Postbiotics Market
The market for Postbiotics was estimated at $148 million in 2025; it is anticipated to increase to $245 million by 2030, with projections indicating growth to around $406 million by 2035.
Report Summary
Market Data
Methodology
Table of Contents
Global Postbiotics Market Outlook
Revenue, 2025
$148M
Forecast, 2035
$406M
CAGR, 2026 - 2035
10.6%
The Postbiotics industry revenue is expected to be around $148.3 million in 2026 and expected to showcase growth with 10.6% CAGR between 2026 and 2035. Building on this outlook, postbiotics have evolved from a niche microbiome solution into a central pillar of functional nutrition strategies, as manufacturers and brand owners intensify innovation in evidence based gut health and immune support offerings. Demand is being driven by rising consumer awareness of microbiome balance, the need for stable alternatives to probiotics in heat treated and shelf stable formulations, and the preference for clinically substantiated, safe bioactive compounds that align with clean label expectations. Within this context, Functional Food and Beverage and Dietary Supplements collectively account for 74.3% of industry revenue, positioning them as the dominant commercialization routes for postbiotic formulations, while Bacterial Postbiotics led the competitive landscape with $84.98 million in sales in 2025, underscoring the current dominance of bacterial solutions in product pipelines.
Postbiotics refer to bioactive compounds generated by beneficial bacteria, including inactivated microbial cells, cell fragments, metabolites, and signaling molecules that confer health benefits without requiring live organisms, thereby offering enhanced stability, safety, and formulation flexibility compared with traditional probiotics. These postbiotic supplements are being deployed across Functional Food and Beverage lines, capsules, powders, gummies, and ready to drink products, primarily targeting digestive health and immune support in both general and condition specific formulations. Key features such as compatibility with diverse processing conditions, predictable dosing, and reduced refrigeration needs are encouraging formulators to integrate bacterial postbiotics into mainstream product portfolios, often alongside probiotics and prebiotics in synergistic synbiotic concepts. In parallel, advances in fermentation process optimization, strain selection, and encapsulation technologies are enabling more potent, targeted postbiotics that support consistent clinical outcomes, reinforcing their role as a high potential platform within dietary supplements, medical nutrition, and other microbiome driven applications.
Market Key Insights
The Postbiotics market is projected to grow from $148.3 million in 2025 to $406 million in 2035. This represents a CAGR of 10.6%, reflecting rising demand across Dietary Supplements, Functional Foods, and Animal Nutrition.
ADM, Cargill Incorporated, and Kerry Group Plc are among the leading players in this market, shaping its competitive landscape.
U.S. and China are the top markets within the Postbiotics market and are expected to observe the growth CAGR of 7.7% to 11.1% between 2025 and 2030.
Emerging markets including India, Brazil and Indonesia are expected to observe highest growth with CAGR ranging between 10.2% to 13.3%.
Transition like Clinical Evidence Reshaping Formulations is expected to add $25 million to the Postbiotics market growth by 2030.
The Postbiotics market is set to add $258 million between 2025 and 2035, with manufacturer targeting Functional Food and Beverage & Animal Feed and Pet Nutrition Application projected to gain a larger market share.
With
convergence of advanced fermentation technologies and precision microbiome research driving postbiotics innovation, and
Growing consumer preference for evidence-backed gut health solutions boosting postbiotics in nutraceuticals, Postbiotics market to expand 174% between 2025 and 2035.
Opportunities in the Postbiotics
Rapidly urbanizing East Asian parents are investing in premium early life nutrition that provides microbiome and immune benefits while minimizing safety concerns around live organisms. This is also creating opportunities for standardized bacterial postbiotic ingredients in infant formula, growing up milks, pediatric medical nutrition, and complementary dietary supplements. Growth should be strongest for bacterial postbiotics with documented effects on digestion, allergy risk reduction, and respiratory resilience, supported by partnerships between dairy companies, hospitals, and research institutes.
Growth Opportunities in North America and Asia-Pacific
In North America, postbiotics demand is anchored in Dietary Supplements, with Functional Food and Beverage and Animal Feed and Pet Nutrition gaining traction as brands prioritize formulations that clearly communicate benefits for gut health, microbiome health, and immune support across retail, practitioner, and online channels; top opportunities center on advanced delivery formats , age and condition specific blends, and integration of postbiotic ingredients into premium pet formulations, while competition intensifies among multinational ingredient suppliers, contract manufacturers, and specialized nutraceutical brands seeking defensible science, proprietary strains, and clean label positioning as key drivers of differentiation and long term customer loyalty.
