ChemCentral

What ChemCentral does

ChemCentral is a B2B e-commerce marketplace that consolidates chemical ingredient procurement for industrial buyers across multiple geographies. The platform operates as a self-serve online storefront where customers can browse a catalog of 586+ products spanning solvents, organic acids, glycerin, silicones, polymers, surfactants, chelants, water treatment chemicals, cosmetic compounds, and specialty ingredients, sourced from more than 55 suppliers including Univar Solutions (the parent and primary seller), Dow, Dow Silicones, BASF, Cargill, Morton, Jungbunzlauer, Innophos, Purac America, and Church & Dwight. Products are offered in multiple grades (Technical, USP, FCC, Kosher, Halal) and packaging formats (bags, drums, IBCs, totes), with advanced search, filtering by supplier/package/grade, quote requests, and volume discount eligibility surfaced through the catalog interface. The platform supports multi-region storefronts with localized language and currency across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Brasil, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

ChemCentral serves five primary customer segments: industrial manufacturers needing broad-spectrum chemical inputs, food & beverage processors requiring FCC/Kosher/Halal certified ingredients, personal care and cosmetics formulators sourcing high-purity actives and preservatives, pharmaceutical buyers needing USP/NF grade excipients, and chemical formulators procuring solvents, surfactants, and technical-grade inputs. The "Request a Product" workflow allows buyers to flag catalog gaps and trigger representative follow-up, extending assortment beyond the listed catalog.

Business model and revenue mechanics: ChemCentral operates on a marketplace model that combines direct product sales (Univar as seller) with third-party seller listings, generating revenue via marketplace commissions, transaction fees, and product margins. Pricing is largely quote-based (contact customer service) with volume discounts available on select SKUs; billing is pay-as-you-go. Marketing relies on organic search and direct website traffic, with no explicit paid channels disclosed. Customer service is reachable via [email protected] and 281-297-0363. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Univar Solutions, Inc. (headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois), ChemCentral does not publish standalone financials and has no independent funding, M&A, or public-company disclosure in the input data.

Name

ChemCentral

Legal name

ChemCentral Marketplace

Website

https://chemcentral.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ChemCentral is a B2B chemical ingredient marketplace, operated by Univar Solutions, that connects industrial buyers in 7+ countries with 55+ suppliers across 586+ SKUs of solvents, acids, silicones, polymers, surfactants, and food/pharma-grade ingredients via a self-serve e-commerce platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chemical Distribution Marketplace

NAICS

Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (4246), Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers (424210)

SIC

Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160), Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122)

akta.pro primary industry

Chemicals, Ingredients & Raw Materials Marketplaces (CRAFAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food-Grade Additives & Functional Ingredients Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAI), Compounding Ingredient & API Distributors (Pharma Supply) (HLAIAJAO)

Keywords

• Chemical distribution marketplace
• Industrial chemicals supply
• Specialty ingredients e-commerce
• Food grade chemicals
• B2B chemical procurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Strongsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Direct sales of chemical ingredients and industrial chemicals through online marketplace. Customers purchase products at listed or quoted prices. Revenue generated from product margins on transactions between sellers and buyers.
2. Marketplace Commission: Operates as marketplace connecting third-party sellers (Univar Solutions, DOW, BASF, etc.) with buyers. Revenue derived from transaction facilitation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

ChemCentral operates a B2B e-commerce marketplace where buyers can browse a catalog of 586+ industrial and food-grade chemical ingredients, submit product requests and quote inquiries, and purchase through a single checkout from multiple third-party sellers including Univar Solutions, DOW, BASF, Cargill, Morton, and others. The marketplace spans 18+ chemical categories — solvents, organic acids, salts, carbonates, glycerin, silicones, polymers, surfactants, chelants, water treatment chemicals, cosmetic compounds, and additives — with products offered in multiple grades (Technical, USP, FCC, Kosher, Halal) and packaging formats (bags, drums, IBCs, supersacks). Transactions support volume discounts and quote-based pricing, and the platform serves buyers across the US, UK, Canada, France, Brazil, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Product overview

