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Learn the benefits of using peptides to drive food and beverage innovation—plus the science behind peptides.
After an intense training session, Jake grabs his shaker bottle and blends in his favorite post-workout powder drink mix packed with peptides—his go-to for faster recovery and peak performance. Accelerating nutrient absorption and utilization, peptides are a powerful functional ingredient in sports nutrition.
Products like Applied Nutrition’s Creatine Monohydrate + Peptide that feature peptides for faster absorption when it matters most hold a clear advantage for those who are serious about their fitness. Glanbia Nutritionals’ innovative peptide technologies can help manufacturers create next-level nutritional products and drive innovation.
A peptide is a short chain of amino acids (typically 2 to 50) linked together by peptide bonds. While an amino acid is a single unit and a protein is a complex, three-dimensional structure made of long amino acid chains, a peptide can be thought of as an intermediate structure between the two.
Due to their smaller size and more targeted activity compared to proteins, peptides have unique benefits and roles in the body. Peptides can act as signaling molecules, enzymes, or structural materials within the body, and their size makes them highly bioavailable and effective in targeted nutritional applications.
Peptides used in the food and beverage industry are derived from animal or plant protein sources, including dairy, marine, bovine, chicken, and soy proteins. Peptides can be found in protein powders, ready-to-drink beverages, and performance-enhancing snacks, offering consumers specific functional benefits to support health, wellness, and fitness.
The most significant nutritional benefit of peptides over proteins is their high bioavailability, which translates to fast and efficient absorption and use by the body. Their small size allows them to pass through the intestinal wall more quickly than larger protein molecules, making them ideal for situations where fast nutrient delivery is beneficial—like post-workout recovery.
Research has shown that certain peptides can support muscle growth, improve immune function, reduce inflammation, and help regulate blood pressure and appetite. In sports nutrition, peptides derived from whey are known for their ability to promote faster recovery and enhance muscle synthesis. In contrast, collagen peptides have been shown to improve joint pain and mobility.
Beyond the nutritional and functional benefits of peptides, advances in peptide ingredient technology are leading to new product innovation opportunities by providing enhanced taste, mouthfeel, and function in food and beverage products. Our PepForm® peptide carrier technology is an exciting example of this.
With PepForm® peptide carrier technology, we can bind free-form amino acids to peptides that have been isolated from fresh sweet whey by advanced fractionation and separation processes. Free amino acids like leucine and tryptophan, which are highly insoluble due to their hydrophobic features, become highly soluble when bound to a peptide carrier.
Benefits of PepForm® Peptide Carrier Technology:
This allows brands to use amino acids in powder drink mixes without the gritty texture and settling that can occur with amino acid products for an improved mouthfeel and consumer experience. In addition, the presence of sweet whey peptides greatly improves the taste and odor of the amino acids, opening up a much wider range of flavor possibilities.
PepForm® peptides are ideal for consumers seeking fast and efficient amino acid absorption for optimum recovery and workout results. They can be used in powder drink mixes, tablets, capsules, bars, snacks, and more.
PepForm® Peptides:
We have also used our peptide carrier technology to develop PepForm® Tryptophan, which supports the natural production of melatonin for sleep and cognitive support. This is suitable for both ready-to-mix and ready-to-drink beverages, with a high bioavailability and efficacy that allows for lower doses.
Because collagen molecules are quite large, collagen peptides are predominantly used in the industry. However, compared to standard collagen peptides, a collagen tripeptide is smaller still, consisting of only three amino acids.
This reduced size allows them to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream for more efficient absorption, allowing for lower doses. Once absorbed, collagen tripeptides trigger the body to synthesize its own collagen, an essential structural component of skin, tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles that imparts elasticity.
Consumer interest in peptide-based nutrition products is on the rise, driven by a desire for functional ingredients that offer targeted health benefits such as enhanced muscle recovery, improved endurance, and overall wellness support. This trend aligns with a broader movement toward fitness as a lifestyle, diet personalization, and functional foods.
Emerging trends in the peptide market reflect consumers' preferences for convenience and transparency. The demand for convenient product formats has led to the development of ready-to-drink beverages and gummies enriched with peptides, particularly collagen peptides. Consumers also increasingly seek transparency around ingredients, favoring products that clearly communicate their benefits and composition.
Including peptides in your next product can add significant appeal, making it stand out to the growing number of consumers who prioritize their health, nutrition, and fitness. The science-backed benefits of peptides, such as improved absorption and utilization, make a real difference in areas such as exercise recovery, muscle building, and joint health.
As a leader in nutritional innovation, we are pleased to offer our game-changing peptide ingredients like PepForm® Peptides and CollametaTM—optimized for superior taste, mouthfeel, and solubility—that will expand your innovation possibilities.
Contact Glanbia Nutritionals to learn more about our peptide ingredients and technologies!
Bioactive ingredients are compounds found in foods, plants, algae, and other sources that impact biological processes in the body. Distinct from nutrients, bioactives are used for their health-promoting properties and include ingredients such as lactoferrin, collagen, curcumin, and carotenoids.
Collagen is derived from animal-based sources, with bovine (cow), marine (fish), and poultry (chicken) collagen each offering different amino acid profiles and absorption rates. Marine collagen is known for being more easily absorbed due to its smaller particle size, while bovine and poultry collagen provide more Type I and Type II collagen, respectively, which have different functional benefits.
Protein from any source can support weight loss and weight management by providing satiety. This occurs because protein triggers the release of appetite-suppressing hormones in the gut. The best type of protein for weight loss, however, is something researchers continue to investigate. Certain bioactive peptides in milk have shown benefits in increasing fat loss while maintaining lean muscle.
The best protein for muscle gain is a high-quality protein with a Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of 1.00. This shows it contains all the amino acids the body needs and is in the right proportion to build muscle. Dairy-based proteins have a PDCAAS of 1.00, with whey protein the best choice for right before or after a workout due to its fast absorption and casein, which is useful as an overnight slow-release protein.
BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) consist of three essential amino acids—leucine, isoleucine, and valine—which have a unique branched molecular structure. Unlike other amino acids, BCAAs are primarily metabolized in skeletal muscle. Because of their role in protein synthesis, muscle repair, and reducing fatigue during exercise, BCAAs are a popular workout supplement.
