Market is expected to be worth around USD 4.7 billion by 2034, up from USD 2.7 billion in 2024, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2025 to 2034.
- In 2024, USP Grade Glycerine held a 59.7% share, driven by its purity in pharmaceutical formulations.
- Personal care applications captured a 31.6% share of the glycerine market, supported by rising demand for moisturizing and skincare products.
- The Asia-Pacific market reached a strong valuation of around USD 1.2 billion.
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Report Scope
| Report Features | Description |
|---|---|
| Market Value (2024) | USD 2.7 Billion |
| Forecast Revenue (2034) | USD 4.7 Billion |
| CAGR (2025-2034) | 5.7% |
| Segments Covered | By Grade (USP Grade, Technical Grade), By Application (Personal Care, Food and Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, Polyether Polyols, Chemical Intermediate, Others) |
| Competitive Landscape | Wilmar International Ltd, Cargill Inc., Emery Oleochemicals, IOI Corporation Berhad, Kao Corporation, Godrej Industries Limited, Croda International Plc, P&G Chemicals, KLK OLEO, CREMER OLEO GmbH & Co. KG, Others |
Key Market Segments
By Grade Analysis
In 2024, the USP Grade segment dominated the Glycerine Market, accounting for a 59.7% share in the By Grade category. This leadership stems from its superior purity and compliance with strict quality standards, making it ideal for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food applications. Widely used in medicines, skincare, and food additives, USP Grade glycerine offers exceptional moisture retention, a smooth texture, and non-toxic characteristics.
These features enhance product safety and performance, driving its preference among manufacturers and consumers. Rising global awareness of health, hygiene, and product quality has amplified its adoption, solidifying USP Grade glycerine’s dominant market position in 2024 as the most trusted and versatile grade for high-quality formulations.
By Application Analysis
In 2024, the Personal Care segment led the Glycerine Market by application, commanding a 31.6% share. This dominance is attributed to glycerine’s vital role in skincare, haircare, and cosmetic products, where its humectant and moisturizing properties enhance hydration, softness, and smoothness. It is widely incorporated into lotions, creams, soaps, and shampoos, ensuring better texture and lasting freshness.
The growing consumer shift toward natural, safe, and skin-friendly ingredients has significantly fueled its demand. Additionally, glycerine’s compatibility with various cosmetic formulations and its ability to improve product stability and shelf life have cemented its leadership, making it an essential component in modern personal care innovations throughout 2024.
Regional Analysis
In 2024, Asia-Pacific dominated the global Glycerine Market, holding a 45.30% share valued at approximately USD 1.2 billion. This regional strength stems from high demand across the personal care, pharmaceutical, and food sectors, with key growth markets including China, India, Japan, and South Korea.
Rapid industrialization and increasing adoption of bio-based chemicals have further boosted production and consumption. North America maintained steady progress, driven by expanding use of glycerine in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, supported by advanced healthcare systems. Europe emphasized sustainable and refined glycerine applications within its food and personal care industries.
Meanwhile, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are emerging as promising regions, supported by growing manufacturing capacities and rising consumer preference for natural, safe ingredients, reinforcing glycerine’s global expansion momentum.
Top Use Cases
- Skin & hair hydration: Glycerine acts as a strong humectant: it draws moisture into the outer skin layer and holds it there, helping skin stay soft and smooth. It also helps maintain the skin barrier and reduce dryness.
- Food & beverage additive: In foods, glycerine prevents drying out, adds sweetness (though less than sugar), improves texture in items like dried fruit, cakes or bars, and helps blends of oil & water mix better.
- Pharmaceutical ingredient; Glycerine is used in medicines as a humectant, solvent and lubricant. It appears in syrups, tablets, ointments and even some eye treatments thanks to its safe, viscous liquid nature.
- Industrial lubricant/antifreeze/plasticizer: Because glycerine has a high freezing point depression and is non-toxic, it finds use as an antifreeze agent and lubricant in metalworking, refrigeration, rubber and other industrial applications.
- Chemical intermediate / raw material for derivatives: Glycerine can be converted into other useful chemicals (e.g., esters, polyols) and thus acts as a building block in producing resins, plastics, or bio-based feedstocks.
- Personal & household product solvent or texture enhancer: In soaps, shampoos, toothpast,e or other personal care items, glycerine improves texture, smoothness and stability: it helps the product feel good, prevents dryness, and blends with other ingredients easily.
Recent Developments
- In August 2025, Kao opened a new production plant in Pasadena, Texas (USA) for tertiary amines on 22 Aug 2025 (capacity ~20,000 tons per year).
- In July 2025, Godrej Industries announced a plan to invest over ₹ 750 crore to expand its Chemicals business. As part of this, their glycerine capacity is set to double with an additional 24,000 tons per annum of output. The investment aims to strengthen their presence in oleochemicals, surfactants, and bio-based chemicals.
- In February 2025, Wilmar’s Results Presentation noted the oleochemicals segment (which includes refined glycerine) is a key part of their Feed & Industrial Products business, and they are continuing to build capacity and refine product mixes.
- In May 2024, IOI’s oleochemical subsidiaries—namely IOI Oleochemical Industries Berhad and IOI Pan‑Century Oleochemicals Sdn Bhd—successfully implemented the SAP S4/HANA Private Cloud Edition at their operations.
Conclusion
The glycerine market is steadily evolving with growing demand from personal care, pharmaceutical, and food sectors. Its versatility, biodegradability, and moisture-retaining properties make it an essential ingredient across multiple industries. Rising awareness of sustainable and bio-based materials is also expanding its adoption. With advancements in purification and renewable sourcing, glycerine continues to gain significance as a key component in eco-friendly formulations, enhancing product performance while supporting global sustainability goals.
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