The covid-19 pandemic has been replaced by Monkeypox. Soaring inflation has given way to worries about global recession. And just last month, came reports that Chinese consumers are pessimistic about the future, leading them to cut back on spending—an ominous sign for the world’s No. 2 economy.

And yet, multinational surfactant suppliers have weathered the storm; launching new product and securing inventory in an uncertain world. The global surfactant market is growing 4.9% a year and will reach nearly $58 billion by 2028. Home care accounts for about 43% of the category, followed by industrial & institutional (I&I) cleaning applications at 30%. A distant third? Personal care, which accounts for about 6% of sales, according to industry estimates.

But whatever the application, more finished product formulators seek environmentally-friendly alternatives to traditional ingredients. Water aside, surfactants often account for the lion’s share of a formula, whether it be a laundry detergent, household cleaner, face wash or shampoo. As a result, more companies seek to replace traditional SLES and related ingredients with ethoxylated ingredients with biobased alternatives. In fact, industry experts agree that sustainability is impacting every aspect of the household and personal products industry.

Outside the formulation lab, suppliers are grappling with a host of issues, including sourcing and inflation.

Amita Gupta, VP-business management home care and industrial solutions care chemicals, North America, BASF, said supply chain have remained about the same during the past few months with many gaps in reliability and overall performance. According to Gupta, transportation-wise, driver availability continues to remain a challenge with gaps in the number of trained personnel in the industry. At the same time, fewer new drivers are entering the business to support the domestic market. But there is some good news.

“Sea freight reliability has recently shown signs of improvement, especially for imports into the US and with relief of covid restrictions out of Asia, but exports continue to be hampered by port congestion,” he said. “Our customers’ input is critical to our continuous improvement, and we are hearing positive feedback despite the current supply chain challenges.”

To address those challenges, BASF leverages its relationships with raw material suppliers, carriers and warehousing to improve its customers’ experience. For example, BASF contracted with select carriers to provide dedicated drivers for specific problematic delivery routes aimed at improving service.

“Based on feedback from our customers, this has proven to be quite successful,” said Gupta. “This is just one of the many ways BASF has risen to the challenge of supply chain problems in our current environment.”

Caren Dres-Hajeski, VP-personal care and marketing, Acme-Hardesty, pointed out that supply chain issues have been a problem for years. To alleviate them, Acme-Hardesty has enacted alternative plans, such as bringing material in from Malaysia in break bulk shipments.

“However, as a whole, I think there has been some slight relief over the past few months with availability of containers coming out of Asia,” she said. “We are certainly not out of the woods, as lockdowns, war, and demand will continue to play a role in supply chain issues for the foreseeable future.”

In uncertain times, suppliers must be able to pivot. According to Sebastien Massard, global director of strategic marketing, Vantage Personal Care, since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, Vantage has favored an agile approach and has worked very closely with its suppliers and customers to reduce the impact of raw material shortages. To protect its production of surfactants, Vantage Leuna, in Germany, has qualified new alternative sources for key raw materials and secured its supply with contracts.

“We have worked very closely with our customers to better understand their forecast, and thanks to a robust sales, inventory and operations planning processes, we have been able to prepare for the erratic logistic conditions that have impacted the personal care industry and get our supply-chain under control,” Massard explained.

Vantage has also completed investment at its Leuna plant to produce its Liponic EG-1 (Glycereth-26) humectant. The new production line enables Vantage to better serve its European customers with shortened lead times, increased local availability and improved service levels.

Getting Better on supply chain issues?

Some industry observers insist supply chains issues are improving. SeYoung Kim, head of marketing North America, Care Solutions, Evonik, told Happi that although there are exceptions, generally, supply chain issues have improved over the past couple of months as the pull between raw material feedstock and surfactant demand has become more balanced.

To alleviate any issues, potential supply chain constraints are considered early in the innovation process when new surfactant products are brought to the market. 

“Evonik’s latest surfactant offering, Tomakleen X-Series uses regionally sourced feedstocks and leverages supply agreements to reduce the potential for supply chain disruptions,” she explained.

Neil Burns, president and CEO of P2 Science, agreed that shortages have abated and supply is a bit better. He senses restocking is underway and demand is getting back to a normal cadence.