In Asia Pacific, postbiotics growth is most strongly tied to Functional Food and Beverage, particularly cultured dairy, RTD drinks, and traditional fermented products, with Dietary Supplements and Animal Feed and Pet Nutrition expanding through localized formulations that balance efficacy and affordability; top opportunities arise from embedding postbiotics into everyday staples and personalized formats for urban middle class consumers, scaling co branded ingredient partnerships with leading beverage, dairy, and feed companies, and tailoring formulations to local regulatory and cultural expectations, while competition is shaped by a blend of regional champions and global players whose success depends on agile product adaptation, clinically supported claims, and alignment with government priorities around preventive healthcare, food safety, and sustainable animal nutrition as core market drivers.
Market Dynamics and Supply Chain
01
Driver: Convergence of advanced fermentation technologies and precision microbiome research driving postbiotics innovation
Advanced fermentation technologies are also enabling highly controlled production of postbiotics with standardized bioactive metabolites, improving batch to batch consistency for pharmaceutical applications, functional foods, and high value nutraceuticals. Optimized bioreactor design, continuous processing, and downstream purification are also reducing production costs while preserving delicate cell free components that modulate gut health and systemic immunity. In parallel, precision microbiome research is also mapping strain specific metabolic outputs and host responses, allowing manufacturers to design targeted postbiotic formulations for defined indications such as metabolic health, immune modulation, and skin resilience. Multi omics platforms and bioinformatics tools are also linking individual microbial signatures with specific postbiotic metabolites, supporting personalized nutrition concepts and microbiome based interventions. These technological advancements collectively strengthen the clinical positioning of postbiotics as stable, scalable alternatives or complements to probiotics across dietary supplements, medical nutrition, and cosmeceuticals.
Rising consumer sophistication in gut health is also shifting demand toward substantiated, mechanism driven products, directly benefiting postbiotics that offer documented, reproducible effects. Brands are also increasingly investing in clinical trials and biomarker based studies to demonstrate the efficacy of postbiotics in immune support, digestive comfort, and metabolic wellness, enhancing trust in premium nutraceuticals and functional foods. Unlike live probiotics, postbiotics provide strong stability, clean label formulation flexibility, and easier integration into shelf stable formats, aligning with convenience focused lifestyles. As retailers and healthcare professionals prioritize evidence backed microbiome solutions, postbiotics gain strategic visibility on product labels and recommendations, reinforcing their role as a core pillar in holistic gut health portfolios.
02
Restraint: Regulatory ambiguity and inconsistent global standards constrain commercialization pathways for innovative postbiotics formulations and claims
Across major regions, postbiotics lack a harmonized legal definition and are variably classified as food ingredients, dietary supplements, or quasi pharmaceuticals, forcing companies to design multiple regulatory dossiers and delaying product launches. For example, several manufacturers have limited postbiotics offerings to small scale gut health and microbiome niche lines while prioritizing better defined probiotics portfolios, reducing potential revenue from mainstream functional foods categories. This uncertainty suppresses long term investment, keeps average selling prices conservative, and slows category expansion, as retailers hesitate to allocate shelf space to products with unclear claimability and compliance risk.
03
Opportunity: Expanding functional food and beverage applications for postbiotics in North America and High performance sports nutrition products targeting endurance athletes worldwide with postbiotics
North American consumers increasingly seek functional foods that deliver convenient, science backed benefits for gut health and immune support. Manufacturers are turning to postbiotics as stable ingredients that tolerate heat and processing better than traditional probiotics, enabling innovation in postbiotic beverages, dairy alternatives, and fortified snacks. Globally, bacterial postbiotics are projected to rise from $84.98 million in 2025 to $135.00 million by 2030, with the fastest growth expected in clean label, plant based applications launched by mainstream brands.
Sports focused consumers are demanding recovery solutions that go beyond protein, opening space for postbiotic supplements positioned for resilience, reduced inflammation, and stable microbiome balance. Yeast derived postbiotics, valued at about $63.32 million in 2025 and expected to reach $110.43 million by 2030, should grow fastest in this arena because of strong heat stability and diverse bioactives. Key applications include ready to mix powders, hydration drinks, and gels co developed by ingredient suppliers and performance focused brands.
04
Challenge: Limited clinical evidence and fragmented scientific communication weaken clinician confidence and slow postbiotics adoption worldwide
Although mechanistic data are growing, robust, large scale human trials demonstrating clear, reproducible outcomes for specific postbiotics remain scarce, leaving healthcare professionals unsure when to recommend them versus established probiotics. As a result, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacists rarely prioritize postbiotics in protocolized care or self care guidance, dampening demand even in high potential indications such as immune resilience and digestive comfort. This caution keeps formulators conservative in new product development, constraining innovation pipelines and restricting market penetration to early adopters, while broader consumer segments continue to favor better known microbiome solutions within dietary supplements and functional foods, limiting overall category growth.
