Probiotics are expected to become the next 100 billion-level tuyere: domestic substitution opens industry R&D and upgrades, and the industrial chain has increased its layout
As one of the fastest-growing nutrition and healthcare segments in recent years, probiotics are expected to become the next big health market at the 100 billion level.
Studies have shown that probiotics not only help improve digestion, but also boost immunity. Due to its diverse functions, probiotics have become one of the most popular functional food additives. At the same time, the substantial increase in market demand for nutrition and health care has also spurred the diversification of probiotic products. At present, in addition to being used in lactic acid bacteria beverages, yogurt and other foods, probiotics have been increasingly used in special foods such as health foods and infant formula foods.
According to the latest data, the global probiotic market is worth about 40 billion euros (about 300 billion yuan) in 2019. The average annual growth rate of China’s probiotics market is about 15%, and it is expected to reach a market size of nearly 90 billion yuan in 2022. As the demand for probiotic products in my country has increased substantially, probiotics have also ushered in a blowout development.
As probiotic products have a variety of scientific and clinically proven health benefits, they have market prospects for diversified applications. Since the beginning of this year, domestic upstream and downstream companies in the probiotic industry chain such as Ketuo Bio, Runwu Bio, Livzon, By-Health, etc. have increased their deployment in market research and development. The application and development of the probiotic industry has ranged from ordinary food and beverages to functional foods and health products. , And then expand to the field of live bacteria pharmaceuticals.
Cao Zheng, a national senior health manager, said that China has ushered in the golden age of the development of probiotic health food, and the awareness rate of probiotics among Chinese consumers has reached 82%. China may become the world’s largest probiotic market, and more probiotic products that are more suitable for Chinese consumers’ intestinal health will become a new hot spot for nutrition and health consumption.
There is huge room for maternal and infant immune health care
Compared with the European and American markets, the domestic probiotic industry started late. After 2000, people’s health awareness and understanding of probiotics have gradually improved, and the basic research and industrialization upgrade of domestic probiotics has accelerated accordingly.
The upstream of the probiotic industry chain focuses on the development and production of strains, and the downstream is used as an additive in various fields or directly used for food and medicine. According to data from the China Health Care Association, dairy products have become the largest carrier of probiotics, 72.40% of which are used in the dairy industry, as well as in the fields of medicines, granules (9.45%), animal probiotics (10%), and health products (6.5%). widely used.
According to the forecast of BCC Research, the global market value of probiotic dietary supplements will reach 8.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. The scale of China’s probiotics market continues to expand, with great potential for future development. China’s probiotic market has obvious advantages. In terms of market concentration, Biostime ranks first, followed by Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical, Infinitus, Livzon, Tomson Life-space Probiotics, etc.
Among them, the maternal and infant probiotics market is very popular and has grown rapidly. With the change in the concept of childcare, more and more mothers and infants in China realize that probiotics are closely related to the health of their babies. According to the public data of the “White Paper on Intestinal Health of Infants and Toddlers in China”, 40.1% of mothers will improve by consuming probiotics. The baby’s intestines, which also promotes the gradual maturity and rapid growth of the entire baby and child probiotic market.
During the period 2014-2019, the market size of China’s maternal and infant probiotic industry grew at a double-digit compound annual growth rate of 14.9%, and the increase was mainly driven by the development of children’s probiotics. In terms of retail sales value, the market size of children’s probiotics increased from 2.347 billion yuan in 2014 to 4.762 billion yuan in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15.2%. The maternal probiotic market is relatively small. In 2019, the maternal probiotic market is 1.245 billion yuan, and it is expected to approach 2 billion yuan in 2023.
With the increasing demand of higher-income families and increased awareness of children’s digestion and immunity, the China Commercial Industry Research Institute predicts that the growth trend of the maternal and child probiotic industry will continue, even stronger than in the past five years. It is to accelerate the penetration of online channels so that consumers in lower-tier cities can access high-quality probiotic products. At the same time, it is expected that the retail sales value of children’s probiotic products in China will reach approximately 8.014 billion yuan in 2023.
In fact, not only are the dairy giants increasing the probiotic market frequently, but also the upstream and downstream companies in the industry chain such as Ketuo Biological, Runying Biological, Sinopharm, and Weihai Lily have continuously increased their R&D investment. With multiple factors such as the potential for medical and healthcare consumption demand, the increase in the proportion of the young and old, and consumption upgrades, the consumption demand for probiotic health products and functional foods is expected to increase in the future.
Domestic substitution starts industry R&D upgrade
While the consumer market’s attention to probiotics and immune function is constantly escalating, it also raises the market’s requirements for branded products. In this context, the probiotic industry is facing a new round of elimination and upgrading, and the research and development of raw materials and products has become the key to the survival and sustainable development of enterprises.
The probiotic industry has strong intellectual property barriers, technical barriers, access barriers and capital barriers. At present, most of the domestic probiotics terminal nutrition and health consumer products use foreign bacteria. DuPont of the United States and Danish Hansen account for about 85% of the domestic probiotic raw material market. In contrast, there are fewer domestic manufacturers with a certain scale. Companies with an annual production capacity and output value of more than 10 million are mainly Beijing Ketuo Hengtong, Jiangsu Weikang Biology, Hebei Yiran Biology, Shanghai Runying Biology, etc.
People in the industry said that the separation, screening, evaluation, collection and functional research of probiotic bacteria resources is a long-term strategic task. Only with sufficient basic research as the cornerstone can companies develop excellent probiotic products. Product and brand competition among enterprises is mostly a manifestation of competition in the technical field.
Although the development of the domestic probiotics industry started relatively late, it still achieved outstanding results in the patent application and development of strains. On April 25, the National Health Commission announced the official release of Document No. 5 of 2021, approving the MP108 Lactobacillus rhamnosus declared by Ausnutria’s probiotics business brand Pennchi Bio as a new food raw material and food safety indicators for strain raw materials It complies with the relevant standards of our country and is a strain that can be used in food for infants and young children. This means that domestic companies have broken the monopoly of infants and young children “foreign strains”.
“The first stock of probiotics” Ketuo is also the leader in domestic alternatives. The annual report shows that in 2020, Ketuo Bio will achieve operating income of 339 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.08%; realize a net profit of 96,576,800 yuan attributable to the parent, a year-on-year increase of 3.53%; realize a non-net profit of 90,634,700 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.56%. In 2020, the company’s three major business revenues, including compound food additives, edible probiotic products, and animal and plant microecological preparations, increased by 7.67%, 63.98% and 13.62% year-on-year, respectively.
Source: Tencent
