Consumers by and large think very positively about maintaining a high protein intake. Many of the health benefits associated with this macronutrient appeal to those of all ages and activity levels. For the young, a high protein intake is associated with physical development; for the old, this diet strategy appears in research to prevent or slow down the age-related loss of muscle associated with mobility and quality of life issues.

For all ages, a high protein intake is shown to be an important part of achieving increased energy, strength, muscle development, high metabolic output, and weight loss, and many of the leading diets call for caloric energy derived from protein to overshadow energy sourced from carbs and fat.

There’s no denying that the popularity of plant-based proteins is rising steadily for their positive associations with both health and the environment. However, many consumers consider traditional sources of animal protein their primary and mainstay source. Supplements with protein sourced from meat, dairy, and eggs still dominate, and they aren’t going anywhere. Grand View Research, a market research company which issued a report in 2020 on protein supplements, reported that 67.9% of all protein supplement sales come from animal sources, due to the stalwart popularity of whey among athletes and gym-goers for containing all nine essential amino acids in abundant proportions.

Simply, animal proteins are the most similar to proteins found within the human body, and while alternative sources are becoming more and more optimized, traditional proteins will have staying power by virtue of this similarity, along with the ease at which amino acids and peptides can be optimized.

“Take collagen protein, for example, one of the most important components of our body,” said Angie Rimel, marketing communications manager for Gelita USA. “Abundant in connective tissue—bone, teeth, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and skin—it comprises up to 30% of the human body’s total protein. As such, food and nutritional supplements containing collagen are an ideal way to deliver and improve the supply to the entire body. Both gelatin and collagen peptides are pure proteins that can boost nutritional profiles, contribute to clean labeling, and feature non-allergenic potential.”

Still, according to some market research companies such as Nielsen, while consumers are seeking out a diverse range of protein sources, they don’t necessarily have a good understanding of even conventional foods which contain it, implicating that the disparity between wanting and knowing about specialized protein supplements is likely even greater across all consumers.

“Overall, protein knowledge among U.S. consumers is fairly low,” Nielsen said in a recent publication, “however, consumers still make 60% of their purchase decisions at the shelf. So as consumers continue to hone their specific diets and shopping habits, manufacturers and retailers have a real opportunity to tout protein content right on-pack or with in-store signage, even for products where it seems obvious.”

Looking specifically at protein supplements, namely the fortified foods, beverages, and other supplement formats delivering isolated forms of protein, peptides, or amino acids, the market has created a more all-encompassing picture of protein supplement usage in a category once dominated by athletes, bodybuilders, and generally those who are on the more competitive end of sports nutrition.

Today, the category is comprised of many more people, including a crowd focused on maintaining muscle later in life, casual gym-goers, and even everyday consumers looking for a more convenient way to increase their protein intake beyond their standard diet for weight management, satiety, and energy. And, according to many in the broader nutraceuticals space, consumers have become even more health conscious, and ever-more discerning surrounding issues of quality, clean label, functionality, and sustainability.

“It recently dawned on us that we have this huge body of research and gold-standard clinical trials, but we weren’t doing enough to educate consumers around product functionality (i.e., the nitty-gritty science),” said Liz Clarke, CFS, technical marketing manager at Nitta Gelatin. With every product having been the subject of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trials for safety and efficacy, the company has invested more efforts into providing educational content for consumers moving forward, and conveying what attributes in terms of quality and safety supplement shoppers should be wary of. Likewise, the company partnered with EcoVadis, a corporate ratings/certification platform, to develop a Corporate Social Responsibility task force to take part in multiple projects supporting sustainability, equity, and clean label to speak to consumer expectations from the protein industry.

Clarke said that an overlap of multiple markets that were previously independent is creating more personalized micro-segments within active nutrition, personalized nutrition, and healthy aging sectors.

“Personalized nutrition is a win for everyone involved, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be as granular as a personalized pill pack based on blood type,” she said. Diverse personal preferences, in addition to speaking to consumers’ wants, are also allowing ingredients to permeate to new categories more commonly.

