Chemical Indicator Inks Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Chemical Indicator Inks Market Overview

The Chemical Indicator Inks Market is forecast to reach US$ 1.2 billion by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of 8% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Chemical indicator inks are primarily used to detect the efficacy of a sterilization process, which helps in evaluating and ensuring the successful sterilization of various products and instruments. The types of sterilization processes that are commonly used include Steam Sterilization, Ethylene Oxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, Formaldehyde, Irradiation, and Dry Heat. According to the International Trade Administration, the medical industry in Canada was valued at around US$ 8.6 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow in the upcoming years. Imports of medical goods and supplies in Canada account for almost 75% of the medical industry. An increase in demand for sterilization of health and hygiene products for medical facilities along with an increase in demand for sterile packaging from the food and beverage industry acts as major drivers for the market. On the other hand, fluctuating prices of raw materials may confine the market growth.

COVID-19 Impact

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 lockdown has significantly reduced worldwide operations, and production of medical goods and products, which in turn, had resulted in the decline of supply and demand chain all over the world, thus, affecting the market. Studies show that the outbreak of COVID-19 sharply declined medical production in 2020 due to a lack of operations across multiple countries around the world. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for sterile packaging all over the world. For instance, increasing demand for surgical masks as the primary medium of protection during the pandemic created a huge opportunity for the continuation of sterile packaging production. A recent report from UNICEF stated that it has distributed around 301.3 million surgical masks and 22.2 million N95 respirators, which reached around 127 countries in 2020. In this way, a steady increase in production and distribution of medical goods and products will require the use of chemical indicator inks for sterile packaging, which indicates a slow and steady recovery of the market in the upcoming years.

Report Coverage

The report: “Chemical Indicator Inks Market – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Chemical Indicator Inks Industry.

By Product Type: Solvent-based, Water-based, and UV-cured.
By Sterilization Process: Steam Sterilization, Ethylene Oxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, Formaldehyde, Irradiation, Dry Heat, Others.
By Application: Pouches, Tape, Bags, Reels, Labels, Tags, Strips, Bottles, IV & Blood Containers, Syringe, Others.
By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and the Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Rest of Asia-Pacific), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and the Rest of South America), the Rest of the World (the Middle East, and Africa).

Key Takeaways

• Water-based inks in Chemical Indicator Inks Market is expected to see the fastest growth, especially during the forecast period, owing to its increasing demand and benefits over other product types.
• Steam sterilization process in Chemical Indicator Inks Market is expected to see the fastest growth, especially during the forecast period. Its wide range of characteristics and advantages made it stand out in comparison to other sterilization processes in the market.
• North America dominated the Chemical Indicator Inks Market in 2020, owing to the increasing demand for chemical indicator inks from the healthcare and medical sectors of the region.

Figure: North America Chemical Indicator Inks Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion)

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Chemical Indicator Inks Market Segment Analysis – By Product Type

The water-based segment held the largest share in the Chemical Indicator Inks Market in 20201 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% between 2022 and 2027, owing to a range of advantages they offer over other types of inks. It offers a wide range of properties and benefits such as excellent adhesion properties, good resistance to heat and abrasion, along with anti-corrosion properties in comparison to solvent-based and UV-cured chemical indicator ink types. Water-based chemical indicator inks are environmentally friendly due to low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) levels which makes them less toxic and flammable as opposed to solvent-based ink. Moreover, water-based inks provide improved surface appearance, improved color along with better gloss and ink flow behavior in comparison to solvent-based and UV-cured inks. Hence, all of these factors are most likely to increase the demand for water-based chemical indicator inks, thus, boosting the market growth in the upcoming years.

Chemical Indicator Inks Market Segment Analysis – By Sterilization Process

The steam sterilization process held a significant share of 37% in 2021. During the steam sterilization process, the item to be sterilized is exposed to saturated steam under a lot of pressure. Steam helps in boosting the ability of heat to kill microorganisms. Steam sterilization has many benefits as a method of sterilization in healthcare and medical facilities. It offers better efficacy, safety and can be performed at a lower cost in comparison to ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde, irradiation, and other sterilization processes. During the processing of materials that are heat and moisture stable, the speed and productivity of steam sterilization hold a major advantage over ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde, and other types of sterilization. Hence, these factors are most likely to increase the demand for the steam sterilization process, thus, leading to the growth of the market in the upcoming years.

Chemical Indicator Inks Market Segment Analysis – By Application

The Tape segment held the largest share in the Chemical Indicator Inks Market in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% between 2022 and 2027, owing to the benefits they offer over Tapes have these inks on one side and adhesive on the other applications. For instance, chemical indicator tapes simplify the ease of pasting and provide immediate identification of completion of the sterilization process by depicting a change in the color of ink on these tapes. Chemical Indicator tapes are primarily used in wrapping packs available for steam and ethylene oxide. Moreover, additional information can also be directly printed on the surface of these tapes, which helps the user in understanding the proper usage and discarding of tapes. Hence, the ease of use of chemical indicator tapes along with a depiction of immediate results of the completion of a sterilization process along with better reliability has increased its demand from healthcare and medical facilities.

