Is Collagen the New Big Thing in the Health and Wellness Industry?

Aug 7, 2025 | Food

Our Take

With the “food as medicine” movement at an all-time high, consumers are continuously searching for health-boosting ingredients in their foods and beverages, and collagen has become a key component. Once limited to skincare products, it is now a prominent ingredient in the functional food space. The creation of Nextida will enable Darling and Tessenderlo to capitalize on this trajectory by scaling their collagen production and focusing attention on both the functional foods and wellness markets.

Source Summary

Darling Ingredients and Belgium’s Tessenderlo Group are forming a joint venture to create Nextida, to focus on collagen-based health and wellness products. The venture will combine the companies’ existing collagen businesses to create one entity with a production capacity of 200,000 metric tons across 23 facilities worldwide. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval will close in 2026, with projected annual revenue of $1.5 billion.

[Food Dive]