Citrus Oils: Benefits, Applications, and Opportunities
Citrus oils provide a range of food and beverage, flavor and fragrance, and additional manufacturers with flexible, natural ingredient solutions that improve current and future product offerings.
As a core component of formulations serving an array of industries, citrus oils are worth revisiting for their role in everything from popular food and beverage products to enhancing industrial solvents and cleaners.
What Is Citrus Oil?
Citrus oils are versatile bio-based ingredients used to improve the flavor or fragrance characteristics of a wide range of products. These oils are derived from the peel or rinds of citrus fruits and are primarily sourced domestically from California and our home state of Florida. Overseas producers in Italy and Spain also contribute to fruit and raw ingredient production.
Citrus Oil Extraction Methods
Manufacturers shape eventual formulations during the extraction process. The two most common citrus oil extraction methods are cold-pressing and steam distillation.
Cold-press extraction—Peels are ground and pressed to extract the essential oil stored in tiny glands that line the peel. The result is a highly concentrated, extremely aromatic oil substance.
Steam distillation—Steam is forced through the peel to pull oil from the glands. The steam and oil are then condensed and separated, resulting in concentrated oil substance. Steam distillation is primarily, but not exclusively, used to extract oil from limes.
There are other ways to produce citrus oils, though they are primarily reserved for other essential oils, such as floral or bark-based aromas.
The Benefits of Citrus Oils for Manufacturers
Citrus scents are instantly recognizable by consumers and for many, elicit strong physical and emotional responses. Aromatherapy enthusiasts ascribe stress-relieving and mood-boosting benefits to citrus oil, and some laboratory tests on lemon oil give considerable weight to these claims.
Manufacturers have long relied on citrus oil for more utilitarian purposes in industries as diverse as oil and gas fields to pharmaceuticals. Providing far more value than eliminating unpleasant odors, citrus oils are used in the manufacturing of:
- Antioxidants
- Antidiabetics
- Antifungals
- Antibacterials
- And more.
Citrus oil suppliers like Florachem adjust and adapt citrus oil ingredients to improve the performance of the characteristics prized for each application.
Related: Citrus-Flavored Sports Drinks Are Having a Moment
Common Citrus Oil Applications by Industry
Citrus oil’s versatility is exemplified by its role across industries. It’s a critical part of crafting safe food products, enhancing sanitation, and improving countless consumer and industrial cleaning products.
Food and Beverage
In addition to providing fresh, invigorating flavors in food and beverage products, citrus oils offer a natural, clean-label alternative to synthetic ingredients. Citrus oils can also be used to preserve foods against microbial decomposition and oxidative degradation.
Cosmetics and Skincare
Citrus oils effectively remove bacteria, dead skin cells, and irritants to improve overall skin health and address common issues like acne.
Insect Repellent
Citrus oils, particularly citronella and eucalyptus citriodora (lemon bush eucalyptus), are natural alternatives to petroleum-derived, chemical-based products.
Cleaning and Degreasing
Citrus oils are core components of household and industrial cleaning products, playing key roles in the formulation of degreasers and solvent formulations. From everyday dish soap to cleaning oils and natural gas extraction equipment, citrus oils are a reliable, safe, and effective choice for manufacturers and consumers alike.
Citrus Essential Oils
Few scents are as impactful as citrus. Fragrance oil suppliers rely on citrus fragrance oils for popular aromatherapy products like essential oils, lotions, candles, and more.
The Citrus Oil Market Upside
Citrus oils enjoy tremendous upside as an in-demand specialty ingredient. With exposure to several industries and a finite number of competitors, the global citrus industry is expected to exceed $10 billion in 2025. Individual market segments, including citrus essential oils, are forecast to exceed the $1 billion mark by the middle of the next decade.
Source the Quality Citrus Oil Ingredients from Florachem
Florachem provides high-quality, in-demand orange and lemon citrus oil to manufacturers across a range of industries.
Our multi-location operations in Florida give us ready access to citrus fruits and our industry-leading production facilities give us the means and expertise to adjust formulations for your specific needs.
See what makes us America’s most trusted source of citrus oils. Contact our team today to learn more!