“As a B2B company, we’re listening intently to the voice of the consumer, and developing clinically backed ingredients for effective final formulations,” said Clarke. “We’re seeing our Wellnex Replenwell collagen products in combination with other active ingredients which address formerly unrelated needs, including botanicals and probiotics, which is extremely exciting.”

Grand View Research said the protein supplements market is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 8.0% until the year 2027, when it will reach a value of $32.6 billion. With a steady rise of newcomers to protein supplementation, industry experts anticipate the lines to blur between athletes and active consumers in the broader nutrition space as protein supplements become more ubiquitous and accessible. Today, according to market research company Statista, two-in-five (46%) Americans now take a protein supplement.

“There is so much interest in collagen from the consumer side,” according to Rimel. “Protein used to be a topic for bodybuilders and extreme sports enthusiasts. In recent years, protein has evolved to the mass market. In years past, gyms and fitness centers were the main outlets for tubs of protein. Today, you can find protein powders, protein beverages, protein bars, and, in fact, protein-enriched anything at nearly any grocery store or convenience store.”


Enhancing the Mainstays
In terms of functional foods, beverages, and other supplements containing concentrated, complete proteins, there are a limited number of sources which are viable in today’s market. More loyal protein consumers tend toward well-researched formulas.

“Today’s consumers are more informed than ever about the importance of exercise, proper nutrition, and supplementation,” Rimel said. “They strive to optimize mobility, health, and appearance—at any and every age. This diverse group looking to maximize health benefits through good nutrition and supplementation will favor products with the greatest amount of scientific research and substantiation to support them.” 

The potency or protein density, both by volume and by caloric load, is an area where there is abundant innovation in new formulas, as technological capacity allows for the development of products which can minimize the amount of calories in favor of a greater protein purity.

Novelty in terms of functional foods and beverages is another pursuit of the protein industry that has been well-rewarded recently. There has been an advent in recent years, for instance, of clear protein isolates being used in a host of new beverages that most wouldn’t conceive of as having protein at all; more hydrating varieties of protein drinks incorporate clear proteins, including sports drinks, lemonades, and iced teas. This is done through hydrolysis, fermentation, and various other processing methods—some simple and some complex—which create protein isolates with superior solubility, viscosity, texture, stability in hot or highly acidic environments, and taste neutrality, allowing them to be formulated in all-new foods and beverages once considered off-limits.

The Collagen Renaissance
Smaller components of proteins, namely peptides and amino acids, are sought after by a variety of consumers in an even more isolated form for more nuanced and unique health applications that would be difficult if not impossible to achieve with standard proteins alone.

Few protein constituents have seen star power quite like collagen peptides, an ingredient once only commercially found in an injectable filler format. With the aid of hydrolyzation advances and research identifying the activity of various collagen types, the past decade has seen several industry collaborators formulating collagen peptide supplements more capable than ever before of renewing users’ naturally-depleting stores of collagen in hair, skin, joints, and nails. One estimate from Innova Market Insights suggested that launches of products featuring collagen have seen average annual growth of 27% since 2015, as this type of protein continues to experience a renaissance period in the U.S. following decades of popularity in East Asian regions.

“Collagen is so easy to formulate with in powders because collagen is neutral in taste and color, in ready-to-drink (RTD) because of its high solubility and clarity, in protein bars, where collagen proteins support shelf life and keep a soft texture even at protein concentrations above 60%, and in novel formulations like concentrated shots, gummies, etc. Collagen peptides lend themselves beautifully and easily to countless beverage and food applications,” Rimel said.

The reason collagen peptide supplements are clamored after today is intuitive. Most food sources of collagen come from the parts of animals normally not eaten, and even if eaten, can barely be digested. The collagen that exists abundantly throughout the body, also begins its lifelong deterioration by the time a person enters their 20s, which is associated with a depreciation of both cosmetic appearance and a degradation of bones and joints.

Because of its elusive status in normal food sources, collagen is clearly bucking the broad trend of consumers opting for plant-based nutritional solutions wherever they can. There’s simply no alternative for premium collagen products on the market. Nonetheless, collagen ingredients, by and large, are considered sustainable—without proper utilization, the raw materials used to create collagen would go to waste as byproducts of the meat industry.