“However, this is my little corner of the world with P2. I am really not sure it is typical for the industry,” he admitted. “I hear that freight is easier and cheaper than a few months ago and that has been a real thorn in the industry’s side. I also hear that at the end of the supply chain—at the consumer products level, particularly laundry and personal care—there is concern about recession and slowing demand and cheapening demand as folks switch to private label from branded products. This means lower surfactants demand and is help ease supply chain pressures of the last months.”

At least one consumer survey backs Burns’ assessment. According to Vericast’s 2022 CPG and Grocery Trend Watch survey, 76% of Gen X respondents reported they are buying more private brand products to save money. Overall, Vericast found that 61% of shoppers said that one of their biggest challenges is rising prices and almost one-third are regularly switching products because their preferred product is not available.

Costs of Course

Rising costs affects everyone—suppliers, marketers and consumers. Acme-Hardesty has taken on a significant amount of cost increases over the past two years, and unfortunately, has had to pass these along to customers, admitted Deanna Mulicka, technical marketing manager.

“We have a very dynamic business and we have done our best to control these increases. The costs in shipping rates and demurrage were unimaginable, prior to the pandemic, but we have done everything we can to maintain security of supply to our customers and try to mitigate some of these sometimes very unexpected increases by managing our inventory, adding additional dray carriers, shippers, and adding new shipping methods into the mix,” she said. “Our customers have been dealing with these increases from everywhere, and while no-one wants to see the high level of increases that we have seen, being able to receive product in a timely fashion has taken precedent over price.”

Gupta of BASF noted that the past 18 months have been challenging due to a range of issues, including freezes, force majeures, domestic and transcontinental logistical constraints, supply-demand imbalance and geopolitical conflict. As a result, suppliers have faced unprecedented cost increases—from raw materials to energy to labor.

“While we do our best to mitigate these increases and find cost efficiencies, the magnitude has been so significant that we have had to pass them on to our customers,” he said. “And they have been accepting of these; we explain the market dynamics to our customers, and they understand the drivers and are seeing them from other suppliers as well.”

Soaring prices impact every sector of the economy. The annual inflation rate for the US was 8.5% for the 12 months ended July 2022. That’s high, but not as high as the 9.1% inflation rate recorded a month earlier. That June rate was the highest since November 1981, according to the US Labor Department. The next inflation update is scheduled to be released September 13. Analysts expect the US rate of inflation to continue declining. They cite lower energy prices as the primary reason for the decline.

What’s Trending?

Soaring prices aren’t the only thing impacting the surfactant market. Water often accounts for the bulk of any household or personal care formula. But Kathy Maka, executive director, R&D, RITA, says surfactant manufacturers are adopting quickly to the sustainability trend for low- or no-water products. Many offer powder and highly concentrated versions. 

“RITA Corporation has developed several surfactant chassis that are compatible with zero waste packaging initiatives,” she explained. “These natural, highly concentrated surfactant liquids contain less than 10% water. They can be used as a starting point for any cleansing system in personal and home care.”

Procter & Gamble understands the merits of waterless formulations. Its EC30 project includes a range of household formulas. For example, EC30 toilet cleaner swatches are septic-tank safe. Consumers just drop the EC swatch in the bowl; wait for the swatch to dissolve and foam; give the bowl a brush to remove any solid stains; and flush. EC laundry detergent swatches promise to clean whites, colors and delicates while keeping colors bright. The swatches are available in fragrance and fragrance-free variants. EC30 personal care offerings include shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand wash.

“P&G has some incredible products out there under the EC30 brand,” said Burns. “It’s so ridiculous that so much water is trucked around the country just as a vehicle for shampoo, soap and detergent.”

Burns said that he expects to see “much more innovation in the no-water category, including some products that we at P2 are working on. It’s an obvious sustainability win. There’s room to innovate around performance and consumer experience and consumers are primed for it now. So, look out for tons of activity by majors and Indies in this category.”

Waterless beauty is an environmental cause for some companies but a practical issue for others. Acme-Hardesty’s Moldable Cleansing Shower Dough formulation delivers frothy, fragrant bubbles in a waterless format. It can be used as a shampoo or a body wash with a small amount providing mountains of suds.

