All excellent points above! Just to summarize:
Bovine (Cows) – Best for Types I & III collagen, great for joint and skin health. Usually the most cost-effective.
Marine (Fish) – Mostly Type I, highly bioavailable, great for premium beauty supplements.
Porcine (Pigs) – Very close to human collagen, widely used in medical and some food apps, though less popular in mainstream dietary supplements due to dietary restrictions.
Poultry (Chicken cartilage) – Usually Type II collagen, specifically targeted for joint health formulas.
If you’re looking for raw materials for manufacturing, you just need to match the source to your target audience’s budget and dietary needs.
as a QA guy, I always look closely at the extraction facility, not just the animal source. The raw materials (hides, bones, scales) have to be thoroughly cleaned and demineralized before the enzymatic process begins. The enzymes used (usually food-grade proteases) dictate the final molecular weight (Daltons) of the peptides.
So, when you ask “where do they come from,” the answer is a combination of animal by-products and highly controlled, sterile bio-manufacturing facilities. That’s why picking a supplier with GMP and ISO certifications is non-negotiable for us.
Just to chime in regarding market trends—whenever my customers ask me “where does this come from?”, they are usually trying to figure out if it fits their diet.
It’s important to remember that there is no such thing as real vegan collagen. Collagen is strictly animal-sourced. When we formulate for vegan customers, we actually have to use “collagen builders” (like Vitamin C, amino acids, and silica) rather than actual collagen peptides. Also, if you need to be Kosher or Halal certified, you generally want to stick strictly to bovine or marine sources and avoid porcine entirely.
Adding to what ryan said, from a sourcing perspective, where those animals come from is a huge deal for our brand right now.
For bovine collagen, we usually source materials originating from grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle in regions like South America (Brazil, Argentina) or Europe, as buyers really look for that on the label. For marine collagen, it’s usually extracted from the scales and skin of wild-caught fish like cod, or sometimes sustainably farmed tilapia. If you are buying wholesale, always ask your supplier for the certificate of origin and ensure they have full traceability down to the farm or fishery.
Great question. Technically speaking, collagen peptides don’t exist in nature on their own—they are derived from native collagen. Most of the commercial peptides we use in formulations come from the connective tissues, bones, and skin of animals. The big three are bovine (cow), porcine (pig), and marine (fish).
To get the “peptides,” the raw collagen goes through a process called enzymatic hydrolysis. This breaks down the long, complex amino acid chains into short, easy-to-absorb peptides. If you skip the hydrolysis step, you just end up with gelatin!