ChemCentral Marketplace is a B2B chemical distribution platform operated by Univar Solutions, offering a comprehensive marketplace where customers can purchase industrial and food-grade chemicals from multiple sellers through a single checkout. The platform features 586+ products across major chemical categories including solvents (alcohols, glycols, glycol ethers, hydrocarbons), organic acids (citric, lactic, phosphoric), salts, carbonates, glycerin, silicones, polymers, chelants, surfactants, and specialty ingredients. Products are sourced from 55+ suppliers/manufacturers including Univar Solutions, Dow, BASF, Cargill, and others, and are offered in various grades (Technical, USP, FCC, Kosher, Halal) and packaging formats (drums, IBCs, bags, supersacks). The platform enables customers to browse by product category, request quotes, and purchase directly through one checkout system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ChemCentral Marketplace B2B online marketplace platform where buyers can browse a searchable catalog of 586+ industrial and food-grade chemical ingredients, submit product and quote requests, and purchase from multiple third-party sellers (including Univar Solutions, DOW, BASF, Cargill, Morton, Jungbunzlauer, Church & Dwight, Purac, and Innophos) through a single checkout. Supports volume discounts and serves buyers across the US, UK, Canada, France, Brazil, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered primary, major, minor and moderate.

• Univar SolutionsprimaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnivar Solutions is the primary seller/distributor on the ChemCentral marketplace with 247+ products listed. The copyright notice states 'Copyright © Univar Solutions, Inc. all rights reserved' indicating Univar Solutions owns the ChemCentral platform.
• DOWmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDOW supplies 6 products through the ChemCentral marketplace including silicone emulsions and related chemicals.
• Dow Silicones CorpmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDow Silicones Corp supplies 11 silicone products including XIAMETER branded antifoam emulsions and DOWSIL products.
• BASFminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBASF supplies 1 product through the ChemCentral marketplace.
• Cargill IncorporatedmoderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCargill supplies 8 products including blending salts and corn syrup solids.
• Church & Dwight Co IncminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChurch & Dwight supplies 8 products including sodium carbonates.
• Jungbunzlauer IncminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJungbunzlauer supplies 5 specialty ingredients including citric acid and related products.
• Purac America IncmoderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPurac America supplies 3 lactic acid products and related food ingredients.
• Morton (A subsidiary of Salt Financial Partners)moderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMorton supplies 12 salt products including blending salts, sodium bicarbonate, and culinary salts.
• Innophos IncminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInnophos supplies 6 phosphoric acid and phosphate products.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Caldic: Global distributor of specialty ingredients and chemicals for food, personal care, pharma, and industrial markets; comparable vertical mix and B2B ingredient marketplace model.
• Barentz: Global specialty ingredients distributor focused on food, nutrition, personal care, and pharmaceutical markets; directly comparable ingredient categories and customer segments served by ChemCentral.
• Azelis: Specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor operating across EMEA, Americas, and Asia-Pacific with life sciences and industrial verticals; directly comparable target customer base and multi-supplier model.
• TER Chemicals: Specialty chemicals distributor serving industrial, food, personal care, and pharmaceutical segments across Europe with multi-supplier portfolio; comparable multi-vertical chemical distribution model.
• IMCD: Global specialty chemicals distributor focused on food, personal care, pharmaceuticals, and industrial markets with strong supplier-brand portfolio; comparable to ChemCentral's vertical segmentation and premium ingredient focus.

Emerging players

• Knowde: Digital marketplace for chemicals and ingredients connecting suppliers with industrial buyers across personal care, food, pharma, and industrial verticals; directly comparable multi-vertical chemical e-commerce marketplace positioning.
• SpecialChem: Digital platform connecting chemical suppliers with formulators across coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and food ingredients; comparable as a digital marketplace layer on top of chemical distribution with supplier-discovery functionality.

Broad incumbents

• HELM AG: Hamburg-based global chemical distribution and marketing company with extensive product portfolio across industrial chemicals, crop protection, and life sciences; comparable global multi-vertical distributor footprint.
• Brenntag: World's largest chemical distributor offering specialty and industrial chemicals across multiple regions with a multi-vendor digital procurement portal; directly comparable business model and customer base to ChemCentral.
• Univar Solutions: Parent company and global chemical distributor; comparable as it operates the underlying supply chain, warehouses, and supplier relationships powering ChemCentral's marketplace and serves identical industrial customer segments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ChemCentral