Massard of Vantage agreed that interest in solid formulations, with either no or low water, is stimulating innovation at brands.

“Formulators are looking at systems that can quickly turn to lotions or creams as soon as water is added, and then create a delightful experience upon application and rinse-off,” he explained. “This creates renewed interest for solid surfactants with higher active concentration that can elevate the sensory characteristics of formulations.”

Vantage’s Metaupon taurates are technologies widely used in face cleansers and shampoos because of their strong foaming properties, mildness and high compatibility in many types of formulations, making them easy to use, according to Massard. They are great sulfate-free alternatives for products targeting sensitive skin, or tear-free formulations. They also convey a subtle sense of premium quality in formulations due to the soft and luxurious lather they typically generate.

Ashland has launched a set of eco-friendly waterless formulations for home care that combine improved consumer experience with superior performance, according to Kunal Kapsime, global marketing director, home care, Ashland.

“Waterless formulations have been gaining popularity among eco-conscious consumers as they reduce water demand in formula, reduce carbon emissions during shipping, and minimize packaging waste by enabling use of alternative packaging, such as paper,” Kapsime noted. “Such formulations can incorporate alternate cleaning polymers, anti-soil redeposition agents and wetting agents that can allow reduction of surfactant levels.”

But whenever a substantial change is made to a formula, such as eliminating water, it has repercussions. For example, BASF’s Gupta noted that since the surfactant makes up more of the formulation, the 1,4-dioxane content, carbon footprint and safety hazards, to name a few, become magnified in concentrated formations.

As a result, changes impact available choices, processing changes and new surfactant design. For example, some product constraints may limit surfactant choice; i.e., renewable sourced, specific surfactant types can’t be used.

At the same time, process modification may be necessary to produce a drier raw material that works in a waterless system. Finally, new surfactant design will be based on the targeted performance, form and delivery of the final product.

“For example, there are currently limited nonionic surfactants that are solid and have good surface cleaning performance,” he said.

Kim of Evonik pointed to Mintel research that found 39% of US consumers are interested in refillable bottles for hard surface cleaners. That translates into more concentrated formulations in pods, paper or readily biodegradable packaging.

“There are still untapped areas for refill brands to explore fully, such as the impact on energy and water consumption, but formulators cannot rely on the environmental aspects of their products alone—efficacy and simplicity of formulation are key,” said Kim.

BASF has its own environmentally-friendly new product introductions. Dehypound HDG is a moderately low-foaming, nonionic surfactant for heavy duty cleaning and degreasing for I&I cleaning applications. According to BASF, this versatile surfactant blend works across many soils and applications and can be used to formulate across pH and temperature ranges. It is compatible with anionic, cationic and amphoteric surfactants, and due to its high active level, is compatible with concentrated formulations. It is listed on the EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients list and Cleangredients, is readily biodegradable and contains less than 1 ppm of 1,4-dioxane.

Dehypound M is a biobased, moderately high-foaming nonionic surfactant for cleaning in I&I applications. It has low-film and low-streak performance, and provides powerful cleaning without the use of solvents. It is listed on the EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients list and Cleangredients, and is readily biodegradable and 71% biobased.

Green is best word to describe the latest surfactant offerings from Acme-Hardesty. Green CAPB-B is billed as innovative amphoteric surfactant derived from babassu oil. It is rich in fatty acids, allowing actives in formulation to be better absorbed. It has excellent emollient properties and can be used in clear or opaque formulations. Green Behenic is a high-performing surfactant with excellent conditioning and senatorial profile. According to Acme-Hardesty, it is well suited for leave-on and rinse-off conditioners, serums, conditioning masks, styling treatments, and more. Finally, Green Cocoamphoactate-B is a natural amphoteric surfactant that produces a stable, creamy foam with low irritability. It acts to improve foaming and detergency power of formulations. It has applications in hair, face, and body cleansing products, including milder formulations.

Another trend is the move to private label by consumers. In uncertain economic times, consumers opt for private label formulas.

