Market Drivers

Natural, organic, and clean-beauty are fast gaining popularity among consumers, and are driving the healthy development of the world market of shea butter. Shea butter is a fat, solid, often ivory colored, fat derived to nuts of shea tree (Vitellaria). Shea butter is indigenous to West Africa and has been in use in the care of the skin since time immemorial owing to its high proportions of vitamin and fatty acids, which makes it ideal to condition, soothe and smooth the skin. Shea butter is experiencing growth in the market as there is a rising demand among consumers to make use of personal care products that are not only plant-derived, naturally made and chemical-free but also because shea butter is finding application in lip balms and hair care products besides being used in health and beauty cosmetics. The market penalties in addition to cosmetics are also enlarging because of greater resource application in the food, confectionary, and medicinal industry. Due to its restorative, anti-inflammatory properties, shea butter becomes more common in medical creams. It is being incorporated as a substitute of cocoa butter in chocolates and baked foods. Nonetheless, the market has to contend with a seasonal supply and a disintegrated supply chain which poses problems that relate to variability of products and their supply. The most commonly hand-extrivated shea butter in West Africa is subject to labour and climatic availability of raw material and logistics (e.g. shea butter chiselled out of rough terrain).

Market Drivers

Rising demand for natural, organic, and clean‑beauty products

Increasing demand of natural, organic and clean-beauty goods is significant to the expansion of global shea butter market particularly in the sphere of cosmetics. The consumers seek the products without synthetic manufacturing, lacking parabens or any other synthetic add-ons, and cosmetic brands are switching towards sustainable-sourced products, which are plant-derived, like shea butter. Shea butter, which is highly considered as a good emollient (95- and more percent of triglycerides or fatty acids), is highly responsible of softening and conditioning the skin. Shea butter is also reported to be viscosity controlling and skin-conditioning according to the European commission COSING database. Its percent level of unsaponifiables (5-7%) also possesses a good antioxidant and calming feature desirable to consumers who prefer health and eco-friendly products. That is why shea butter is a frequently used ingredient in clean-label composites.

 The individual nature of shea butter has contributed to its permeation into various beauty and personal care product such as lotions, moisturizers, shampoo, conditioners, lip balms, and soaps. The Global Shea Alliance estimates the world cosmetics market consumes 20, 000- 25, 000 tonnes a year out of a total of the shea butter that is exported in the world. A high level of demand has been created in both mass-market and premium cosmetic brands in trying to position their businesses within the Psustainability, transparency, and ethical sourcing’s focus of consumers. Because of the popularity of natural beauty trends across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific, there will be a significant increase in the demand of shea butter to brands that need safe, good, and eco-friendly ingredients in the global beauty industry which will be less compared to its overall development as one part of the developmental powerhouse of the global beauty industry.

Market Restraints

Seasonal, fragmented supply chain & quality variability

The most important factors hindering the expansion of the Global Shea Butter Market are seasonal production patterns, uncoherent supply chain, and irregular quality. The gleaning of shea nuts grows only once a year commonly during May-August thus the supply is highly seasonal and prone to any changeability in shape of climatic variations, unfavorable harvests, or even weather-related disturbance. Such compressed harvest cycle is likely to induce raw material and pricing shortage, and inconsistent all-year-round supply to international buyers. In addition, the supply chain is extremely fragmented especially in West Africa where small scale collection of resources with women collectors and traditional processing are triumphant. The fragmentation is a problem because it becomes difficult to enable international processors and cosmetic or food companies that need stable, high-quality inputs to source, trace, and regulate quality. Nature of variation in production method It also poses variations in the quality of shea butter, such as texture, color and nutritional worth, due to variation in production method, such as disparities in boiling, drying, and storing of nuts. These fluctuations interfere with the ability to realize high levels of quality required by the cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical industries which in turn fail to attract vast commercial investment thus limiting the level of growth of the market.

By Product

In 2024, Raw/unrefined shea butter captured 31.00% of market sales as it is in skincare products.

Global Shea Butter Market is mainly dominated by raw or unrefined shea butter whose dominance is majorly as a result of the high nutrizitional content, growing demand of natural and minimally processed products and the rising demand in the clean beauty and wellness market. Unlike refined shea butter which is either processed chemically or heated and might lose some of its qualities, raw shea butter contains all its original quantity of vitamins (especially A and E), fatty acids and unsaponifiables, which are compounds that moisturize, treat anti-inflammation and act as antioxidants. This factor is what makes the quality of raw shea butter particularly attractive to buyers and producers in search of authenticity, openness and efficacy in skin and hair care products. Consequently, raw shea butter now remains a high-end component in multiple personal care solutions: lotions, balms, soaps, and shampoos, confirming its superiority on the international marketplace as the most appreciated and demanded grade.

By Application

In 2024, Cosmetics & Personal Care application has market share of 27.66% of market sales with market value of USD 716.62 Million.

Cosmetics & Personal Care is the most significant application of Shea Butter in the Global Shea Butter Market due to its phenomenal skin nourishing powers, its adaptability to a wide variety of usages/products and in the vicinity of a rising population that is looking to have natural/sustainable products. Indeed, shea butter consists of fatty acids (i.e., Oleic, Stearic, Linoleic) and vitamins A and E that moisturize, anti-inflame, and act as antioxidants to the skin and hair. The composition of shea butter also yields emollient properties, but additionally, the fraction of the component, which cannot be saponified (i.e., approximately, 5-7%), is an added value as an addition to the composition that promises healing and anti-aging effects. Consequently, Shea butter finds its way in the many products and applications such as lotions, creams, lip balms, baby products, sunscreens, hair conditioners, soaps as well as decorative cosmetics (lipstick). Shea butter finds itself in a good position in the world where an increasingly high amount of the consumers of the beauty and personal care industry turn towards products that have clean labels. The pattern contributes to the rise of the dependence of manufacturers and consumers to ingredients of plant origins and sustainably-sourced ones.

