"White Paper on the Development of Domestic High-quality Collagen Industry" was released

Our reporter Yang Xiaojing

A few days ago, the research group of the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce released the "White Paper on the Development of Domestic High-quality Collagen Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"
).
。 On the basis of introducing the source, classification and efficacy of collagen, analyzing the main players and growth directions of international and domestic markets, the white paper focuses on research and comparison of the development positioning, technology research and development, brand building, qualification certification and sales layout of domestic key collagen enterprises such as Suzhou Geliding, Guangzhou Chuanger Biotechnology, Shanxi Jinbo Biotechnology, Shaanxi Juzi Biotechnology, Taiwan Shuangmei Biotechnology, Guangzhou Jiyuan Biotechnology, etc.
, and analyzes and summarizes
the problems, risks, challenges and prospects facing the development of China's collagen industry 。 The White Paper suggests that the collagen industry should take the road of high-quality development, deepen industry-university-research-government cooperation, improve production technology and product added value, extend the product chain and upgrade products; Strengthen the control from the source, pay attention to the standard formulation and standardized application of collagen; It is recommended that enterprises try to keep more high-end products in China and promote domestic consumption upgrading
.
The White Paper calls on industry enterprises, management departments and consumers to jointly attach importance to the high-quality development of China's collagen industry, and cultivate and promote well-known collagen brands
in China.

The development prospects of the industry are good

According to the "White Paper", "collagen" is the most abundant protein in the human body, accounting for about 30%-40% of the total protein of the human body, and collagen participates in a variety of life activities
in the body.
Artificially manufactured collagen has significant biocompatibility, low antigenicity and high cell adhesion, and is widely used in
food, medicine, biomaterials, beauty skin care, feed and other fields.

At present, the global collagen market continues to grow
steadily.
According to data released by Grand View Research, the global collagen market size reached $15.
356 billion in 2019, is expected to reach $17.
258 billion in 2022, and is expected to reach $22.
622 billion in 2027, with an average annual compound growth rate of 5.
42%, and the growth is relatively stable
.
Developed countries dominated by the United States, Europe and Japan constitute the first echelon of the global collagen industry, and the BRICS countries represented by China and India constitute the second echelon
.

With people's continuous pursuit of their own health and anti-aging, the anti-aging, medical beauty and other effects of collagen have been increasingly fully developed and recognized by consumers
.
At present, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, South Korea and other countries have used collagen in medical, dairy, beverage, dietary supplements, nutrition, skin care products and other fields
.
Active peptide medicine, food, beverage, etc.
have formed a huge market
in Japan, the United States and Europe.

There is a large space in the field of technology research and development

Data shows that in 2019, China's collagen market size was 983 million US dollars, and it is expected to reach 1.
576 billion US dollars
by 2027.
From 2016 to 2027, the average annual compound growth rate of China's collagen market is expected to be 6.
54%, higher than the global market growth rate
of 5.
42% expected in the same period.

The White Paper points out that in the field of technology research and development in China's collagen industry, the two mainstream preparation methods of animal source extraction and genetic engineering have technical research and development difficulties and safety risks
.
The extraction technology of animal-derived collagen is relatively mature and relatively low-cost, but it has limitations such as the risk of disease infection, immune rejection or allergic reactions, and capacity limitations
.
Based on genetic engineering technology, the products of recombinant collagen have the advantages of good safety, strong processability and stable quality, but the biological activity of recombinant collagen is doubtful, the technology is not mature, and there are still many technical difficulties and breakthroughs
.

In terms of R&D investment of collagen enterprises in China, the R&D expenses and proportion of some enterprises are far lower than marketing, and follow-up competition is weak
.
By comparing the R&D expenditure and R&D expenses of the main collagen enterprises Juzi Biotechnology, Chuanger Biotechnology, Jinbo Biotechnology, Betteni and Huaxi Biotechnology, Amec, Shanghai Jahwa and other enterprises involved in medical cosmetology, the "White Paper" believes that the R&D expenses of the main collagen enterprises are low
on the whole.

In terms of new product technology promotion, the research and development of new collagen new products not only involves high cost, high risk and strict compliance requirements, but also new research and development results need to be further industrialized, marketed and scaled, which contains greater risks and uncertainties
.
At the same time, new products must pass strict clinical trials and administrative approvals before marketing, and after marketing, they need to be accepted and recognized
by the market through marketing promotion.
If the company's new products cannot adapt to changing market needs, or are not accepted by the market, it will adversely affect
the profitability and future development of the company.

Regulation starts at the source

In terms of sales promotion, the White Paper pointed out that at present, China's collagen market products focus on beauty skin care, anti-aging, strengthening bones, enhancing immunity, etc.
, and the product form is mainly powderable, followed by oral liquid, mask and lotion
.
There is a problem of
single product form and increasingly fierce homogeneous competition.

At the same time, there is also chaos in the sales and promotion of collagen products in
China's collagen market.
First of all, there is a phenomenon
that product promotion does not match the actual effect.
Collagen products require a lot of marketing and promotion by the company, which is prone to problems such as unclear target active ingredients and broad efficacy labels, which may lead to legal disputes between consumers and enterprises, affecting the recognition and trust of products and brands in the hearts
of consumers.
In addition, the market supervision of collagen products is still in the stage of improvement, and the product quality of different enterprises has a large gap, which also directly leads to the chaos of the
collagen consumption market.

In terms of market supervision, collagen products involve health food, cosmetics and medical devices, and the relevant laws and regulations are more detailed and stricter
.
According to the newly revised and implemented 2021 Food Safety Law and other laws and regulations, the supervision of collagen for health food, etc.
has become clearer and more meticulous, and the punishment measures for violations of laws and regulations have become stricter
.
This is mainly reflected in the following five aspects: first, the implementation of registration and filing management; Second, the concepts of risk management, precise management and whole-process management run through the above regulations; Third, refine the circumstances under which administrative punishments are given; Fourth, increase the severity of punishment; Fifth, implement the main responsibility of enterprises and add provisions
on "punishment to people".

In general, China's collagen industry standards target different indicators of raw materials, processes and product quality, and in practical application, each manufacturer chooses the corresponding standard
according to the characteristics of its own products.
This is not conducive to the development of
collagen industry norms.

In view of the above problems, risks and challenges in the development of China's collagen industry, the White Paper also puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions
.
The first is to deepen industry-university-research-government cooperation and improve production technology and product added value
.
Secondly, we must strengthen the control from the source and pay attention to the standards of
collagen raw material enterprises.
In addition, in terms of publicity and promotion, a variety of methods should be adopted to strengthen consumers' awareness of collagen, and enterprises should attach great importance to brand value connotation management and brand image promotion
.

China Food News (October 17, 2022, Edition 06)

(Editor: Yang Xiaojing)