Air-laid Product Market Expected to Reach $3.9 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Air-laid Product Market," The air-laid product market was valued at $2.1 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $3.9 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2022 to 2031.

Air-laid product, a type of textile material, is made up of fluff pulp. These products are categorized as nonwoven fabrics. They are bulky, porous, and soft. In addition, they exhibit superior water absorption property. Air-laid materials are further used for clean and hygienic purposes. Moreover, they possess a special ability to lay down short fibers, a mixture of pulp, and short cut synthetic fibers to form a continuous and homogenous web. The bonding of the air-laid web can be done by latex, thermal, multi-bonding, and hydrogen bonding techniques. Air-laid products provide flexibility and can retain fluid for a longer period.

Increase in awareness about cleanliness and hygiene has surged the demand for personal care products. According to a report published by the Indian Ministry of Economy and Industry, the personal care and hygiene industry is one of the fastest-growing consumer products sectors and is estimated to be worth around $10.5 billion by the end of 2021.

This is expected to surge the demand for air-laid-based bladder control pads, absorbent pads, underpads, nappies, wipes, and others in the growing personal care and hygiene industry; thus, fuelling the growth of the air-laid product market. In addition, increase in incidence of viral and bacterial diseases have surged the popularity of air-laid products such as medical wipes, masks, surgery pads, hygienic disposables, and others, among bothedical professionals and patients. This is anticipated to foster the demand for the air-laid product market during the forecast period. 

However, air-laid products cannot be cleaned like other cloths, which is a key factor expected to hamper the growth of the air-laid market. On the contrary, air-laid products are often biodegradable and non-toxic in nature, which in turn has made customers more linear toward using a wide range of air-laid products such as wipes, nappies, towels, and others for personal care & hygiene, home care, pet care, and other applications. This factor is anticipated to increase the sales of air-laid products among various end-use sectors; thus creating remunerative opportunities for the market.

The air-laid product market is segmented on the basis of product type, application, and region. By product type, the market is segregated into latex bonded air-laid, thermal bonded air-laid, multi bonded air-laid, and hydrogen bonded air-laid. The latex bonded air-laid segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2021, with 40.89% of the total share. This was attributed to rise in awareness among consumers of both developed and developing economies owing to wake of several infectious diseases, which has surged the demand for a wide range of personal care & hygiene products where latex bonded air-laid products are widely used as wet/dry towels, toilet papers, folded tissues, napkins, and others. This has fueled the popularity of latex bonded type air-laid products among the personal care & hygiene sector.

By application, the market is divided into personal hygiene, food packaging, home care, and others. The personal hygiene segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2021, with 49.43% of the total share. This was attributed to rise in consumer focus on personal wellness and hygiene-related activities, which has surged the demand for various air-laid-based personal care products such as diapers, pads, towels, tissue, and others. Furthermore, increase in elderly population has surged the demand for various air-laid adult incontinence products such as bladder control pads, absorbent pads, underpads, and others.

For instance, according to a report by World Health Organization in 2020, the number of people aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million. This factor is expected to fuel the demand for air-laid product for personal hygiene applications.

Region wise, the air-laid product market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific air-laid product market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, and accounted for a major air-laid product market share in 2021, owing to rise in personal care & hygiene, food packaging, and other sectors that have enhanced demand for air-laid product in the Asia-Pacific region.

China's food packaging sector is increasing rapidly, which has forced the air-laid product manufacturers to produce more efficient air-laid products used as table top products, meat pads, food wrappings and others. Furthermore, the personal hygiene & beauty sector in India is witnessing a significant growth owing to increase in number of newborns and rise in awareness regarding hygiene and cleanliness activities where ail-laid products are widely used to produce baby diapers, pads (wet & dry), oshibori towels, masks, and others. For instance, according to a report published by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), around 67,385 babies are born in India daily, that’s one sixth of the world’s child births. These factors together are augmenting the growth of the air-laid product market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Key players operating in the global air-laid product market include Duni Group, Domtar Corporation, Fitesa S.A., Gelok International, Glatfelter Corporation, Kinsei Seishi Co., Ltd., MAIN s.p.a., McAirlaids Vliesstoffe GmbH, Oji Holdings Corporation, and Phoenix Fabrikations BV.

COVID-19 analysis

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and the economy around the globe. The air-laid product market has a little impact due to the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to disruptions in the supply chain for various air-laid-based personal hygiene, home care, and medical products. Furthermore, to control the surge of novel coronavirus cases, there is a drastic shift of investments from other sectors toward healthcare.

Also, several air-laid product manufacturing companies have either shut down or shrank their operations, due to risk of infection among the workforce. This has temporarily hampered the demand and supply chain of air-laid products amid the COVID-19 period.

However, growth in awareness related to health and sustainable development has surged the demand for personal hygiene products such as masks, wipes, and others, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn has increased the demand for air-laid product market. Furthermore, several air-laid manufacturing companies have adopted safety strategies and techniques, which in turn are expected to increase the demand for air-laid products as the market starts stabilizing. Moreover, several studies have found that air-laid products possess anti-bacterial properties that has made customer more linear toward using air-laid product in food packaging.

In 2020, air-laid product’s prices were higher in the Asia-Pacific region. The price rise was due to continued regional demand trends and less product availability. Firm downstream air-laid product’s demand and stronger upstream costs are expected to sustain the price gain.

However, the air-laid product market is expected to recover rapidly post COVID-19 situation due to its increased dependency over healthcare other sectors. For instance, according to an article published by Financial Express, the Indian medical industry registered a growth of 15% in 2021, and is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 18.6% by 2025. This is expected to enhance the performance of the air-laid market in the post-COVID-19 scenario.

Key findings of the study

• By product type, the latex bonded air-laid segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2031.
• By application, the personal hygiene segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 6.7% from 2022 to 2031.
• Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share of 40.1% in 2021, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 7.1%.