Burns of P2 Science said the industry learned a lot from the financial crisis in 2009 when costs shot up and prices shot up even faster and held longer as costs eased, thereby expanding margins. As a result, consumer product companies have accepted price increases and passed them on to consumers.

“The question is, do the consumers accept the increases or switch to cheaper brands or no product at all, in the case of luxuries? My gut feel is that the consumer is already trading down and this will ripple back through the supply chain,” he said.

Bet on Biosurfactants

Burns is a proponent of biosurfactants. He told Happi that there is no dominant leader in the category, but noted that Evonik, Stepan and BASF are some of the big names active in the field.

“Expect to see a lot more investment and emergence of startups in this field. The technology is far from mature and there’s room for process innovation in particular,” he said.

Kim advised that as attention on the pandemic wanes, brands can use their new communication strategies to widen their focus on other aspects, like the safety of ingredients, and build more engaging origin stories, as in how Evonik biosurfactants are made and the benefits of sustainable solutions.

For example, Evonik created two sustainable solutions that are both Safer Choice approved CleanGredients and formulated to meet direct-release application requirements, as well as superior industrial-strength cleaning needs.

“Compared to traditional formulations, Tomakleen X-Series surfactants can be utilized in greener formulations without sacrificing performance,” explained Kim. “These game-changing surfactants can also be combined with other Evonik surfactants to produce exceptionally high-performing, all-purpose, and environmentally friendly cleaning solutions.

Burns also expects more innovation in bio-mass balance in surfactants.

“Ineos is introducing ‘bio-attributed,’ their words, ethylene oxide and Cepsa is marketing bio-mass balance linear akyl benzene in partnership with Unilever,” he observed. “Mass balance is likely the only way the big consumer products companies are going to meet 2030 sustainability goals with respect to raw materials.”

Vantage has developed new grades of Metaupon taurates that were engineered to optimize surfactant concentration and processability in order to simplify customers’ manufacturing processes. Sulfate-free Metaupon is RSPO Mass-balanced certified, mild and gentle to the skin, yet very effective at cleansing, according to Massard.

Investment Continues

Vantage, and other suppliers, detailed recent moves and the impacts they will have on sustainability efforts.

For example, Vantage has heavily invested in its Leuna, Germany plant in order to meet the growing demand for taurate surfactants as well as for ethoxylated derivatives. According to Massard, investing in the Leuna facility to increase its capacity and capabilities is part of the company’s initiative to expand the footprint of Vantage in the region.

“These investments contribute to a more resilient supply-chain for Vantage customers, and allow for more local production with reduced carbon footprint,” Massard added.

In January, Evonik announced the investment of a “triple-digit million-euro sum” to construct a surfactants plant in Slovakia. It will produce bio-based and fully biodegradable rhamnolipids. For conventional surfactants that Evonik produces in the US, investments and other strategies are being considered to improve surfactant manufacturing capabilities, according to Kim.

Acme-Hardesty built two new innovation laboratories at its Blue Bell, PA location. According to Mulicka, the investment provides additional solutions to customers across all of Acme-Hardesty’s business units.

The worst inflation may be behind us. Now some economists are girding for recession. But surfactant suppliers insist they are well positioned regardless what happens within the global economy. 

Online and In-Person Insights Into Cleaning Market Trends The pandemic put the kibosh on in-person conferences. But the format has come roaring back in the past year, as masks come off and executives itch to get out on the road again. Next up? Cleaning Products US, a two-day conference in Washington DC. Speakers will address a range of issues including consumer trends, sustainable innovations, air quality and supply chain. The conference is set for September 29 & 30. To learn more and to register, visit cleaningproductsconference.com.  Can’t travel yet? The American Cleaning Institute and Good Housekeeping will again partner for Discover Cleaning 2022: The Clean, Healthy & Happy Home. The virtual event is set for October 26 at 1 PM EDT. To register, visit https://live.goodhousekeeping.com/discovercleaning2022 For those looking further ahead, the next editions of the Sustainable Cleaning Products Summit will be held May 2 & 3, 2023 in New York City. To learn more, email services@ecoviaint.com or visit www.sustainablecleaningsummit.com

New Surfactants 2022
Here are new surfactants introduced by industry suppliers within the past 12 months. To learn more about any of the materials listed here, contact the supplier directly using the information provided.


