The market trend of L-leucine in sports nutrition products

As the core component of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), L-leucine has seen sustained growth in demand in the sports nutrition market, driven by its core benefits of promoting muscle protein synthesis and alleviating post-exercise fatigue. Meanwhile, the market presents trends such as expanding scale, upgraded product forms, and optimized competitive landscape. A detailed analysis is as follows:

Sustained High-Speed Growth of Market Demand and Scale

Explosive Expansion of the Domestic Market

With the popularization of national fitness concepts, the proportion of the national population regularly participating in physical exercise reached 38.6% by the end of 2024. The number of fitness enthusiasts increased from 68 million in 2021 to 92 million in 2025, directly driving the consumption of L-leucine-containing products such as protein powders and energy bars. In 2024, China’s sports nutrition market size reached 18.6 billion yuan, with L-leucine-containing products accounting for over 65%. The demand for L-leucine powder in this sector is expected to exceed 3,200 tons by 2026. In 2023, the food and nutritional supplement sector accounted for nearly 55% of domestic L-leucine consumption, with sports nutrition as the core demand driver. As the sports nutrition market strides toward a scale of 120 billion yuan in the future, it will further boost L-leucine demand.

Steady Expansion of the Global Market

In 2023, the global L-leucine market size was approximately 1.28 billion US dollars, with the Asia-Pacific region as the largest consumer market. As the core of this region, China not only meets domestic demand but also exports in large quantities—China’s L-leucine powder exports reached 4,200 tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%. The global market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% from 2024 to 2030, potentially exceeding 1.95 billion US dollars by 2030, with demand from the sports nutrition sector serving as a key growth engine.

Diversification and High-End Upgrade of Product Forms

Composite Formulations Become Mainstream

Currently, L-leucine in sports nutrition products mostly follows the golden ratio of L-leucine:L-isoleucine:L-valine = 2:1:1 to maximize muscle protein synthesis efficiency, commonly found in BCAA composite supplements. Additionally, it is often compounded with creatine, glutamine, and other ingredients to launch more targeted products—such as muscle-building protein powders for resistance training enthusiasts and anti-fatigue energy drinks for endurance athletes.

Popularity of Convenient and Functionally Modified Products

Beyond traditional powdered products, rapidly soluble and microencapsulated L-leucine products are increasingly available, addressing the drawbacks of slow dissolution and poor taste of traditional powders to meet the demand for rapid supplementation during sports. Furthermore, portable L-leucine-containing products such as energy bars and ready-to-drink sports beverages have witnessed rising sales due to their alignment with fitness enthusiasts’ fragmented supplementation needs.

Growing Demand for High-Purity Products

The sports nutrition sector’s requirements for L-leucine purity are continuously increasing—products with a purity of ≥98.5% have become mainstream, and some high-end products even approach pharmaceutical-grade 99.5% purity to meet the strict safety and efficacy requirements of professional athletes and other groups.

Industrial Technological Upgrades and Deepened Domestic Substitution

Production Technology Iteration and Cost Reduction

Mainstream domestic enterprises have generally adopted microbial fermentation for L-leucine production. Companies such as Meihua Biotech and Fufeng Group have also laid out synthetic biology technologies. Compared with traditional processes, these advanced technologies reduce unit energy consumption by 22% and wastewater discharge by 35%, aligning with the dual-carbon strategy while significantly lowering production costs. Currently, China’s total L-leucine production capacity exceeds 40,000 tons per year, meeting over 85% of domestic demand and significantly reducing import dependence.

Continuous Improvement of Industry Concentration

Stricter environmental policies and new GMP certification requirements have increased compliance costs for small and medium-sized enterprises, leading to the withdrawal of approximately 15% of small-scale producers from 2023 to 2025. Meanwhile, leading enterprises such as Anhui Fengyuan Biochemical and Meihua Biotech, leveraging technological and production capacity advantages, account for over 70% of the total market share. Industry resources are increasingly concentrating on leading enterprises, further stabilizing the supply of L-leucine in the sports nutrition sector.

Further Segmentation and Expansion of Application Scenarios

Coverage of Diverse Sports Populations

L-leucine sports nutrition products are no longer limited to professional athletes but have extended to segmented groups such as casual fitness enthusiasts and weight loss individuals. For example, low-calorie, L-leucine-containing meal replacement powders are launched for weight loss groups to help them reduce muscle loss while controlling calorie intake. For middle-aged and elderly sports participants, mild nutritional supplements adapted to their metabolic levels are developed to prevent sarcopenia and assist post-exercise recovery.

Cross-Border Integration to Expand Boundaries

Beyond traditional sports nutrition categories, L-leucine has begun to penetrate weight management products such as functional meal replacement bars and protein supplements for weight loss periods. Meanwhile, some brands are attempting to integrate it with health monitoring, launching personalized nutrition plans combined with dietary and exercise recommendations, further expanding its application scenarios in the sports and health field.

Policy and Consumption Concepts Drive Standardized Market Development

Policies Regulate Market Order

The National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Nutritional Fortifiers clearly specifies the maximum addition level of L-leucine in sports nutrition foods as 500 mg/100 kcal, setting boundaries for enterprise production. Additionally, the 14th Five-Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development supports the industrialization of high-value-added amino acids, providing policy support for the R&D and production of L-leucine-related sports nutrition products and driving the industry to move toward standardization away from reckless growth.

Precision Nutrition Concepts Drive Demand Upgrades

As consumers’ understanding of sports nutrition shifts from "general supplementation" to "precision supplementation," their awareness of L-leucine continues to improve—they no longer only focus on whether the ingredient is present but also pay attention to details such as content ratio and purity. This consumption concept has prompted enterprises to increase R&D investment, continuously optimize product formulations, and further drive the segmented market toward specialization and refinement.