Editorial July 2024 Oleo chemicals Acquisitions, Expansion and Potential Growth Sector

Rajiv Parikh

17 Apr 2025

There was a recent update that Adani Wilmar buys controlling stake in Gujarat Based Omkar Chemicals India Private Limited (OCIPL) As per Adani Wilmar which is a joint venture between Adani Group and Singapore Wilmar. Wilmar is is a leading player in oleo chemicals and one of the largest food-FMCG companies in India. The acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to increase its presence in the specialty chemical industry. OCIPL operates a manufacturing plant in Panoli, Gujarat, with an annual capacity of around 20,000-mt of surfactants, and is planning to scale up its capacity for other products, AWL said.

Here are the other companies which are in the Oleo chemicals segment.

Akzo Nobel N.V (Amsterdam)
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany)
Cargill Incorporated (Wayzata, Minnesota)
Emery Oleochemicals Group (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany)
Evyap Oleo (Istanbul, Turkey)
Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. (Maharastra, India)
Kao Corporation (Tokyo, Japan)
KLK Oleo (Malaysia)
Oleon NV (Ertvelde, Belgium)
Procter & Gamble Company (Cincinnati, Ohio)
PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (Bangkok, Thailand)
Corbion N.V. (Amsterdam, Noord-Holland)

The global Oleo chemicals market size reached US$ 25.8 Billion in 2023. This just gives us an indication as to how things are shaping up in the Oleo chemicals industry specially everything including FMCG products which are heavily dependent on raw materials from this industry. The global oleo chemicals industry is highly competitive due to the presence of various dominant manufacturing companies as listed above.

The global oleo chemical industry remains robust and is largely dependent on the movement of application markets. Personal care and cosmetics take up a majority share of the market on a global scale due to increasing consumer awareness about the benefits of using personal care products and increased expenditure on cosmetic products. Seeking the opportunity, globally, several multinational brands have emerged with premium cosmetic and personal care products to capture a significant share of the market.

Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest growth rate of 7.8% from 2023 to 2030, on the account of overall development in the end-use application industries like personal care & cosmetics, food processing, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods. In countries like India, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia, there has been a rapid increase in the number of food processing, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and textile startup companies. This is expected to create a lucrative growth opportunity for various oleo chemicals in the industry (as per Oleo Chemicals Market Report Highlights from Grand View Research)

Similarly, KLK expands oleo chemicals processing capacity in China. They have inaugurated a new high-purity fatty acids and glycerin plant in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou located in the Jiangsu province of China, bringing the facility’s annual processing capacity to 500,000 tonnes. Before 2024, the company already had a processing capacity of 300,000 tons of palm oil, triacetin, and fatty acid ester products, with a production of 350,000 tons of fatty acids and derivatives per annum. In April 2023, KLK Oleo completed acquisition of Temix Oleo. The company’s acquisition is aligned with its strategy to diversify their product portfolio and increase the market share across regions.

In April 2023, Emery Oleochemicals, a producer of natural specialty chemicals announced launch of new product INFIGREEN 420R. This product is derived from post-industrial waste.

Godrej which is also a leader in Oleo chemicals have acquired ethoxylation unit of Shree Vallabh Chemicals in Gujarat. As a leading player in oleo chemicals, surfactants, specialties and biotech, this transaction will help the company expand its product offerings by adding the Ethoxylation technology to its portfolio of process and batch technologies.