Supply Chain Landscape
1
Microbiome Input Sourcing
DSM-FirmenichSabinsa CorporationADM
2
Postbiotic Ingredient Production
ADMCargill IncorporatedKerry Group Plc
3
Postbiotic Supplement Formulation
Kerry Group PlcDSM-FirmenichSabinsa Corporation
4
Gut Health
Functional foods and beveragesDietary supplementsAnimal nutrition
1
Microbiome Input Sourcing
DSM-FirmenichSabinsa CorporationADM
2
Postbiotic Ingredient Production
ADMCargill IncorporatedKerry Group Plc
3
Postbiotic Supplement Formulation
Kerry Group PlcDSM-FirmenichSabinsa Corporation
4
Gut Health
Functional foods and beveragesDietary supplementsAnimal nutrition
Use Cases of Postbiotics in Dietary Supplements & Functional Foods
Dietary Supplements : Dietary supplements represent one of the most dynamic applications of postbiotics, generating around $47.16 million in revenue in 2025 and projected to grow at approximately 10.8% CAGR between 2026 and 2030 as consumers seek science backed gut health and immune health solutions. In this channel, bacterial postbiotics dominate usage, reflecting their wider market share of about 57.3% of overall demand in 2025, with heat stable inactivated bacteria, cell wall fragments and metabolites formulated into capsules, tablets, stick packs and powders as convenient postbiotic supplements; yeast derived postbiotics are often layered into immune support complexes but remain secondary in volume. The key advantages in supplements include superior stability versus live probiotics, predictable dosing, no requirement for cell viability, and suitability for sensitive groups, enabling brands to deliver microbiome benefits through advanced nutraceuticals positioned for digestive comfort, immunity and healthy ageing. DSM Firmenich occupies a strong position as a global leader in human nutrition, leveraging deep clinical expertise, regulatory experience and a broad portfolio of bioactives to integrate postbiotics with vitamins, lipids and other functional ingredients in premium formulations. Sabinsa Corporation differentiates through its focus on clinically studied botanical actives and probiotic innovations, extending this know how to postbiotic concepts that emphasise evidence based digestive and immune support for specialist brands. Kerry Group Plc strengthens the category by combining its long standing capabilities in fermentation, stability and delivery systems with market insights, enabling supplement marketers to launch differentiated, branded postbiotic products; these strengths in supplements are increasingly being translated into formats that consumers encounter in their everyday diets, particularly functional foods.
Functional Foods : Functional food and beverage applications account for the largest revenue share in the postbiotics market, with an estimated $63.03 million in 2025 and a projected 10.5% CAGR through 2030, as brands incorporate postbiotics into yogurts, dairy alternatives, beverages, bakery and snacks to deliver everyday microbiome support. Bacterial postbiotics are predominantly used here because of their neutral taste, good dispersibility and robust processing stability during pasteurisation, UHT treatment and baking, allowing manufacturers to design postbiotic enriched foods that maintain potency across shelf life; yeast derived postbiotics are selectively applied in immune oriented drinks and dairy where beta-glucans and related components provide an additional wellness signal. This application leverages the unique ability of postbiotics to embed gut health and immune health benefits into familiar foods without refrigeration, supporting consistent intake and enabling on pack claims linked to microbiome modulation and overall wellbeing. ADM plays a pivotal role in this space by supplying versatile postbiotic and microbiome active ingredients, backed by global formulation centres and consumer insight teams that help translate complex science into market ready functional foods and beverages. Kerry Group Plc is a key innovator at the intersection of taste and nutrition, integrating postbiotics into holistic solutions that harmonise flavour, texture and scientifically supported health benefits, thereby enhancing brand differentiation and consumer acceptance. DSM Firmenich complements these strengths with its integrated portfolio of bioactives, flavour and texture systems, collaborating closely with food and beverage manufacturers to build holistic products that deliver credible health outcomes and enjoyable sensory experiences; these advances on the human side are mirrored by rapidly expanding opportunities in animal nutrition.
