Proteins

The global proteins market is a basic pillar of food security and nutrition, undergoing dynamic change fueled by changing consumer trends, concerns about sustainability, and technological advances in conventional and new protein sources. The global market for alternative meats, eggs, dairy, and seafood is projected to reach at least USD 290 billion by 2035, driven by surging global consumer demand for plant-based, microorganism-based and cell-based protein alternatives. This large market represents various protein groups, such as alternative proteins, animal proteins, and plant proteins, each serving different nutritional requirements, environmental aspects, and lifestyle preferences of consumers.

The segment of alternative proteins is witnessing phenomenal growth with the market worth USD 79.7 billion in 2023 growing at a rate of 11% CAGR during 2024-2032 on account of environmental, health, and ethics. This expansion is a result of growing consumer knowledge on the environmental effects of traditional livestock production and preference for more environmentally friendly protein sources. Animal proteins continue to be an important market, backed by the economic size of the animal feed protein market at USD 309 billion in 2023, projected to grow at 4.9% CAGR from 2024 to 2032, due to increasing demand for high-quality meat, dairy, and egg, as consumers are looking for protein-rich diets.

Plant proteins are capturing tremendous momentum as consumers become more and more vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian in their diets, driven by advances in processing technologies and enhanced taste profiles. Major drivers of the market are growing health awareness, environmental sustainability, innovation in protein extraction and processing, and regulatory promotion of alternative protein development. The overlap between precision fermentation, cellular agriculture, and new protein sources continues to reshape the marketplace in all food protein subcategories.