Optical Brightener Market Report 2026

The optical brightener market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $1.41 billion in 2025 to $1.54 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growth of detergent manufacturing, increased textile production volumes, expansion of paper and packaging industries, rising consumer preference for bright fabrics, availability of synthetic brightener compounds.

The optical brightener market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $2.17 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing demand for premium detergents, expansion of sustainable textile processing, rising adoption in security and anti-counterfeiting applications, growing focus on visual product differentiation, increasing innovation in low-toxicity brighteners. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing use of optical brighteners in detergents, rising demand for high-whiteness textiles, growing application in packaging and printing, expansion of fluorescent tracing applications, enhanced product aesthetic performance.

The growing manufacturing activities are expected to propel the growth of the optical brighteners market going forward. Manufacturing is a sector of the economy involved in the production of goods for sale. Optical brighteners are used in manufacturing as a raw material for industries such as fabrics, synthetics, plastics, and detergents. For instance, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, an Austria-based specialized agency, China’s manufacturing sector maintained its dynamism, growing by 1.5% in 2024. In inter-annual comparison, manufacturing production in China grew by 6.7 percent, while it increased by 2.5 percent in the rest of Asia and Oceania. In 2024, manufacturing in industrial and industrializing economies grew by approximately 1% in a quarter-over-quarter comparison. Therefore, the expansion of the manufacturing sector is driving growth in the optical brighteners market.

Major companies operating in the optical brightener market are focusing on developing innovative solutions, such as high-performance fluorescent whitening agents, to meet the rising demand for enhanced brightness, improved visual appeal, and color consistency in textiles, paper, and detergent applications. These advanced brighteners outperform traditional optical agents by offering stronger fluorescence, better stability, and broader compatibility with different materials. For instance, in March 2024, Novonesis, a specialty chemicals company, launched Luminous, a new optical brightener. Luminous is designed to improve the whiteness and brightness of textiles and other materials by absorbing UV light and re-emitting it as visible blue light, effectively counteracting yellowing and enhancing overall visual appearance. The product provides excellent stability, compatibility, and performance across a range of substrates, making it suitable for industrial applications where consistent high-quality whitening is critical.

In February 2023, Archroma, a Switzerland-based provider of specialty chemicals and dyes for textiles, paper, packaging, coatings, and adhesives, acquired Huntsman Textile Effects for US$593 million (plus assumed pension liabilities). With this acquisition, Archroma aimed to deepen its product portfolio, expand geographic reach across textile and paper value chains, and strengthen its technological and manufacturing capabilities in dyes, finishing chemicals, and ancillary products, including optical brighteners. Huntsman Textile Effects is a Singapore-based manufacturer of textile dyes, finishing agents, and related chemical additives used in fabrics and papers globally.

Major companies operating in the optical brightener market are BASF Colors & Effects GmbH, Huntsman International LLC, Archroma, Clariant AG, Keystone Aniline Corporation, Aron Universal Ltd., Brilliant Colors Inc., 3V Company Inc., The Fong Min International Company Limited, BoldChem Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Odyssey Chemicals Co. Ltd., Hebei Xingyu Chemical Co. Ltd., Nantong Huanuo Pigment Co. Ltd., Shandong Joy-ring Chemical Co. Ltd., Shanxi Colorshine Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Dystar Singapore Pte Ltd., Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation, Ciba Specialty Chemicals.

Asia-Pacific dominated the optical brightener market and is expected to be the largest market in 2025. The regions covered in the optical brightener market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the optical brightener market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The optical brightener market consists of sales of cinnamic acid, coumarin, dicarboxylic acid, diphenyl pyrazoline, and stilbene. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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