The South America Protein Ingredients Market was valued at $4633.4 Million in 2026 and projected to reach to $7436.9 Million by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of CAGR 9.9%. South America's protein ingredients market is positioned for accelerated growth, driven by increasing consumer awareness of health and wellness benefits associated with protein-enriched products.
| Market Size in | USD 26.32 MN |
| Market Forecast in | |
| CAGR | |
| Forecast Period | |
| Units Considered | Value (USD MN) |
South America's protein ingredients market grows at 9.9% CAGR, significantly exceeding the global rate of 7.9%, driven by rising health consciousness and protein consumption trends across the region.
The region's growing middle class is fueling demand for premium protein-enriched food and beverage products, creating substantial opportunities for manufacturers and ingredient suppliers.
Brazil dominates South America's protein ingredients market with USD 3,609.2 million in 2026, representing the largest consumer base and primary growth engine for regional expansion.
Market valuation is projected to surge from USD 4,633.4 million in 2026 to USD 7,436.9 million by 2031, reflecting sustained investment and innovation in protein ingredient solutions.
| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Base Year | 2026 |
| Fastest Growing Segment | INSECT (Source) |
| Forecast Period | 2026–2031 |
| Growth Rate | CAGR of 7.9% from 2026 to 2031 |
| Largest Segment | DRY (Form) |
| Market Size Base Year (Billions) | ~USD 83.1 (2026) |
| Revenue Forecast (Billions) | ~USD 121.53 (2031) |
| Segments Covered | Source, Type, Application, Form, Animal Source, Dairy Protein, Plant Source, Food & Beverage |
8 segment dimensions are covered across the global market.
| Company | HQ | Ownership | Strongest segments |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMWAY | Malaysia | Public Company | Nutrition & weight management (NUTRILITE, bodykey, XS),Beauty & personal care (ARTISTRY, G&H, GLISTER, SATINIQUE),Home & living, water and air treatment (eSpring, ATMOSPHERE, Amway Home), |
| TESSENDERLO GROUP | Belgium | Public Company | Agro (specialty fertilizers and crop protection),Bio-Valorization (gelatin, collagen, proteins, fats),Industrial Solutions (water treatment and industrial chemicals), |
| ISRAEL CHEMICALS LTD. | Israel | Public Company | Potash,Industrial Products (Bromine & Phosphorus-based),Phosphate Solutions, |
| MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION | Japan | Public Company | Specialty Materials (battery, display, semiconductor, high-performance polymers),MMA & Derivatives,Basic Materials & Polymers (commodity polymers, petrochemicals, elastomers), |
| AZELIS HOLDINGS SA | Belgium | Private Company | Food & Nutrition Ingredients,Personal Care & Home Care Ingredients,Pharma & Healthcare Ingredients, |
| CARGILL, INCORPORATED | United States | Private Company | Grains & Oilseeds Origination, Trading, Processing,Animal Nutrition & Feed (including Aquaculture),Meat & Poultry Products, |
| ADM | United States | Public Company | Ag Services and Oilseeds,Carbohydrate Solutions,Nutrition, |
| KERRY GROUP PLC | Ireland | Public Company | Taste solutions (dairy, savory, sweet, smoke & grill, modulation),Nutrition solutions (enzymes, proteins, lipids, fibre, wellness, dairy ingredients),Functional ingredients, food & beverage solutions (including protection, texturants, bakery freshness), |
| INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. | United States | Public Company | Taste (Flavors, Savory, Beverages, Sweets, Dairy),Food Ingredients (Specialty, Preservation, Proteins, Emulsifiers, Sweeteners),Health & Biosciences (Enzymes, Cultures, Probiotics, Specialty), |
| INGREDION INCORPORATED | United States | Public Company | Starches and specialty starches (food and industrial),Sweeteners (HFCS, glucose, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrin),Nutrition ingredients and healthful solutions, |
| ARLA FOODS AMBA | Denmark | Private Company | Branded liquid dairy (milk, yoghurts, creams, RTD coffee, smoothies),Cheese and butter (including shredded mozzarella and spreads),Ingredients (infant, clinical, sports nutrition, bakery, dairy ingredients), |
| DSM-FIRMENICH | Switzerland | Public Company | Health, Nutrition & Care,Taste, Texture & Health,Perfumery & Beauty, |
| AGT FOOD AND INGREDIENTS | Canada | Public Company | Pulses, grains, and staple commodities (cleaned, packaged, bulk),Plant-based ingredients (flours, proteins, fibres, starches, deflavoured flours),Extruded products (texturized plant protein, gluten-free pasta, meal kits), |
| BURCON | Canada | Public Company | Pea and fava proteins (Peazazz C, FavaPro),Soy protein (CLARISOY),Canola, hempseed, sunflower, flax proteins, |
| GLANBIA PLC | Ireland | Public Company | Sports nutrition (powders, RTD, bars),Lifestyle nutrition and wellness brands,Cheese and dairy ingredients, |
Amway is a public company based in Malaysia that was founded in 1976 and operates with 308 employees.
Tessenderlo Group is a Belgian public company established in 1919, employing 6,945 people across its operations.
Israel Chemicals Ltd. is a public company founded in 1968 in Israel with 12,000 employees.
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation is a Japanese public company founded in 1933 with 56,678 employees.
Azelis Holdings SA is a private Belgian company established in 2001 with 1,325 employees.
Cargill, Incorporated is a private company based in the United States, founded in 1865 with 155,000 employees.
