Germany Protein - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

The Germany Protein Market size is estimated at 0.86 billion USD in 2025, and is expected to reach 1.08 billion USD by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.63% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

Strategic investment by governing bodies drove the application of protein especially in F&B and animal feed

• By application, the food and beverage (F&B) segment is leading the German protein market. It accounted for a major share of 55.4% by volume, followed by animal feed holding a 39.9% share in 2022. However, the beverage sub-segment is anticipated to record the fastest CAGR of 7.22%, by volume, during the forecast period, as Germans are known for their preference for fizzy drinking water and fruit juices, drinks, and nectars with added proteins.
• In the F&B segment, the meat/poultry/seafood and meat alternative products sub-segment accounted for the major share by volume in 2020, followed by the dairy and dairy alternative products sub-segment. As meat alternatives record increased demand, the German government invested around USD 780,000 in 2018 in research projects such as 'Texturing Mechanisms in the Wet Extrusion of Soy and Pea Protein,' aimed at making the texture of vegan meat more 'realistic' with the use of soy and pea proteins.
• The market growth is primarily driven by the rising number of vegan and flexitarian consumers increasingly relying on or being open-to animal-free product offerings. As of 2020, the number of vegans in Germany had doubled from 1.3 million to 2.6 million, representing 3.2% of the population.
• The sports/performance nutrition supplement sub-segment is projected to be the fastest-growing end-user application with a CAGR value of 6.28% during the forecast period 2023-2029. For instance, according to the global health and fitness association IHRSA, since 2016, the number of fitness club members in Germany increased by 14% to reach 64.76 million in 2019. In 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia had the most sports clubs among German states, numbering around 18,000, followed by Bavaria with 11,725 and Baden-Wurttemberg with 11,274.

Germany Protein Market Trends

The growth of animal protein consumption fuels opportunities for key players in the ingredients segment

• Germany has a huge dairy farming industry containing 4.2 million cows, valued at USD 14 billion. According to the IOP Publishing, per capita consumption is associated with an average daily protein intake of around 104 g per capita daily or 6.1 kg protein-N per capita a year. Germany's dairy products are largely exported (around 15% of all its exports), followed by France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, and Denmark. The free trade policy hugely benefited Germany, providing easy exports. The country's measure of no extra tariffs makes it the largest exporter in the world.
• The highly matured food and beverage industry witnessed a massive demand for high-quality protein ingredients from the health-conscious population. The popularity of personal care and sports nutrition products increased in the country, increasing the per capita consumption of animal protein from 47 g in 2016 to 51.8 g in 2021. The strong demand for innovation prevents private labels from growing in the market, as consumers are increasingly looking for scientific studies behind the innovation. However, skimmed milk powder is used mainly to standardize dry extract content or protein content, and it is used in various applications in various products based on reconstituted milk.
• Germany is Europe's largest fitness market, with over 10 million people attending the gym. People prefer taking supplements like whey proteins, casein and caseinates, and dairy proteins to fulfill the body's nutrition demands. Among whey proteins, isolated whey protein dominates the market, containing more than 90% of the protein content. Casein and caseinates are highly preferred by athletes as casein is a slow-digesting protein.

Meat and milk production contributes majorly as raw material for plant protein ingredients manufacturers

• The graph given depicts the production data for raw materials such as meat of cattle, pigs, and chicken (with bone, fresh or chilled), raw milk from cattle and goats, skim milk from cows, and dry whey powder. Germany is the leading producer of milk in the European Union, accounting for more than 21% of milk deliveries in the European Union in 2020. Although the country has been observing a decline in the count of cattle farms, the average size of the farms is witnessing an upsurge. The rise in milk production is attributed to the escalated volume of milk production per cow. Over the years, milk production has been concentrated in the grassland regions of northwestern and southern Germany.
• Chicken meat is a largely produced type of red meat, followed by pig meat and cattle meat. Beef production in Germany has a professional setup. Breeding, insemination in agricultural businesses, animal keeping, slaughtering, processing, and performance and quality checks are all subject to very high standards. Some 64,500 agrarian companies with a total of 3.5 million cows are subject to meat and milk performance tests. In 2022, in Germany, 11 million cows were kept in 133,000 businesses. This made Germany the second biggest producer of cattle meat in Europe.
• In 2022, almost 47 million pigs were slaughtered in Germany to produce 4.5 million tonnes of pork. Germany, therefore, is the largest pork producer in Europe. Internationally, Germany is third behind China and the United States. The stock of pigs is mainly concentrated in the North West of Germany. With around 30% of the stock of pigs, Lower Saxony is the most essential production location in Germany, closely followed by North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.

Germany Protein Industry Overview

The Germany Protein Market is fragmented, with the top five companies occupying 21.33%. The major players in this market are Archer Daniels Midland Company, Arla Foods AmbA, Darling Ingredients Inc., Kerry Group PLC and Royal FrieslandCampina N.V (sorted alphabetically).

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