For decades, collagen supplements have relied on the same animal-based ingredients: bovine hides, fish skins, pig cartilage. These sources have built a multi-billion-dollar market, offering visible skin and joint benefits for consumers willing to overlook the origin of the product.
But change is in the air.
A growing number of brands — and consumers — are questioning the status quo. Ethical concerns, sustainability goals, dietary restrictions, and growing ingredient awareness are pushing the industry to look beyond cows and fish. But until recently, alternatives lacked the one thing that made collagen so dominant in the first place: solid, clinical proof.
That moment has now arrived.
A new standard of evidence
In 2025, a breakthrough clinical study conducted at the University of Pavia showed that VeCollal® — a biomimetic, plant-based collagen alternative — can deliver visible and measurable improvements in skin hydration, collagen density and cellulite appearance, at a low dose of 5 grams per day over just 8 weeks.
These results go far beyond theory or ingredient marketing. They were double-blind, placebo-controlled, and instrumentally measured — using ultrasound, 3D skin imaging, and corneometry.
And they weren’t the first.
This study builds on earlier peer-reviewed human trial data published in the Journal of Functional Foods, showing VeCollal®'s impact on wrinkles, elasticity, and skin density.
In other words: not one, but two university-led human studies now back the effectiveness of this collagen alternative.
Collagen without compromise
What makes VeCollal® different is not just what it does — but what it doesn’t contain. No animal inputs. No fish scales or bovine hides. No sustainability concerns or dietary exclusions.
That makes it:
100% vegan
halal-certified
kosher-suitable
non-GMO
allergen-free
And it opens the door to cleaner labels, broader consumer appeal, and truly inclusive formulations — without sacrificing performance.
What brands are seeing
For beauty and supplement brands, the implications are real. VeCollal® enables them to:
Move away from animal-derived inputs without trade-offs
Enter vegan, halal and kosher markets with one ingredient
Lower the effective dose to 5g/day, supporting convenience and cost
Support sustainability claims with real product innovation
And perhaps most importantly: it gives their product teams and marketers something they’ve been waiting for — scientific proof.
The end of the animal default
The collagen conversation is changing. What used to be a one-lane highway — where the only clinically supported ingredients came from animals — is now becoming a two-way street. VeCollal® shows that plant-based collagen alternatives can work just as well, and in some cases even better.
With science on its side, the era of animal-only collagen is coming to an end.
And that’s just the beginning.
