WCMA Notes: Colostrum Rising

There’s excellent news for real dairy foods in USDA’s new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in January. Consuming full fat dairy – from whole milk to cheese to butter – is explicitly encouraged. 

The Dietary Guidelines also support the hot market for dairy proteins: they recommend a range of protein intake for adults, and at the high end of the range, protein intake is double the amount previously recommended. 

Consumers looking to maintain muscle mass as they age are already on board, and add to that the 8 percent of Americans using GLP-1 drugs (such as Ozempic or Wegovy), all clamoring for dairy proteins in their diets.   

And there’s another rising star in dairy. Health enthusiasts have discovered bovine colostrum, packaged as a natural food supplement that boosts immunity and aids gut health. Today, dairy processors and dairy farms are expanding the supply chain “runway” for colostrum as sales for human use accelerate, looking to fly high. 

Sources discussed the rise of colostrum with Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA), noting that the human supplement market for colostrum has accelerated rapidly in the last two to three years, fueled by post-COVID interest in natural foods that boost immunity and by solid support from social media influencers. One source conservatively estimated the global market for colostrum products for human use surpassing $1 billion today.  

Lautaro Rostoll Cangiano, an immunologist and Assistant Professor in Animal Science at the University of Wisconsin, is expanding his long-standing colostrum research for calves into the human health space.   

While he is wary of some internet claims for colostrum, the beneficial fluid that cows produce in the first days after calving is undoubtedly rich in bioactive compounds, immunoglobulins (Igs), oligosaccharides and many other micronutrients, he told WCMA.  

Alongside human nutrition researcher Joe Pierre, an Assistant Professor in the Nutrition Science Department at University of Wisconsin, Dr. Cangiano is exploring a study to produce antibodies in cows, expressed in their colostrum, that could aid people with irritable bowel syndrome. 

Mayuresh Bedekar, Senior Director of Product Strategy for Glanbia’s bioactive ingredient portfolio, has watched colostrum for human use move from medical circles to a retail consumer phenomenon marketed online and on billboards.  

“Human nutritional use of colostrum is growing exponentially,” he told WCMA. It’s a natural way to boost immunity, he noted, with bioactives and micronutrients supporting human health. New consumer products are crowding into the retail market, not only the United States, but globally, he added. 

Interestingly, bovine colostrum addition to pet foods is also booming, Bedekar noted.   

Glanbia has a commanding presence in the human use market for colostrum, but other companies, including Select Milk and Immuno Dynamics are also refining colostrum from dairy farms.  

These players are actively courting supply to meet demand, working with dairy farms to segregate cows with new calves to collect the colostrum-laden milk, freeze it in 3- or 5-gallon pails, and collect these first milkings in freezer trucks for processing.  

Glanbia, like others, encourages farmers to continue to offer colostrum to calves, but Bedekar notes that production of colostrum far exceeds the needs of each calf, making this early milk – traditionally segregated from farm milk sales – a new income stream for farms. 

Colostrum is valued by its most prevalent nutrient, immunoglobulin IgG1.  Bovine colostrum load diminishes in days in new mother’s milk, and buyers measure IgG1 content to price colostrum at the farm level.  On average, colostrum sells for approximately $100 per hundredweight.  

Once received, Glanbia tests the quality of the colostrum, measures IgG1 content, and pasteurizes and dries colostrum at three production facilities. Glanbia acquired producers Sterling Technologies in Brookings, SD, in 2022 and purchased APS BioGroup in Phoenix, AZ, and LaBelle Associates in Ripon, CA, in 2023.  

Actus Nutrition has seen dried colostrum demand strengthen in both animal feed and human consumption applications the last several years, according to Derek Kleve, Purchasing Manager for Dry Ingredients. Actus buys dried colostrum from suppliers and blends colostrum and proteins in specific concentrations for calf replacer and human nutrition brands.   

Typical IgG1 content of colostrum powder is 20-25 percent, with higher concentrations available at a premium. Actus can produce blends in various packaging sizes and concentrations per customer request.  Sales are business to business; Actus does not have its own consumer-facing brands.  

Great opportunities for dairy abound in today’s marketplace.  From full-fat traditional dairy products to protein concentrates and high value specialty products like colostrum, dairy is meeting the nutritional needs of an ever-increasing number of consumers worldwide.