Lactic Acid Market

The Lactic Acid Market is valued at USD 3.8 Bn in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 6.4 Bn,  growing at a CAGR of 8% by 2033.

Food and Beverages Industry Reflects Momentous Growth Opportunities for Lactic Acid Market

Lactic acid has gained immense traction in the food and beverages industry. It is non-toxic nature and is considered as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the US FDA. This has fuelled its use as an additive in the food sector with its application in bakery products, beverages, meat products, confectioneries, ready meals, salads, and dairy products. Moreover, lactic acid is a highly preferred choice over synthetic chemicals due to its texture, altered flavour and its ability to increase the shelf life of the product. It is used in dairy industry to produce cheese flavours and coagulate milk. In the brewery sector, lactic acid enhances the conversion of starch in beer thus resulting in an increased yield. These advantages of lactic acid have propelled its use in this space, thus favouring the growth of the growth of lactic acid market in terms of value and volume.

Growing Use in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products to Pave the Way for Lactic Acid Market Players

Functional characteristics of lactic acid have created another application funnel in the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industry. It plays crucial role in various biochemical pathways. For instance, lactic acid esters find their use in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. In pharmaceutical industry, they are used in the manufacturing of medicines and ointments. In addition, lactic acid is also used as an exfoliator, humectant, skin prepping agent and pH adjuster in several cosmetic and personal care products. It also helps in revitalization, supports in maintaining even skin texture and smoothens the skin. Also, in addition to reducing wrinkles, fine lines and acne spots, lactic acid is incorporated in hair products as it can reinforce fragile hair. In this background, growing applications in the personal care and cosmetic industry is expected to bolster growth of the lactic acid market.

Rising PLA Demand to Translate into Potential Opportunities for Lactic Acid Market Participants

The rising demand for polylactic acid (PLA) across various applications is expected to create potential opportunities for the lactic acid market. Being obtained from fermentation of natural renewable resources including cassava, sugarcane, potato and corn, PLA reflects biodegradable properties. In addition, it contributes towards lowering the carbon footprint, thus supporting environment health. In this backdrop, PLA biodegradable polymer is widely used in applications such as packaging, textiles, automotive, agriculture and construction among others. It is also used in disposable cups, glasses, bottles, mulch films, and tea bags owing to its safe and biodegradable nature. That said, the growing demand for PLA across industrial applications worldwide is expected to complement the revenue growth of the market in the years to follow.

Lactic Acid Market to Grow at a Significant Rate Across Asian Countries

The demand for lactic acid across Asian countries is increasing at a momentous rate since the past few years. Being a viable food additive, lactic acid is largely being used in meat products along with several other applications. Moreover, growing food industry coupled with availability of low cost raw materials and technological innovations in this sector have paved significant growth avenues for the lactic acid market in Asia Pacific. In addition, the production of polylactic acid will continue to increase in Asia owing to increasing investments in polylactic acid production sites, according to European Bioplastics, particularly in China. That said, China is expected to remain a leading exporter of lactic acid in the Asia Pacific region and second largest exporter from a global standpoint.

Furthermore, other industries using lactic acid such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, personal care, and packaging are also showcasing moderate growth in turn providing new opportunities for the market. Moreover, increasing population across Asian countries such as China, and India has provided a large customer pool thus complementing the growth of the lactic acid market in the region. Given this background, manufacturers and distributors of lactic acid can expect an optimistic stream of opportunities from the region in the forthcoming years.

Lactic Acid Market: Competitive Landscape

Joint ventures, new product launches, partnerships and collaborations among key players have been witnessed in the lactic acid market. For instance, in 2021, LG Chem and ADM signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to explore opportunities in the United States apropos to production of lactic acid to meet the increasing demands from customers. In 2020, Total Corbion PLA started the designing of its PLA factory in France. With a target to commence the operations of this facility by 2024, the company aims to become a leader in polylactic acid production to meet the growing demand for Luminy PLA resins in Europe. Similarly, in October 2020, subsidiary of the GALACTIC Group – FUTERRO – started its PLA plant in China.

Likewise, in June 2021, NatureWorks concluded the expansion of its PLA facility expansion which is likely to open in Thailand by 2024. This facility will have a huge capacity output of 75,000 tons on an annual basis. In June 2021, IFF (International Flavours and Fragrances) introduced YO-MIX ViV which is a lactic acid culture used for ambient yogurt and fermented drinks. With this ingredient launch, the company aims to penetrate the Asia Pacific region, with a special focus on China.

A few of the major players in global lactic acid market include 

• Sulzer
• TotalEnergies Corbion BV
• NatureWorks LLC
• Futerro
• Omnexus
• COFCO
• Jiangxi Keyuan Biopharm Co., Ltd.
• Shanghai Tong-jie-liang Biomaterials Co., LTD.
• Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials Co., Ltd.
• Unitika Ltd.

Global Lactic Acid Market Segmentation is Described Below:

By Raw Material

• Corn starch
• Sugarcane

By End Use

• Packaging
• Textile
• Consumer goods
• Bio-medical
• Agriculture
• Electronics
• Automotive & transport

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• The Middle East & Africa