The hip and joint segment for pet supplements commanded a 60% revenue share in 2021 and is predicted to be dominant throughout 2032, a market reaching more than $3 billion in less than a decade.
This is evident because joint health may be the largest supplement category for dogs, especially on sites such as Amazon and Chewy, said Kevin Owen, head of technical marketing and scientific affairs, North America at Swiss multinational Lonza.
Owen said Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients and its customers are focused on preventing joint issues before they start. Although type one and type three collagens make up approximately 90% of the collagen market, Lonza’s UC-II undenatured type II collagen is growing among consumer preference.
UC-II undenatured type II collagen is resistant to gastric acid and digestive enzymes, allowing it to retain a three-dimensional shape and to preserve the epitopes, the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system. This triggers an immune response that stimulates a class of immune cells commonly referred to as regulator T cells.
“If a dog or cat or even you have joint pain in your knee or hip dysplasia, regulator T cells will travel to the site of inflammation,” Owen said. “They will eventually stimulate chondrocytes to build new joint cartilage.”
Ultimately this process supports joint flexibility and mobility in companion animals. A daily dose of 40 mg of UC-II undenatured type II collagen can mitigate exercise-induced pain, inflammation and cartilage degeneration in healthy dogs. Far less of it is needed compared to glucosamine and chondroitin, which require more grams to elicit the same type of response, according to Lonza. Although UC-II undenatured type II collagen can be added to products that already have glucosamine or chondroitin in them.
Lonza added that when the collagen is compared to placebo, it increases overall physical activity and helps dogs run faster.
“Our priority is to make sure that we educate and get UC-II to the end consumer and that it is available to any dog and cat for that matter to improve quality of life,” Owen said.
He noted that Lonza has relied on nearly a dozen clinical studies to substantiate the efficacy of UC-II undenatured type II collagen.
A multi-ingredient approach
Pet products coming to market with collagen have their challenges said Stacey Gillespie, director of product marketing at CBD company Charlotte’s Web.
“Collagen is a quite bulky ingredient,” she said. “Often when it is put in a chew, the amount that must go into the load is very high. So sometimes there is no room for other ingredients unless the amount of collagen is dropped in the amount per serving.”
That is not a roadblock for NOW Pets line of supplements, which includes UC-II undenatured type II collagen in its Advanced Joint Mobility as a latest addition formulated to help maintain cartilage and connective tissue for dogs and cats. Joseph Cool, NOW Pets category manager, said although UC-II undenatured type II collagen is the primary ingredient, others include glucosamine HCI, MSM and Boswellia extract.
NOW is almost always interested in pet supplements that have a mix of ingredients.
“We only sell multi-ingredient joint health supplements which include similar ingredients that we know work for humans,” Cool said.
Charlotte’s Web, known for its CBD products for people, has applied human-based research toward multi-ingredient supplements for pets.
The company offers hip and joint chews that have CBD in them as well as glucosamine, chondroitin and turmeric. Each of these ingredients have scientific support for helping with stiffness and to maintain healthy joints and connective tissues in dogs, although the research is quite varied, said Dr. Ivori Zvorsky, senior scientist, R&D, at Charlotte’s Web.
“Dogs, like humans, have an endocannabinoid system,” she said. “CBD is something that’s gaining popularity for use in pets. Speaking specifically to the joint piece for the hip and joint chews, studies have shown that CBD can help reduce discomfort and increase activity related to joint pain and inflammation.”
Zvorsky noted that by giving CBD to dogs, researchers have shown improvements in standardized veterinary assessments, as well as different behavioral measures like how frequently or how high dogs are able to jump, among other behaviors documented by pet owners.
“Owners then report things such as increased mobility, showing that their dogs are getting on and off the couch easier,” she said.
The glucosamine and chondroitin in the company’s pet products are naturally occurring compounds found in cartilage. By supplementing with them, they support the production of cartilage and fluid that can help the joints keep moving as well as protect the cartilage from breaking down.
The addition of turmeric to the joint chews reduces joint pain and oxidative stress, along with inflammation related to stiffness.
“Turmeric is an antioxidant,” Zvorsky said. “It helps cut down different compounds that can attack or stress out your joints and different muscles in the body.”
These new supplement combinations do not seem to diminish the popularity of some joint staples, however. Gillespie of Charlotte’s Web said hip and joint chews with chondroitin sulfate are consistently a top seller for the company.
