Amino acid is a component of protein and one of the most basic substances that constitute the human body. As a raw material product, amino acid has been developed for more than half a century. In recent years, the amino acid market has grown steadily, dietary supplements and health foods using amino acids as raw materials have become popular in developed countries and regions such as Europe, America and Japan. According to the data, in 2019, the market size of amino acid was second only to lactobacillus and bifidobacterium in Japanese health foods terminal market, which reached to 262 billion Yen. In 2020, the world’s amino acid market reached 9.8 million tons, the average annual growth rate is expected to be about 5% from 2021 to 2026, and it is expected to reach 13.1 million tons by 2026. And China is the largest exporter of amino acid and produces various kinds of amino acids such as citrulline, taurine and inositol occupying a larger share in global market.

China's annual output of amino acid exceeded one million tons

Many countries around the world have begun to engage in the industrial production of amino acid as early as half a century ago. Japan's Ajinomoto company obtained the first industrially produced amino acid single product - glutamic acid through experiments in the 1940s. Since then, scientists have used proteolysis method to hydrolyze raw materials such as feathers, human hair and pig blood into amino acids, but most of these amino acids are "mixed amino acids" which are difficult to be decomposed.

The industrial microbial fermentation method developed in the 1960s accelerated the development of the amino acid industry. Since then, a variety of commonly used amino acids such as glutamic acid, lysine, threonine and phenylalanine can be produced by microbial fermentation method, which greatly reduced the cost and greatly increased the output. By the end of the 1990s, the total global amino acid output has exceeded 2 million tons and there were dozens of varieties. From the current point of view, the number of brand companies in the amino acid industry has increased day by day, mainly including Ajinomoto, AMINO GmbH, ADM, Cargill, Japan Kyowa Fermentation, CJ Group, Daesang, Evonik Group, Fufeng Group, Meihua Group, Vedan International, Global Bio-chem and Kemin Industry.

In 2017, the global monosodium glutamate (MSG) market size reached 3.21 million tons, and China was 1.64 million tons, accounting for more than 50%. China is the largest exporter of amino acids and there are many types of amino acids, mainly including glutamic acid, lysine, threonine and methionine. Some non-mainstream amino acids with amino acid-like effects have a relatively high market share, occupying more than 50% of citrulline, more than 80% of taurine, more than 70% of inositol, and more than 30% of L-carnitine.

"Nutrients + Functional ingredients" lead the market trend

Amino acid has the function of making food more delicious, the physiological function of adjusting the body state and the nutritional function of restoring the consumption that promotes growth and development. With the continuous progress of research on the physiological functions of various amino acids, amino acids will continue to play the role of "nutrients + functional ingredients", and their applications in functional foods fields such as sports nutrition and immune health are constantly being explored. In recent years, the amino acids market size of dietary supplements that supplement the lack of amino acids in the diet or exert the functionality of themselves have been increasing.

According to the Latest Trends in Food Raw Materials Related to Improving Immune Function released by Fuji Economy, BCAA, L-arginine and L-carnitine and L-theanine with relaxing function were applicated as functional raw materials for various uses such as sports dietary supplements. According to the Social Survey on Sports Status in 2020 released by Japan Sports Agency in February this year, the proportion of the adults who exercised more than once a week was 59.9%, from the perspective of age, women aged 20-49 have increased by 10% year-on-year, men aged 30-39 have also increased by 10% year-on-year. The COVID-19 has reduced the opportunities to go out, and under the background of insufficient exercise, the number of people who took the initiative to exercise and maintain their bodies has increased.

Protein and amino acids support the Japanese sports nutrition market. According to the data released by Meiji company, the protein powder market size was about 77 billion Yen in 2020, a threefold increase compared to five years ago. In terms of amino acids, creatine, citrulline and HMB were mainly circulating in the market, and new raw materials such as β-alanine were also on the market. The "amino VITAL" series of Otsuka Pharmaceutical, the "VAAM" series of Meiji, the PB brand "amino acid x taurine GOD" of chain pharmaceutical cosmetic shop and the best-selling "HMB 85500" of Matsukiyo are all best-selling amino acid functional foods in Japanese pharmaceutical cosmetic shops.

The feedbacks from these Japanese raw material suppliers such as "BCAA is showing an increasing trend", "the demand for EAA and HMB has increased compared to last year", "the supply of citrulline and ornithine is large", "there are more orders for the mixture of β-alanine and protein powder" and "the market for arginine as a raw material for energy drinks is improving" also showed the strong development of amino acids health foods market in Japan to a certain extent.

The aging has also promoted the sales of HMB products. HMB was very popular in Japanese market, as of September 2 this year, the number of HMB products that have been registered for functional food in Japan has reached 67, and the current function claim is to maintain the muscle strength. The application of HMB is mainly concentrated in three areas including sports nutrition, the elderly muscle health and weight control.

In China, HMB was approved as a novel food raw material in 2011, and its application range was expanded in 2017. It can currently be used in beverages, milk and dairy products, cocoa products, chocolate and chocolate products, candy, baked goods, sports nutrition food, and food for special medical purpose.

However, at present, most amino acids only can be used as food additives in China, and the understanding of the market and consumers for amino acid functional foods is still not perfect. In the future, the amino acid functional food market needs to be further tapped.

Source: China Food Newspaper

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