For instance, in January 2021, the Indian government announced an expenditure of INR. 69,000 crore (US$ 9.87 billion) for the health sector, including INR 6,400 crore (US$ 915.72 million) for PM Atma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana in the 2020-21 Union Budget. Moreover, the Government of India plans to boost the healthcare expenditure up to 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2022. Likewise, in March 2020, the Government of Japan recently approved the commencement of the second phase of its five-year health and medical plan, which is currently undergoing development in 2021. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the medical industry in France had gross revenue of US$ 34.9 billion for the year 2019. The industry revenue for medical products exported from France was valued at US$ 9.9 billion, which was around 26% of the total market. The industry is further expected to grow in the upcoming years. Therefore, all of these factors are most likely to increase the demand for Chemical Indicator Tapes, which in turn, will help boost the market growth during the forecast period.

Chemical Indicator Inks Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

North America held the largest share in the Chemical Indicator Inks Market in 2021 up to 30%. The consumption of Chemical Indicator Inks is particularly high in this region due to the increasing demand for chemical indicator inks for the sterilization processes from the healthcare and medical sectors. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 1 million hernia procedures are performed in the United States annually, due to the increasing issue of obesity among the general population in the country.

Likewise, according to the National Institutes of Health, around 10%-15% of the US population usually suffers from gallstones in the bile duct. Furthermore, it also states that more than 5 million Americans are usually affected by valve-related heart diseases each year. Hence, the prevalence of such diseases in the general population and performing such surgeries would require the use of chemical indicator inks to ensure proper sterilization of surgical products such as IV & blood containers, syringes, and other surgical instruments in order to prevent infections and ensure maximum safety. This, in turn, will lead to the growth of the market in the upcoming years.

Chemical Indicator Inks Market Drivers

An increase in demand for sterile packaging from the food and beverage industry is most likely to increase demand for the product

Chemical Indicator Inks are used in sterile barrier systems and packaging to provide visual evidence of exposure to a sterilization process to ensure optimum safety. These inks are specially designed to react to specific sterilization conditions and change from one color to a different color as a result of this exposure. COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for sterile food and beverage packaging all over the world. According to a recent study published on Interpack, the consumption of food packaging is expected to increase to 447,066 million in 2023. Likewise, it also states that the Chinese packaging companies such as 3D, SIP, and WLCSP alone achieved a revenue of around US$5.88 billion with end packaging.

According to PMMI (The Association for Packaging and Processing), the North American beverage industry is expected to increase by 4.5% from 2018 to 2028, with the United States leading the beverage packaging sector. Likewise, recent insights from Flexible Packaging states that the food packaging industry witnessed a sharp increase in demand during the pandemic due to a high number of consumers turning into online grocery shopping. By the end of 2021, U.S. online grocery sales are estimated to increase up to 12.4% of the country’s overall e-commerce sales. It further states that the U.S. digital grocery buyers are expected to grow up to 137.9 million in 2021, representing a growth of 4.8% in comparison to 2020. Supermarkets witnessed a huge surge in demand for sterile packaging for the wrapping of food and other grocery products.

In this way, an increase in food and beverage packaging activities will require the use of chemical indicator inks for sterile packaging in order to prevent the growth of microorganisms and ensure maximum safety, thus, leading to the growth of the market in the upcoming years.

An increase in demand for health and hygiene products is most likely to increase demand for the product

A rise in the COVID-19 cases along with a prevalence of infections and other communicable diseases have increased the health and hygiene concern among the general population, specifically health care workers which have led to increased purchase of hygiene and medical products. According to recent research published by the World Trade Organization, imports and exports of medical goods increased by 16% and reached around US$ 1,139 billion during the fourth quarter of 2020. Likewise, total imports of face protection products increased by 90% in 2020, while the trade-in antimicrobial textile face masks had also grown by six times. Leading importers of COVID-19-critical products which includes PPE kits, face masks, and other medical products registered a significant import growth in 2020 as compared to 2019, which included 62% in France and 52% in Italy. Hence, an increase in demand for hygiene and medical products would also increase the demand for chemical indicator inks to ensure the efficacy of sterile packaging in order to prevent the growth of microorganisms and ensure maximum safety during their production, thus, leading to market growth in the upcoming years.

Chemical Indicator Inks Market Challenges

Fluctuating prices of raw materials may cause an obstruction to the market growth 

A wide range of applications of chemical indicator inks has resulted in a disparity of supply and demand chains all over the world. This has led to instability of prices of raw materials in the market. Moreover, the shortage of raw materials along with fluctuations in reseller margins have led to a sharp increase in prices of raw materials used in chemical indicator inks. In addition to this, the availability of economic refineries and PVC alternatives have also played a major role in the fluctuation of the prices of raw materials. Hence, all of these factors may confine the market growth.

Chemical Indicator Inks Industry Outlook

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in this market. Chemical Indicator Inks top companies include:

1. North American Science Associates Inc. (NAMSA)
2. Riken Chemical Co Ltd.
3. 3M
4. Tempil (LA-Co Industries)
5. NiGK Corporation
6. SteriTec Products Inc.
7. Propper Manufacturing Company, Inc.
8. ETIGAM BV
9. Terragene SA
10. GKE GmbH
11. STERIS Corporation

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