“We utilize the food-grade, unused materials from the meat, poultry, and aquaculture industries to create highly functional, value-added nutritional ingredients from these co-streams,” Clarke said. “We’re proud to take part in this type of circular economy which simultaneously reduces waste and creates real value for our customers.”

Over the past eight years or so, rigorous clinical trials have shown that a small few of the estimated 16 collagen types can be made digestible if cleaved from the triple helix molecular structure, and even then, the forms of peptides which can be made through hydrolysis vary immensely. Because of this, there exists a highly competitive environment in which quality and bioavailability are both very demanding to achieve and tantamount for any tangible health benefit. American consumers have warmed up to all sorts of collagen products for use in a category some refer to as “active beauty,” namely, products which provide both cosmetic and functional benefits to users. New research is opening up another possible use for collagen peptides in the short-term, with some studies indicating that they may be useful for injury recovery (Praet et al., Nutrients, 2019), scarring reduction (Ulrich et al., Wound Repair & Regeneration, 2007), and flexibility/mobility issues.

“Even prior to the effects of COVD-19 on consumers’ nutritional priorities, we were seeing some major trends around ‘food as medicine,’ a more holistic approach to beauty, and healthy aging,” Clarke said. “These trends are obviously due to a combination of factors including increasing the median age of the population, a more balanced approach to wellness, and technological advances in the beauty-from-within market, a market that has been strong in the East for decades.”

Likewise, many of collagen’s most innovative formats and delivery technologies still in their nascent stages in the U.S. have already achieved popularity in Eastern regions, specifically in the Japanese and Korean markets, Clarke said. “Although physical travel might be limited right now, the digital age of cultural exploration and exchange is alive and well. Within the nutraceutical and cosmetic markets specifically, we’re seeing a huge influx of trends and innovation from East Asian influences,” she added, such as collagen shots, and transparent protein beverages. “Our Wellnex collagen peptide ingredients are perfectly suited to transparent protein beverages due to high heat and pH stability, low turbidity, and instant dissolution. You could say that we got a head start on optimization for some of the ‘newer’ formats, being that Nitta Gelatin was founded, and is still headquartered, in Japan.”

Because collagen is so dynamic, with three types prevalent in the human body and a plethora of processing methods to choose from, formulators are creating portfolios of collagen products to meet highly specific targets.

Gelita, for example, has specific formulas clinically substantiated for body toning and muscle strength (Bodybalance); improving bone mass density and supporting bone stability and flexibility (Fortibone); supporting joint health and mobility (Fortigel); improving skin elasticity, nail growth, and wrinkle and cellulite reduction (Verisol); improving the quality of ligaments and tendons (Tendoforte); and even immune support (Immupept).

Recent breakthroughs, however, are identifying a new method of making collagen bioavailable. Ancient Nutrition, for example, recently launched a re-formulated version of its Multi Collagen Protein supplements, which the company said is the first of its kind in the market to use fermentation rather than hydrolysis to break down collagen for bioavailability. Heavy investment in clinical research substantiates the role that fermentation can play in the effectiveness of the product, which contains five collagen types sourced from chicken, bovine, fish, and eggshell membrane. The product has also been shown in human clinical trials to improve the appearance of crow’s feet after 28 days and skin tone after 8 weeks, reduce knee stiffness within seven days, reduce exercise-induced stiffness and discomfort, and promote hair thickness while reducing hair breakage. Some participants in the series of trials saw significant benefits as quickly as three days, the company said, suggesting that they’ve ushered in a new class of collagen products thanks to specific organisms which break down high-protein foods to allow collagen peptides to become even more bioactive by weight than through hydrolysis.

While collagen has seen a flourishing amount of research over the past several years, a precise and complete understanding on the mechanisms of action continues to be a top priority for Nitta Gelatin’s global team, Clarke said. Building on the foundational understanding of the elusive bioactives within collagen peptides will “lead to further optimization of [Nitta Gelatin’s] collagen ingredients, lower minimum doses, and more novel applications.”

“We were the first supplier to identify the dipeptides proline-hydroxyproline (PO) and hydroxyproline-glycine (OG) as two of the most bioactive molecules within collagen peptides, and we’re currently the only supplier to offer products containing concentrated levels of PO-OG under our Replenwell collagen portfolio,” she added.