By Geography

Europe dominates the Shea Butter market with estimated market value of USD 1,140.16 Million in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 2,299.59 Million in 2032.

The main reason that Europe is making significant inroads in the global shea butter market is that it is considered as one of the larges and developed cosmetics markets in the world whose market size was estimated to be euro 88 billion (USD 94 billion) in 2022, and in Europe, the shea butter users show a high demand in terms of quantity and quality of pure, natural, and environmentally friendly ingredients. Because of its high skin conditioning, moisturizing, and antioxidant properties, shea butter is heavily used by European cosmetics manufacturers, and a regular inclusion in skincare, haircare and toiletries. Albeit trade figures on shea butter are listed under more general HS codes found in vegetable oils and seeds, there is general consensus of the importation of much of the product under this code 151590 which relates to shea butter especially in first production countries like Ghana and Burkina Faso. In 2022, EU and the UK alone accounted for over 90 percent of European imports of these vegetable oils and fats valued at euro 1.27 billion and 430 thousand tonnes respectively. The fact that the value of imports increased steadily on a year-on-year basis (12% between 2018 and 2022) suggests the growing need of natural, high-value ingredients. In addition, Europe had imported 165 thousand tonnes of oleaginous fruits and oil seeds in the year 2022 that were worth euro 580 million, which further explains why Europe led in the importation of raw materials that are to be used in cosmetics. So, mass market cosmetics industry in Europe, the popularity of ethically produced and natural products among the European consumers, and the steady increase of imports in this area defines Europe as the leader of the worldwide shea butter market.

List of Top Players

• BASF SE
• Olvea Group
• Sophim S.A.
• Cargill, Inc.
• Suru Chemicals
• Ghana Nuts Company Ltd.
• Croda International Plc
• Agrobotanicals, LLC
• Clariant AG
• AAK AB
• Others

Key Industry Developments

• In In February 2022, an official launch of a USD 54.5 million Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project (GLSERP) has taken place in Tamale. The initiative is designed to help respond to the effects of climate change in the fragile ecosystem of the Northern Savannah Landscape besides adding value to the shea value chain with special emphasis on improving livelihoods of the thousands of women shea farmers in the country at all value chain levels of the industry.
• In 2023, AAK, as well as Cargill engaged in strategic investments into projects related to sustainable sourcing of shea butter with a particular focus on support of West African communities engaged in harvesting shea nuts.

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4. MARKET DYNAMICS
   1. MARKET INTRODUCTION
   2. MARKET DRIVERS
   3. MARKET RESTRAINTS
   4. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
   5. MARKET TRENDS
   6. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS
      1. Threat of New Entrants
      2. Threat of Substitutes
      3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
      4. Bargaining Power of Buyers
      5. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry
   7. VALUE CHAIN & PROFIT MARGIN ANALYSIS
   8. PRICING ANALYSIS
   9. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
   10. COVID-19 IMPACT ANALYSIS
   11. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS
   12. PESTLE ANALYSIS
   13. MICRO ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
   14. Market Premium Insights (Enterprise license)
       • Consumer Analysis (List of Potential Consumers)
       • Top 10 Country-Wise Import & Export Data (If Applicable)
       • Regulatory Bodies & Authorization Across the Globe
       • Key Conferences & Events: Next Two Years
       • Top Patents for The Market
5. GLOBAL SHEA BUTTER MARKET REVENUE & SHARE ANALYSIS (2023-2032)
   1. By Product
      1. Raw/Unrefined
      2. Refined
   2. By Application 
      1. Cosmetics & Personal Care
      2. Food
      3. Others 
6. GLOBAL SHEA BUTTER MARKET REVENUE & SHARE ANALYSIS (2023-2032), BY REGION
   1. NORTH AMERICA 
      1. U.S.
      2. Canada
      3. Mexico
   2. EUROPE
      1. Germany
      2. UK
      3. France
      4. Italy
      5. Spain
      6. Rest of Europe
   3. ASIA PACIFIC 
      1. China
      2. Japan
      3. India
      4. South Korea
      5. Rest of APAC
   4. MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
      1. GCC
      2. South Africa
      3. Rest of MEA
   5. LATIN AMERICA
      1. Brazil
      2. Argentina
      3. Rest of LATAM

For all the segments and sub-segments, Qualitative as well as Quantitative data will be provided. In Quantitative we provide the historic (2023), base (2024), estimated (2025) and forecasted (2025-2032) market value in USD Million, Share in % with a CAGR (2025-2032). This data would be provided on a regional as well as country level.

1. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
   1. OVERVIEW
   2. KEY PLAYERS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS
   3. LIST OF KEY STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS 
2. COMPANY PROFILES
   1. BASF SE.
      1. Company Overview
      2. Company Financial Insights (Total Revenue, Revenue By Business Segments, and By Region)
      3. Product Benchmarking
      4. Key Strategic Developments (Merges & Acquisitions, Partnership /Agreements/Joint Venture, Expansion, New Product Launches, and other developments)
      5. Business Strategic Overview
      6. SWOT Analysis
   2. Olvea Group
   3. Sophim S.A.
   4. Cargill, Inc.
   5. Suru Chemicals
   6. Ghana Nuts Company Ltd.
   7. Croda International Plc
   8. Agrobotanicals, LLC
   9. Clariant AG
   10. AAK AB
3. LIST OF SOURCES

DISCLAIMER