Acme-Hardesty
Blue Bell, PA
800-223-7054
ahcsc@acme-hardesty.com
www.acme-hardesty.com

Green CAPB-B
Description: Amphoteric surfactant
Application: Clear or opaque formulations
Attributes: Derived from babassu oil, Green CAPB-B is rich in fatty acids allowing actives in formulation to be better absorbed. Has excellent emollient properties
Green Behenic
Applications: Leave-on and rinse-off conditioners, serums, conditioning masks, styling treatments
Attributes: High performing surfactant with excellent conditioning and sensorial profile. Well suited for leave-on and rinse-off conditioners, serums, conditioning masks, styling treatments and more.
Green Cocoamphoactate-B
Description: Natural amphoteric surfactant
Applications: Hair, face and body cleansing products, including milder formulations
Attributes: Produces a stable, creamy foam with low irritability. Acts to improve foaming and detergency power of formulations. Can be used in hair, face and body cleansing products, including milder formulations.

BASF Corporation
Florham Park, New Jersey
973-245-6000
detergents-cleaners-na@basf.com 
www.basf.com

Dehypound HDG
Description: Nonionic surfactant blend
Applications: Soak tank cleaner, dairy cleaner, truck wash detergent, bilge cleaner, rail cleaner, brewery cleaner, fabric prewash/prespotter, alkaline cleaner/degreaser, acid cleaner, bottle wash, floor cleaner, oven/grill, metal cleaner
Use levels: Application dependent
Attributes: Powerful cleaning performance without solvents. Superior degreasing performance over a wide temperature range. High performance multi-application solution for broad range soils. Low 1,4-Dioxane
Dehypound M
Description: Nonionic surfactant blend
Applications: Acid and alkaline cleaners; aerosol cleaners and detergents; car, truck, rail and marine cleaners; hard surface cleaner; manual dishwash detergents
Use levels: Application dependent
Attributes: Excellent low film and streak performance, moderately high foam profile, ideal for foam and aerosol dispensing, ease of formulation for alkaline products, readily biodegradable, 71% biobased, listed on EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredient List, low 1,4-Dioxane.

Evonik Corporation
Richmond, VA
804-727-0700
www.evonik.com/cleaning

Tomakleen X-50
Description: Alcohol ethoxylate
Applications: Can be used as a primary surfactant in industrial-strength or touchless cleaning applications. It can also meet emulsifying needs for exceptional degreasing with various soils.
Use levels: Tomakleen X-Series surfactants can be utilized in greener formulations and can be combined with other Evonik surfactants to produce exceptionally high-performing, all-purpose and environmentally-friendly cleaning solutions.

Attributes: A highly efficient nonionic system developed to combine efficient degreasing with suitability for direct release to surface water and is compatible with nearly all additives, co-surfactants, and builders. It will penetrate soils quickly, wet surfaces effectively, and augment any industrial cleaning formula. Recommended for degreasers, especially those seeking to replace solvents, and is readily biodegradable, demonstrating low toxicity.

Tomakleen X-90
Description: Alcohol ethoxylate
Applications: Tomakleen X-90 can be used for more specific cleaning opportunities as an excellent demulsifier, and for specialty uses like removing polymerized soils and for increasing foam stability.
Use levels: Tomakleen X-Series surfactants can be utilized in greener formulations and can be combined with other Evonik surfactants to produce exceptionally high-performing, all-purpose, and environmentally friendly cleaning solutions.

Attributes: Tomakleen X-90 is a highly efficient nonionic system formulated to balance effective wetting and emulsification, is readily biodegradable, and demonstrates low toxicity. It is compatible with nearly all additives, co-surfactants, and builders and may be used as a primary surfactant or co-surfactant in formulas intended for direct-release applications, such as various exterior and vehicle washing.

Vantage Personal Care
Warren, NJ
973-345-8600  |  www.vantagegrp.com

Metaupon KMT 30 MB
Description: Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate
Applications: rinse-off formulations
Use levels: 1-5%
Attributes Metaupon anionic, sulfate-free surfactants are high performance foam enhancers that create a rich and dense foam. They are ideal mild surfactants for rinse off formulations.