Amino Acids
Complete proteins contain all nine essential amino acids, which must be taken in through food. While seeking out complete proteins might be an endpoint for some, others are interested in supplements which provide one or more of the amino acids in isolation due to the unique benefits that have been discovered after studying the role they play in isolated supplements. Despite the fact that most people take in the essential amino acids needed for healthy bodily function through diet alone, increasing the intake of certain amino acids in concentration is noted to enhance the activity and synthesis of dietary protein.

The “big three,” namely BCAAS (branched-chain amino acids) have dominated for some time, with many clinical trials showing that supplements with a standard ratio of 2:1:1 or 4:1:1 of leucine to isoleucine and valine can improve muscular energy production and issues of fatigue during exercise. The three BCAAs are the most abundant essential amino acids found throughout the human body, and for these reasons have garnered the most interest. BCAAs are broken down in the muscle, and are considered precursors to the synthesis of protein within the body. While leucine is thought to have the biggest impact on the body’s ability to build muscle proteins, the other two seem to be more effective at producing energy and regulating blood sugar levels.

According to market research company Lumina Intelligence, BCAAs are no longer thought of as just a pre-workout supplement, but rather, consumers are beginning to incorporate them into a daily nutritional regimen for all purposes. Lumina reported that positive reviews of BCAAs in its consumer surveys fall just behind that of protein powders, suggesting that user engagement with this specialty blend of ingredients has the potential to become much more mainstream as a synergistic add-on to everyday protein intake.

While the BCAAs are a dominant force in amino acid isolate supplements, there is plenty of pioneering research into a wide range of benefits of not only adjunctive amino acids, but of specific amino acid metabolites.

One such example is HMB, a metabolite of the amino acid leucine, which was initially researched and developed by the founders of the company Metabolic Technologies, Steven Nissen, PhD, DVM and Naji Abumrad, MD. TSI Group LTD acquired the company in 2020, and intends to scale up the production, sales, and business development of branded muscle health ingredient MyHMB, which has become known most popularly in sports nutrition, but is emerging as a healthy aging ingredient as well following research into muscle preservation in later life stages.

An expanding body of evidence has found that HMB alone, compared to either placebo or in comparison to non-metabolized amino acids, can simulate the ingestion of larger amounts of base protein sources, and is shown to help maximize protein synthesis following exercise-induced muscle damage. While it’s generally accepted that the body naturally synthesizes about 0.2 to 0.4 grams from leucine per day, research has found that an optimal dosage of additional HMB is 3 grams, divided into split doses, Larry Kolb, president of TSI Group LTD, said. However, other data support doses as low as 1.5 grams daily. Further, other data support a 2-gram daily dose in older adults for maintaining muscle mass and function, however, each of these dosages are optimized to an average body weight.

“Besides the original discovery of HMB and its benefit on increasing muscle mass and strength/function in athletes as well as those experiencing unwanted muscle loss, the most important discoveries would be the unique dual mechanisms of action of the compound and how these directly impact the body’s ability to utilize the protein we consume,” said Kolb. “Through one pathway, HMB helps activate the key machinery responsible for protein synthesis in the muscle. Through another, HMB decreases the major pathways for muscle breakdown. Thus, HMB helps balance muscle protein turnover for optimal muscle health, both enhancing muscle protein synthesis and protecting against muscle protein breakdown. This unique dual mechanism of action allows for the protein we consume to be best utilized by the muscle as our dietary protein provides the amino acid building blocks for this muscle protein balance.”

While much of the initial research on HMB was done on resistance training with the goal of increasing muscle mass and strength, additional studies have evidenced that the metabolite can improve markers of endurance and anaerobic performance, as well as muscle recovery, for a broad spectrum of athletes. “In non-exercising populations, HMB has been shown to have a significant benefit to bedrest subjects, post-surgical patients, and older adults to improve muscle health,” Kolb added. “In fact, recently, HMB in combination with vitamin D has been shown to improve muscle function and strength in older adults without exercise.”  

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Mike Montemarano has been the Associate Editor of Nutraceuticals World since February 2020. He can be reached at MMontemarano@RodmanMedia.com.