Hydrocolloid News Roundup — August 2025

Each month we curate the most useful market moves and research updates across key hydrocolloids—xanthan gum, guar gum, agar-agar, and sodium alginate—with an occasional bonus item from related gums. Here’s what mattered this month.

Guar Gum

• Market watch: Analysts flagged sharp price increases in July on the back of strengthening demand from energy, food processing, and pharma while freight and export dynamics tightened supply.
• But signals are mixed: Some processors report guar splits stabilizing at multi-year lows as India’s monsoon improves and export policy chatter cools sentiment.
• Why it matters: Expect volatility by grade and end-use; lock in forward needs and watch India crop/weather updates closely.

Shop Guar Gum →

Agar-Agar

• Price trends diverged in July: After a steady first half, buyers in some regions reported restocking and tighter availability, while others saw neutral to soft pricing depending on origin and cut.
• Why it matters: If you specify particular origins (Gelidium vs. Gracilaria) or mesh sizes, build a little extra lead time into fall R&D and production.

Shop Agar Powder →

Sodium Alginate

• Energy storage crossover: Researchers reported sodium-alginate-modified hydrogel electrolytes that improved stability in zinc-ion batteries—even under puncture and mechanical impact—highlighting alginate’s value well beyond food.
• Food packaging: New work on alginate-based active films suggests better shelf-life performance for delicate fruit (e.g., blueberries) when pairing alginate with high-internal-phase emulsions and antimicrobials.
• Why it matters: Expect continuing pull from non-food sectors (energy/biomaterials) and steady food demand from clean-label packaging research.

Shop Sodium Alginate →

Xanthan Gum

• Formulation science keeps refining the basics: 2025 reviews dig deeper into what governs xanthan’s rheology, with fresh attention on salt effects, shear/extensional behavior, and performance in dysphagia-oriented thickeners and packaging matrices.
• Why it matters: Small changes in ion content, pH, and shear history can swing viscosity and stability; capture these in your spec sheets and batch records.

Shop Xanthan Gum →

Bonus: Carrageenan

• Edible films on the move: A new carrageenan-based composite film showed promising antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and biodegraded in soil in about a week—reinforcing seaweed-based films as a credible packaging avenue.

Shop Kappa Carrageenan →

Keep Reading (opens in a new tab)

Google News: Guar Gum · Google News: Agar-Agar · Google News: Sodium Alginate · Google News: Xanthan Gum