U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Overview

U.S. gel fuel & pourable ethanol market size is forecast to reach US$63.1 million by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2022-2027. Gel Fuel and Pourable Ethanol is composed of ethanol or diethylene, methanol and is primarily used as burning fuel for use in various indoor and outdoor applications such as fireplaces, outdoor fire pits, chafing fuel, camping, and other applications. Denatured alcohol is essential alcohol that has been used for ethanol fire places. Growing demand for alternative fuels in household and commercial applications is also driving the market for gel fuel market. The development of new technologies associated with the gel fuel such as bio-ethanol fuel to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient use also supports market growth during the forecast period. The rapid increase in food catering activities in hotels and resorts, and offices, is driving the demand for chafing gel fuel in the United States. Approximately there are more than 52,000 hotels and 39,000 motels in the U.S.

Impact of Covid-19

The COVID-19 outbreak led to major economic problems and challenges for the residential, commercial, food & beverage, and other industrial sectors in the U.S. According to the World Bank, the GDP growth of the U.S. declined by 3.4%, owing to the economic impact of COVID-19. The government of the United States announced strict measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus and only the production of essential commodities was allowed, which impacted the non-essential commodity industries, thereby impacting the production of gel fuel and parable ethanol as well. Delay in supply chain operations, raw material scarcity during pandemic along with man force shortage impacted the gel fuel production in the United States.

Report Coverage

The “U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Report – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol industry.

By Type: Ethanol, Methanol, and others
By Form: Solid fuels, Fuel Pastes, and Liquid Fuels,
By Application Type: Indoor and Outdoor
By End-Use: Fireplaces, Chafing fuel, Campaign, Outdoor Firepits, and others

Key Takeaways

• The ethanol-based gel fuel holds the major in the U.S. gel fuel & pourable ethanol market in the year 2021. One of the key drivers driving the market is the increasing use of gel fuel in chafing fuel.
• Surging adoption of gel fuels in fireplaces and fire pits is also propelling the market growth during the forecast period.
• However, fluctuating raw material prices along with the high price of gel fuel compared to other sources such as wood, candles, and electricity are likely to hamper the market growth during the forecast period.

Figure: U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Revenue Share, By End-Use, 2021 (%)

U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Segment Analysis – By Type

The Ethanol-based segment held the largest share in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% by 2027. The ethanol-type gel fuel is an eco-friendly gel fuel widely used for chafing dishes, buffet kits, fondues, hotboxes, room service, beverage heating, and other indoor and outdoor application in the residential and commercial sectors. Moreover, the ethanol fuel is portable and can be placed anywhere in the house, garden, terrace, lawn, workplace and others owing to its flexibility of heating indoors and outdoors. The ethanol fuel burning is clean burning without emitting any smell, soot, or smoke and doesn't require any ventilation or the chimney for operating ethanol fuel burning. According to the data published by the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States is the world's largest producer of ethanol and produced over 13.9 billion gallons in 2020.

U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Segment Analysis - By End-Use

The chafing fuel segment held the largest share with 67% in the U.S. gel fuel & pourable ethanol market in 2021 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Chafing fuel is the quickest, most inexpensive option used for heating food, typically placed under a chafing dish fondue for outdoor and indoor events. It is usually sold in a small canister and burned directly within that canister, without a wick. The growing number of hotels, food restaurants, and outdoor campaign activities is driving the market for the chafing fuel segment during the forecast period. Chafing fuel is also used for emergency heating, and outdoor cooking in residential and commercial places like hotels, restaurants, lawn gardens, and others. The campaign segment is expected to grow at a significant growth rate during the forecast period. According to North America Camping Report 2022, 16% of the campers enjoyed sitting around the campfire, 50% of the campers liked spending time outdoor and 31% of the campers enjoyed experiencing nature camping in the United States 2021.

U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Driver

Growing adoption of gel fuel in indoor fireplaces

Gel fuel composed of ethanol/methanol is primarily used as a burning fuel to ignite fireplaces in indoor and outdoor settings. Gel fuel offers a clean smokeless flame with minimum odor, low toxicity, and is eco-friendly in nature which makes it an efficient source of heat for fireplaces. Gel fuels are clean energy with no ash or harmful emissions compared to conventional wood-burning fireplaces. They offer various benefits such as ease to carry, ventless installation, clean environment, and cost-effectiveness among others. The hotels and residential owners are updating their traditional fireplaces with gel fuel fireplaces due to their environmentally friendly properties. For example, AKA Hotel, based in the U.S. installed a bioethanol-fuelled fireplace as a part of the center element of the hotel’s lounge, owing to its ventless installation option.

Increasing demand for chafing fuels from the catering industry for heating purposes

Catering is an essential service that delivers food to a client's location and may also cook and serve it on sites that include hotels, restaurants, aircraft, cruise ships, parks, entertainment locations, or event venues. Chafing fuel gel is often packaged in small, disposable canisters to create an open flame and is mostly used under chafing dishes, beverage urns, banquet carts, and more to heat the food. The benefits of chafing fuel gel such as ease of use, lightweight, ease of transportation, and eco-friendliness make it an ideal choice for use in such applications. The chafing gel fuel helps the restaurants to keep their food warm for a long duration of time, allowing the restaurant to serve the best to its customers. According to the article published by The BTN Group, a total of 372 new U.S. hotel projects with 45,084 rooms were announced in the first half of 2021.

U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Market Challenges

Potential risk of injuries/accidents related to the use of the product

Gel fuel is highly flammable, combustible, and extremely dangerous. Gel fuels used in fireplaces and firepots are associated with a number of safety risks that could harm users holding the gel fuel cans, which include the fuel exploding under pressure, a surge of flame that can catch fire to the clothing, and burn injuries, other potential dangers to users. In the U.S, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recorded 65 incidences associated with the use of pourable fuel gels utilized in firepots in which consumers suffered from moderate to severe burns when the fuel gel in their firepots exploded. Thus the growth in fire accidents related to gel fuel is likely to hamper the market growth during the forecast period.

U.S. Gel Fuel & Pourable Ethanol Industry Outlook

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the U.S. gel fuel & pourable ethanol market. U.S. gel fuel & pourable ethanol top players include:

1. Steron
2. Fancyheat
3. Hollowick
4. Terraflame
5. DINE-AGLOW DIABLO
6. Ecosmart fire
7. Regal Flame
8. RealFlame
9. Moda Flame
10. Others.

Recent Developments

• In March 2022, InventHelp Inventors develop a protective accessory for Sterno Fuel Cans. The new cans prevent the wind from blowing out the fuel cans used with chafing pans during outdoor activities.
• In April 2021, TerraFlame introduced contemporary to classic style fire features for online and retail shops which are fired by eco-friendly, smokeless, and non-toxic single-use Gel Fuel canisters.
• In July 2019, Sterno Product announced that the company will change its name from “Sterno Products” to “Sterno” and this move forms an integral part of the company’s plan to expand its core business of making and marketing portable food warming system.

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