ADM is a public company based in the United States, founded in 1902 with 41,147 employees.
Kerry Group PLC is an Irish public company established in 1972 with 19,284 employees.
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. is a public company based in the United States, founded in 1909 with 21,500 employees.
Ingredion Incorporated is a public company based in the United States, founded in 1906 with 11,200 employees.
Arla Foods Amba is a private Danish company established in 1881 with 21,926 employees.
DSM-Firmenich is a public company based in Switzerland, founded in 1902 with 26,873 employees.
AGT Food and Ingredients is a public company based in Canada, established in 2001 with 3,200 employees.
Burcon is a public company based in Canada, founded in 1998 with 14 employees.
Glanbia PLC is an Irish public company founded in 1964 with 4,963 employees.
| Country | 2025 size (native) |
|---|---|
| Brazil | USD 3609.2 Million |
| Argentina | USD 646.2 Million |
| Rest Of South America | USD 3181.5 Million |
South America's protein ingredients market is projected to reach USD 7,436.9 million by 2031, up from USD 4,633.4 million in 2026.
South America's protein ingredients market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.9% between 2026 and 2031.
Key growth drivers in South America include rising health consciousness, expanding sports nutrition demand, functional food adoption, growing middle-class consumers, and the region's strong agricultural and food manufacturing capabilities.
South America's protein ingredients market is growing at 9.9% CAGR, which exceeds the global market growth rate of 7.9%, making it a high-growth regional market.
South America's market is driven by both plant-based proteins (soy, pea, legumes) leveraging regional agricultural production and animal-derived proteins (whey, casein) supporting the region's dairy and meat processing industries.
This study employed two primary approaches to estimate the current size of the protein ingredients market. Exhaustive secondary research was carried out to collect information on the source, application, form, functionality, and region for the market. The next step involved validating these findings, assumptions, and sizing with industry experts across the value chain through primary research. The top-down and bottom-up approaches were employed to estimate the complete market size. Thereafter, data triangulation was used to estimate the market size of segments and subsegments.
This research study used extensive secondary sources—directories and databases such as Bloomberg Businessweek and Factiva—to identify and collect information for a technical, market-oriented, and commercial market study. In the secondary research process, sources such as annual reports, press releases & investor presentations of companies, white papers, Protein ingredients-related journals, certified publications, articles from recognized authors, directories, and databases were referred to identify and collect information. Secondary research was mainly used to obtain key information about the industry’s supply chain, the pool of key players, and market classification and segmentation based on industry trends to the bottom-most level, regional markets, and key developments from market and technology-oriented perspectives.
Extensive primary research was conducted after obtaining information regarding the protein ingredients market scenario through secondary research. Several primary interviews were conducted with market experts from the demand and supply sides. Primary data was collected through questionnaires, emails, and telephonic interviews. The primary sources from the supply side included various industry experts, such as chief experience officers (CXOs), vice presidents (VPs), directors from business development, marketing, research, and development teams, and related key executives from distributors and key opinion leaders.
Primary interviews were conducted to gather insights, including market statistics, revenue data from products and services, market breakdowns, market size estimations, market forecasting, and data triangulation. Primary research also helped to understand the various trends related to source, application, form, functionality, and region. Stakeholders from the demand side, including food & beverage manufacturers, sports nutrition companies, dietary supplement producers, dairy processors, infant nutrition manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, animal feed manufacturers, bakery & confectionery companies, and plant-based food producers, were interviewed to understand the buyers’ perspective on suppliers, products, and the future outlook of the protein ingredients market.
Breakdown of Primary Interviews

Note: The three tiers of the companies are defined based on their total revenues in 2023 or 2024, based on the availability of financial data: Tier 1: Revenue >USD 1 billion; Tier 2: USD 100 million ≤ revenue ≤ USD 1 billion; Tier 3: Revenue <USD 100 million.
|
COMPANY |
DESIGNATION |
|
BENEO (Germany) |
Regional Sales Manager |
|
AMCO Proteins (US) |
Marketing Manager |
|
Axiom Foods, Inc. (US) |
General Manager |
|
SOTEXPRO (France) |
Sales Manager |
|
The Green Labs LLC (US) |
Sales Manager |
|
BENEO (Germany) |
Sales Executive |
To know about the assumptions considered for the study, download the pdf brochure
The top-down and bottom-up approaches were used to estimate and validate the total size of the Protein ingredients market. These approaches were also used extensively to determine the size of various subsegments in the market. The research methodology used to estimate the market size includes the following details:

After determining the overall market size from the estimation process explained above, the total market was split into several segments and subsegments. The data triangulation procedure was employed, wherever applicable, to estimate the overall Protein ingredients market and obtain precise statistics for all segments and subsegments. The data was triangulated by studying various factors and trends from the demand and supply sides. The market size was also validated using the top-down and bottom-up approaches.
After determining the overall market size from the estimation process explained above, the total market was split into several segments and subsegments. The data triangulation procedure was employed, wherever applicable, to estimate the overall Protein ingredients market and obtain precise statistics for all segments and subsegments. The data was triangulated by studying various factors and trends from the demand and supply sides. The market size was also validated using the top-down and bottom-up approaches.
With the given market data, MarketsandMarkets offers customizations according to company-specific scientific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:
Product matrix, which gives a detailed comparison of the product portfolio of each company
With the given market data, MarketsandMarkets offers customizations according to company-specific scientific needs.
Full forecast, segment splits, and company analysis for all Protein Ingredients Market.
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