Colostrum overview: benefits, growth and animal welfare concerns
- Colostrum demand is rising as functional food interest grows
- Market forecast shows 7.1% CAGR between 2026 and 2033
- Evidence suggests benefits, but research remains partly inconclusive
- Critics question welfare impacts from diverting calves’ essential nutrition
- Replicating colostrum remains challenging using current precision fermentation technologies
Already popular among wellness influencers, the ingredient colostrum has strong potential in the functional food market. Linked to gut health, respiratory recovery and reducing inflammation, it aligns with many current health trends.
Nevertheless, it is still surrounded by controversy.
On the health side, many believe that the evidence for functional benefits is still not enough to be conclusive.
It has also been criticised for its animal welfare credentials, rerouting as it does essential nutrients from newborn animals to humans.
What is colostrum?
Colostrum is the milk produced by a mammal in the first few days after the birth of its child.
It contains high levels of antimicrobial peptides (which act as one of the body’s first lines of defence against harmful microbes,) growth factors (proteins that regulate cells’ proliferation and differentiation) and immunoglobulins (proteins that help combat viruses, bacteria and toxins).
While bovine colostrum is the most common on the market, colostrum from other animals, such as sheep and goats, is increasingly being used in Europe, according to market research platform Grand View Research.
What is the potential of colostrum as a functional ingredient?
The market for colostrum is expected to grow. According to Grand View Research, it will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1% between 2026 and 2033.
In particular, colostrum is well-suited to being used as a functional ingredient in food.
According to AI analytics platform Tastewise, colostrum is on two-thirds more menus than it was a year ago. Consumers know what they want from colostrum as well; around one in three connect it to gut health.
Colostrum has strong potential in functional food, either in dairy or other products, according to Grand View Research. It has already been used in ice cream, kefir, yoghurts and infant formulas.
Consumer demand for clean label foods could give colostrum an edge for success, the market research platform suggests.
Is colostrum really healthy?
While colostrum’s nutritional benefits have been promoted by some, others have expressed scepticism.
There are certainly studies pointing to health benefits.
One review found that it can improve respiratory recovery and enhance the immune system (although the researchers suggest that the risk of bias in the studies assessed mitigates the usefulness of any evidence found).
Another study linked the consumption of colostrum-enriched milk to the reduction of certain pro-inflammatory indicators.
But some believe it’s too early to say.
Gut health science company Zoe singled out bovine colostrum as a ‘health and wellness fad to avoid.’ The brand said that while colostrum provides the perfect mix of nutrients for a developing animal such as a calf to thrive, there is not enough evidence that the same nutrients can work for adults.
Some of the research is indeed inconclusive. While studies have linked bovine colostrum to the reduction of intestinal permeability, the ‘leakiness of the gut’, when it is induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, they also suggest that in the context of endurance exercise, colostrum can actually increase intestinal permeability compared to whey protein as a control. Intestinal permeability can be harmful as it allows unwanted bacteria and food particles through the gut lining.
Other research has failed to come to a single conclusion. A systematic review of studies on the effect of bovine colostrum on gastrointestinal diseases found inconclusive results.
Colostrum and animal welfare
Compared to other dairy products, there is significant controversy around colostrum.
If bovine colostrum is taken from a cow for use by humans, it is by definition not being consumed by newborn calves, who need it far more than they do. This has led to the ingredient being criticised for poor animal welfare.
As well as critiquing the evidence behind colostrum’s health benefits, Zoe also described the ingredient as “cruel”, reliant as it is on diverting necessary nutrients away from baby calves.
Animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticised the production of bovine colostrum as well, saying that it is “not meant for humans”.
Can it be replicated?
For many animal-based foods, it is possible to create an animal-free substitute. However, it is difficult to entirely replicate colostrum, at least through precision fermentation.
“Cows’ colostrum is a complex mixture of proteins, along with minerals, vitamins and antibodies optimised to meet the needs of newborn calves,” explains Dr Stella Child, senior research funding advisor at non-profit think tank The Good Food Institute Europe.
Precision fermentation works best by targeting specific functional proteins or ingredients. Therefore, it would be difficult to use it to develop a full colostrum product.
There is currently no vegan replacement for colostrum, according to PETA.
Colostrum, despite its clear potential as a functional ingredient, remains controversial, both in terms of animal welfare and in terms of health benefits.
Whether any of this will prevent it from succeeding as a functional food remains to be seen.