Animal Nutrition : Animal nutrition, encompassing livestock feed and pet nutrition, is an increasingly important growth region for postbiotics, with revenues of about $24.17 million in 2025 and the fastest expected expansion at roughly 11.8% CAGR from 2026 to 2030, driven by the shift away from antibiotic growth promoters and toward natural solutions that support animal health and performance. In this application, both bacterial and yeast derived postbiotics are widely adopted bacterial postbiotics contribute targeted effects on the gut barrier, short chain fatty acid profiles and pathogen control, while yeast derived postbiotics such as inactivated yeast and cell wall fractions rich in beta glucans and mannoproteins often take a particularly prominent role because of their long standing use in feed as immune modulating and performance enhancing agents; this creates a nuanced mix that complements the broader market pattern where bacterial formats hold 57.3% of total demand versus 42.7% for yeast deriveds in 2025. The core advantages for feed manufacturers and producers include strong heat stability during pelleting and extrusion, compatibility with premixes, reduction of variability versus live probiotics, and alignment with regulatory and consumer preferences for clean, functional ingredients that improve gut health, resilience and productivity across species. Cargill Incorporated occupies a leading position in this domain by integrating postbiotics into comprehensive feed and health programmes, supported by extensive on farm data, R&D capabilities and global supply chains that enable tailored solutions for poultry, swine, ruminants, aquaculture and pets. ADM leverages its scale in feed ingredients and deep research into the animal microbiome to embed postbiotics within complete feeds, concentrates and pet food concepts, positioning them as tools to support performance, immunity and overall animal wellbeing. DSM Firmenich builds on its established leadership in vitamins, enzymes and eubiotics to offer synergistic solutions that combine postbiotics with other advanced nutritional technologies, reinforcing its reputation as a strategic partner for producers seeking resilient, sustainable and high performing animal nutrition strategies.
Recent Developments
Recent developments in postbiotics highlight rapid maturation from niche digestive health solutions to mainstream functional ingredients in nutraceuticals and fortified foods. Increased clinical validation of gut barrier support, immune modulation, and microbiome balance is driving partnerships between ingredient suppliers and consumer health brands. A key trend is the shift from traditional probiotics to stable, heat resistant postbiotic supplements and synbiotic formulations, improving shelf life and product versatility.
June 2024 : By mid 2024, demand for postbiotics in gut health and immune health formulations had accelerated, as major nutraceutical and functional foods brands scaled launches of postbiotic based dietary supplements, ready to drink beverages, and sports nutrition products, broadening the commercial reach of postbiotics and reinforcing long term supply partnerships with leading ingredient manufacturers
November 2023 : In late 2023, the postbiotics market benefited from clearer regulatory and scientific positioning of non viable microbial preparations used as postbiotics, with regional authorities and expert groups refining guidance on safety and labeling, which increased industry confidence, reduced compliance risk, and encouraged greater investment in microbiome focused innovation
March 2023 : Early 2023 saw a marked rise in strategic collaborations across the value chain linking ingredient producers, contract manufacturers, and consumer brands to co develop postbiotic solutions for targeted gut health, infant nutrition, and pet nutrition applications, accelerating formulation expertise and shortening time to market for differentiated postbiotic offerings
Impact of Industry Transitions on the Postbiotics Market
As a core segment of the F&B industry,
the Postbiotics market develops in line with broader industry shifts.
Over recent years, transitions such as Clinical Evidence Reshaping Formulations and Microbiome Platforms Across Categories have redefined priorities
across the F&B sector,
influencing how the Postbiotics market evolves in terms of demand, applications and competitive dynamics.
These transitions highlight the structural changes shaping long-term growth opportunities.
01
Clinical Evidence Reshaping Formulations
The Postbiotics market is undergoing a significant transition from generic probiotic offerings to clinically profiled postbiotics, underpinned by robust mechanistic data. This shift enables brands to move away from live cultures to heat stable formulations that can be standardized, enhancing regulatory acceptance and label claims related to gut health and microbiome support. As a result, manufacturers in functional foods and nutraceuticals can achieve higher temperature processing and extended shelf life, eliminating the need for cold chain logistics. This strategic pivot is projected to contribute an additional $25 million to the Postbiotics market growth by 2030, fundamentally reshaping product pipelines and quality assurance frameworks across sectors, including beverage and infant formula production.
02
Microbiome Platforms Across Categories
A second pivotal transition is the expansion of postbiotics from digestive focused supplements into multi benefit platforms spanning immunity, metabolic health, and skin applications. Formulators now pair postbiotics with botanical actives and peptides, creating differentiated concepts in cosmeceuticals and advanced sports nutrition. Skincare brands are incorporating lysates and fermented filtrates into barrier repair serums, while medical nutrition players test postbiotic blends for glucose modulation. This cross category adoption is blurring boundaries between pharmaceuticals, food, and beauty, encouraging integrated R&D pipelines and unified microbiome centric brand architectures.