Gelnex Gelatin

What Gelnex Gelatin does

Gelnex Gelatin, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Itá, Brazil, was a manufacturer of gelatin and collagen peptides serving health, nutrition, pharmaceutical, and biomedical end markets. Its core products were standard and modified gelatins together with collagen peptide ingredients used in nutraceuticals, functional foods and beverages, hard and soft pharmaceutical capsules, and biomedical applications. The underlying technology centered on collagen and gelatin processing from animal-derived raw materials, producing ingredients qualified for both food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade applications.

In 2023, Gelnex was acquired by Darling Ingredients (NYSE: DAR) and absorbed into the Rousselot brand, ending its independent status. Post-acquisition, the combined entity operates 16 production units across 4 continents and is reported to hold approximately 30% of the global collagen and gelatin market, with 400+ products and access to Darling's broader network of 260+ facilities that transform 16 million metric tons of raw material annually. The business model is B2B ingredient supply: Darling/Rousselot sells gelatin and collagen inputs to enterprise customers across nutraceuticals (primary), functional foods and beverages, pharmaceutical capsules, and biomedical/medical device categories. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and revenue is realized through direct sales and partnerships rather than a published or transactional model. Since acquisition, growth, product, and geographic decisions are made at the Rousselot and Darling Ingredients level rather than at a standalone Gelnex entity.

Name

Gelnex Gelatin

Website

https://gelnex.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Gelnex Gelatin, founded in 1998 in Itá, Brazil, manufactured gelatin and collagen peptide ingredients for nutraceutical, food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical buyers. It was acquired by Darling Ingredients in 2023 and integrated into the Rousselot brand, which holds roughly 30% of the global collagen and gelatin market across 16 production units on 4 continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Food Ingredients (Gelatin and Collagen Peptides)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Gelatin & Collagen Hydrolysates (Animal-Based Gelling Agents) (AFAJABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Collagen, Gelatin & Protein Hydrolysates (Animal-Derived) (AFANAGAI), Animal-Derived Protein Ingredients (Egg, Collagen/Gelatin, Blood/Plasma Proteins) (AFAJAHAB)

Keywords

• Gelatin manufacturing
• Collagen peptides
• Pharmaceutical excipients
• Nutraceutical ingredients
• Biomedical biomaterials

Headquarters

HQ city

Itá

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gelnex Gelatin is a global manufacturer of gelatin and collagen peptides, producing ingredient inputs for the pharmaceutical (capsule excipients), nutraceutical (dietary supplements), functional food and beverage, and biomedical/medical device industries. Following the 2023 acquisition by Darling Ingredients, the business is integrated into the Rousselot brand and serves customers worldwide with standardized and modified gelatin products.

Product overview

The source data does not contain specific product information for Gelnex Gelatin. The primary webpage source pertains to Rousselot (a brand under Darling Ingredients that acquired Gelnex in 2023), which offers collagen peptides, gelatins, and biomaterials for supplements, functional foods, capsules, food, and biomedical applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collagen Peptides

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% global market share in collagen and gelatin segment under Rousselot brand

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rousselot: Rousselot is the Darling Ingredients brand under which Gelnex has been fully integrated since the 2023 acquisition, offering identical collagen peptides, gelatins, and biomaterials across nutraceutical, food, pharma, and biomedical end-markets. It is the closest possible peer because Gelnex is, operationally, part of this brand.
• GELITA: GELITA is one of the world's leading manufacturers of gelatin and collagen peptides, serving food, nutrition, pharma, and biomedical applications globally. It competes head-to-head with Gelnex/Rousselot across all major end-segments including capsule excipients and hydrolyzed collagen ingredients.
• PB Leiner: PB Leiner (a Tessenderlo Group business) is a major global producer of gelatin and collagen peptides for food, nutrition, and pharma. It is a direct competitor with comparable product breadth in standard gelatins, hydrolyzed collagens, and specialty pharmaceutical grades.
• Nitta Gelatin: Nitta Gelatin Inc. is a Japan-based gelatin and collagen peptide manufacturer serving food, health, and industrial markets across Asia. It is a direct peer particularly in pharmaceutical-grade and biomedical-grade gelatin — segments central to Gelnex's own customer mix.
• Weishardt Group: Weishardt is a France-based producer of gelatins and collagen peptides for food, nutrition, and cosmetics with strong presence in European pharma and nutraceutical markets. Its hydrolysate and specialty-grade portfolio competes directly with Gelnex's collagen peptide lines.
• Italgelatine: Italgelatine is an Italian producer of pigskin- and bovine-derived gelatins for food, pharma, and technical applications. It is a direct competitor supplying capsule-grade and food-grade gelatin with comparable regulatory and quality systems.
• Junca Gelatines: Junca Gelatines is a Spanish gelatin manufacturer producing food-grade and pharma-grade gelatins from pork and beef raw materials for global customers. It directly parallels Gelnex's bovine/porcine-based gelatin manufacturing footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Tessenderlo Group: Tessenderlo Group is the Belgian specialty chemicals and agro-industrial parent of PB Leiner, its gelatin/collagen business. As Gelnex's most significant global competitor parent group, it is comparable in terms of overall scale, multi-segment ingredient exposure, and cross-sell capability.
• Darling Ingredients: Darling Ingredients is Gelnex's parent company (acquiror in 2023) and a NYSE-listed leader in converting animal by-products and food-industry residuals into ingredients across food, feed, and fuel segments. The Rousselot collagen platform sits within it, making it both parent and an aligned competitor across the broader collagen landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gelnexgelatin
• Facebookfacebook.com/gelnexgelatin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gelnex-gelatin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gelnex Gelatin