Phycocyanin Market Size & Share, by Nature (Organic and Conventional); Form (Powder and Liquid), By Grade (Phycocyanin E18, Phycocyanin E25, Phycocyanin E3.0); Application (Food & Beverages, Nutraceutical, Animal Feed, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Aquaculture) - Global Supply & Demand Analysis, Growth Forecasts, Statistics Report 2025-2037

Growth Drivers

• The heightened consumption rate for natural ingredients over artificial ingredients: The food industry is undergoing a paradigm shift in consumer preferences, from artificial ingredients to natural ingredients. This changing trend has triggered the production of phycocyanin, which acts as a nutritious protein-pigment complex in several food and beverage applications. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are increasingly gaining consumer attention as far as food supplements are concerned. 
  
  As the food & beverage industry is quickly growing, manufacturers are snowballing the production of indoor-grown, high-quality, and pure phycocyanin. To attain this, they are growing their spirulina algae in customized production facilities to extract five times more algae as equated to phycocyanin extracted from open pond systems, which also works as a cost-effective decision for them.
  
  With an increase in veganism, the demand for animal-derived ingredients and products has been dwindling. Consequently, plant-based alternative solutions have been established and are relishing improved phycocyanin market demand.
• Soaring demand from various end-use industries: According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, phycocyanin can have a strong potential as a drug in a wider range of clinical applications. It shows a wide variety of pharmacological effects, with anti-oxidation, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory action, photo-induced cytotoxicity, and stimulating the immune system.
  
  Phycocyanin is also utilized in medicine to assist selective destruction of atherosclerotic plaques or cancer cells by radiation with a minute or no harm to the nearby cells or tissue.
  
  Phycocyanin is a natural compound that is highly effective against asthma. It also hinders the production of molecules responsible for inflammation by restraining the amount of these molecules released and consequently preventing their effects in allergic events.
  
  The product also forms a significant part of the nutraceuticals industry on account of the presence of several nutrients, antioxidants, and muscle-enhancing properties in it.
  
  Further, it has been prevailing in the cosmetics industry, as it is non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. Since phycocyanin offers more stability as compared to other natural blue colorants, sponsors in the food & beverage landscape are progressively consuming this pigment for alcoholic beverages.

Challenges

• The extraordinary demand for phycocyanin has generated a shortage in the marketplace. Extracting phycocyanin from open pond systems obliges as an easy and suitable option for manufacturers. However, these pond systems are disposed to high possibilities of contamination. Hence, manufacturers are implementing the cost-competitive method of growing their spirulina algae to make sure the year-round supply of phycocyanin. Also, the product is exceptionally temperature-sensitive, and varied fluctuations in environmental conditions can considerably affect the quality of the product.
• Furthermore, other constraints such as the contamination in phycocyanin negatively impacting the production process and continuous variations in the import and export of phycocyanin are affecting the growth of the global phycocyanin market.