Collagen source comparisons: Europe vs North America

Do you know how collagen sources differ between Europe and North America? Let's take a look...

In the European market, marine collagen is the most frequently used source across all formats, with the greatest dominance seen in gummies, capsules and RTDs. By contrast, in the US and Canada, bovine collagen is the primary source used – mostly in powder form but also in gummies, capsules and RTD formats.

So why the difference?

The simple answer is most likely to do with the fact that the United States is the world's largest producer of beef and so bovine collagen can be mass produced more easily and readily.

It’s worth noting that across both markets we also see high percentages in the 'unknown' collagen source category. The collagen sources that fall under this category are unspecified collagen, gelatine, cartilage and different branded collagens, including Tendoforte, UC-II, PEPTIPLUS etc. Several supplements do not specify the specific source of collagen, accounting for the large percentages seen in this category.