The global hyaluronic acid market is characterized by the presence of tier-1 and tier-2 companies. The market is highly competitive with all the players competing to gain maximum market share. High investment in research and development of hyaluronic acid, as well as limited government approval and license, are increasing the intensity of rivalry among the players. The vendors compete based on cost and product quality of the products according to the geographies. It is crucial for the producer to offer timely, high quality and cost-effective chemicals to compete in the global market. The competitive scenario is fragmented between tier-1 and tier-2 companies, while tier-1 companies in the market hold over 60% the global market share.
The growth of the market players is dependent on market and economic conditions and government regulations. Thus, the players should focus on expanding their distribution network to meet the demand and enhance their services. ALLERGAN (Ireland), CONTIPRO A.S. (Germany), Symatese Group (France), Zhonglan Industry Co., Ltd (China), ALTERGON ITALIA SRL (Italy), FIDIA FARMACEUTICI S.P.A (Italy), BIOIBERICA S.A.U. (Spain), Kewpie Corporation (Japan), Seikagaku Corporation (Japan), and Anika Therapeutics (US) are the major companies in the global market at the present, which are competing in terms of quality, price, and availability.
The global market players are dominating the market, few European manufacturers with small market shares are gaining momentum such as SYMATESE GROUP, Altergon Italia Srl, BIOIBERICA S.A.U., and FIDIA FARMACEUTICI S.P.A, among others. The international players with presence across the globe, with established manufacturing units or sales offices have strengthened their presence across major regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. However, tertiary competition form tier-2 players is expected to intensify the competition from moderate to high for the tier-1 players during the review period.
The high competition among the players has encouraged the players to invest in R&D to develop hyaluronic acid products, which could be unique in the market and have multiple applications. Thus, mergers, acquisitions, and product development between various companies help them to develop new and excellent quality hyaluronic acid for a wide range of applications. The players operating in the global hyaluronic acid market are adopting various strategies such as expansion, mergers & acquisitions, alliances, and joint ventures to maintain the position and increase the geographic presence.
Threat of New Entrants
The production of hyaluronic acid is complex and capital-intensive. Streptococci consists of several human pathogens, which necessitates accurate and expensive purification in the production of hyaluronic acid. Moreover, the mass production of hyaluronic acid using Streptococci strain is under the research and development phase. Also, the new entrants will have to patent the process developed by Novozymes to produce the product, which will be difficult and expensive. All these factors combined conclude that the global hyaluronic acid market is expected to witness low to moderate threat of new entrants during the forecast period.
Intensity of Rivalry
High investments have been made to develop new and cost-effective methods to produce hyaluronic acid, as the production process is complex and incurs high capital expenditure. For instance, Novozymes developed a new method to produce hyaluronic acid with the help of Bacillus subtilis, which does not produce endotoxins or exotoxins. Thus, with the increasing demand for hyaluronic acid in the cosmetics, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, the degree of rivalry among the existing players is expected to be moderate to high during the review period.
Threat of Substitutes
The global hyaluronic acid market is expected to witness high threat of substitutes due to the availability of low-cost substitutes such as rose oil, tamarind extract, senna plant extract, and tremella mushroom extract. The growing preference for natural cosmetics & personal care products is expected to increase the threat of substitutes in the global hyaluronic acid market.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The bargaining power of suppliers in the global market is projected to be moderate to low on the backdrop of the availability of substitutes. Besides, the bargaining power of suppliers is expected to be low due to presence of limited end users of the product. A large presence of manufacturers in the global market is also projected to lower the bargaining power of suppliers during the review period.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Majority of substitutes of hyaluronic acid are sold at competitive prices in the market. Additionally, these substitutes are plant-based, which have huge potential in regards to the high demand for natural cosmetics and personal care products. This results in low switching cost and increases the bargaining power of buyers. Similarly, due to a small customer base and a large number of manufacturers, the bargaining power of buyers is expected to be high during the review period.
