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Darling Ingredients, a developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients derived from both edible and inedible bio-nutrients, has entered into a joint venture with Tessenderlo Group to establish a new company, called Nextida. This venture aims to capitalise on the rapidly growing collagen market.

This new partnership, which will be 85% owned by Darling Ingredients, is expected to generate approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenue, positioning it as a strong player in the health, wellness and nutrition sectors.

The collaboration will merge Darling Ingredients’ Rousselot brand, a producer of collagen and gelatin production, with Tessenderlo Group’s PB Leiner business. The integration will consolidate both companies' capabilities, leveraging their existing infrastructures across 23 facilities worldwide, including locations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with a combined gelatin and collagen capacity of around 200,000 metric tons.

Randall C Stuewe, chairman and CEO of Darling Ingredients, said: "Collagen has represented the fastest-growing area of Darling Ingredients' food segment business over the past several years, and with the addition of PB Leiner’s people, assets and products, we are well positioned to increase scale and focus in this rapidly growing segment.”

The formation of Nextida comes at a time when the global demand for collagen products is surging, driven by increasing consumer interest in health and wellness. The joint venture aims to harness this demand by enhancing product development and operational efficiencies, potentially unlocking significant synergies between the two organisations.

Luc Tack, CEO of Tessenderlo Group, added: “With this combination, we will have the best new ownership possible. We will benefit from each other by sharing technology expertise and providing a complementary offering for our global customer base. This includes many in-demand products, such as gelatin and collagen peptides.”

Pending regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in 2026, setting the stage for Nextida to emerge as a key player in the collagen sector. The joint venture is anticipated to not only enhance shareholder value but also provide a robust infrastructure to meet the increasing market demand for collagen-based products.