Emerging Middle Class and Increasing Purchasing Power Bolster Surfactants Market in Brazil, Finds Frost & Sullivan

Emerging Middle Class and Increasing Purchasing Power Bolster Surfactants Market in Brazil, Finds Frost & Sullivan PR Newswire SAO PAULO, Oct. 17, 2012 - Manufacturers need to invest in research and development to create cost-effective, multifunctional products SAO PAULO, Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The burgeoning middle class drives the increasingly innovative and expanding surfactants market in Brazil. Over the past few years, the growth rate of the personal and home care sectors has exceeded even the country's gross domestic product (GDP). With more women joining the workforce, the end-user base is expected to continue growing steadily, actively enhancing the prospects of this mature market. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.chemicals.frost.com), Analysis of the Brazilian Surfactants Market, finds that the market earned revenues of over $1.31 billion in 2011 and estimates this to reach $1.90 billion in 2018. Between 2009 and 2011, about 10 million people joined the 'new middle class', which currently accounts for more than 55 percent of the total population in Brazil. Higher incomes, rising middle class purchasing power and an aging population that is increasingly concerned with health and beauty issues, have fuelled the adoption of surfactants in general, with personal care and household products being the most popular.