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

The Germany Animal Protein Market size is estimated at 312.7 million USD in 2025, and is expected to reach 389.8 million USD by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.51% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

Personal care and cosmetic segment is expected to gain higher sales in forecast period due to growing consumer preferences for collagen-based beauty products i.e. beneficial for skin

• Among end users, the F&B segment dominated the application of various animal proteins in 2022. This is majorly due to the bakery sub-segment dominating the market, with a market share of around 30% in 2022. The application of animal proteins in the bakery sector is rising, aided by pumped demand for functional bread. Local consumers are developing a strong liking for products with additional health benefits, mainly protein. Thus, users are replacing high-carb bakery goods with high-protein bakery goods. Whey protein demand in beverages is rising with the growing health awareness in the country. Ingredients, such as organic and grass-fed whey, have gained prominence due to health and ethical concerns.
• In terms of growth rate, the personal care and cosmetics segment is the second fastest-growing segment. It is projected to register a CAGR of 4.19%, by value, during the forecast period. Collagen is the most common animal protein used for personal care applications owing to its skin elasticity strengthening and hydration properties while preventing hair follicle damage and greying.
• The supplements segment held the second-largest share of the animal protein market, by value, in 2022. It was majorly dominated by the sports/performance nutrition segment, which is anticipated to drive the market with a CAGR of 6.24%, by value, in the forecast period. Rising health concerns, a higher prevalence of obesity, and the rise in fitness clubs in the country are leading to increased demand for the segment, especially in the sports nutrition category. With 11,660,000 gym members nationwide, around 14% of the German population were gym members in 2021, driving the demand for sports nutrition supplements.

Germany Animal 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 Animal Protein Industry Overview

The Germany Animal Protein Market is fragmented, with the top five companies occupying 31.32%. The major players in this market are Arla Foods amba, Darling Ingredients Inc., Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited, Kerry Group PLC and Koninklijke FrieslandCampina N.V. (sorted alphabetically).

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