By its very nature, collagen doesn’t seem a vegan-friendly proposition.

It is a protein found in living organisms that provides strength and structure to the body.

Most collagen products on the market use either a bovine form (from cows) or marine collagen (from fish skin).

Yet new products are coming on to the market that claim to have cracked collagen for vegans.

See the latest innovation from Revive Collagen (above), which made its official debut earlier this month. According to the brand, its clinically proven, vegan-friendly formula “identically mimics human type 1 collagen”.

Its raspberry-flavoured vegan collagen sachets, which also contain ginseng, retinol, and vitamins B, C, D and E, are backed by some encouraging research.

 

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A double blind trial in March this year – which included 15 adults aged 25 to 65 – showed 80% of participants had improvements to their skin, according to Revive Collagen. Overall, wrinkles were reduced by 13% and collagen density was boosted by 4.6% in just four weeks, it claimed.

“This launch will further support our quest to become the global market leader in the ready-to-drink collagen category,” said Revive Collagen co-founder John Bailey.

Supplement brand Feel is also getting in on the action. In July, it unveiled its own vegan collagen product using a trademarked ingredient: VeCollal.

According to Feel, this is a “direct replica” of the amino acid profile of type 1 human collagen, meaning it “supplies the perfect ratios for producing collagen naturally in the body”.

Like Revive Collagen, Feel also makes some impressive efficacy claims. According to the brand, a daily dose of the strawberry and peach flavoured drink has been shown to reduce fine lines and wrinkles within the space of four weeks.

A 28-day supply comes at £39.95 in the case of Feel, and £64.60 in the case of Revive.

It looks like vegan-friendly, collagen-containing food and drink products may well be the next big thing to watch.

Could collagen be a billion-dollar opportunity for food and drink?