Nutraceuticals are moving from the margins to the mainstream, reshaping animal health across segments. The focus is shifting from treatment to prevention, with science-led nutrition driving better productivity and performance. These solutions are helping improve feed efficiency, strengthen immunity and reduce antibiotic use. Once seen as optional, nutraceuticals are now becoming essential. Industry experts weigh in on what is driving this shift, the gaps that remain, and where the next phase of growth will come from
India is well-positioned to emerge as a global hub for animal nutrition
India’s animal health market is growing at a CAGR of 7.11 per cent, indicating steady progress in scale and investment. However, this growth sits alongside a persistent gap, with 536.76 million livestock and 851.81 million poultry still underfed. The challenge is not simply the availability of feed, but how efficiently it is utilised at the farm level. Data from the NSSO shows that only 5.1 per cent of farmer households access animal husbandry information, while 40.4 per cent receive guidance for crop farming. This imbalance shapes outcomes across productivity, cost efficiency, and animal health.
The National Dairy Development Board’s Ration Balancing Programme highlights the scale of the awareness gap. Introduced in 2012, it reached 2.15 million farmers and showed that optimising existing feed reduced costs by 11.8 per cent and increased net daily income by 27 per animal without additional investment. However, it covered only 2.7 per cent of livestock households, which points to the limited reach of such interventions.
Market landscape and segment trends
The structure of India’s animal nutrition market reflects a clear divide between organised and unorganised segments. In 2025, livestock accounted for 50.9 per cent of the market. This share reflects continued dependence on traditional feeding practices. Dairy, despite being central to the rural economy, still relies heavily on crop residues and home-mixed rations, with limited adoption of balanced compound feed.
Poultry is the most organised segment, with a 36.41 per cent market share in 2025. Integrated operations and rising protein demand support consistent feed adoption and efficiency gains. Aquaculture holds a 5.2 per cent share and is expanding due to export demand and commercialisation. Companion animals account for 8.2 per cent, driven by urbanisation and changing consumer behaviour.
Nutraceuticals and health outcomes
The role of nutraceuticals is expanding. Regulatory changes have accelerated this shift. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India introduced antibiotic limits across food-animal production in October 2024, effective April 2025. This has increased the adoption of alternatives such as probiotics, enzymes, and amino acids.
These inputs improve feed conversion ratios and support immunity. They also reduce dependence on antibiotics and help produce residue-free animal products. Researchbacked Ayurvedic formulations are gaining traction. Trials conducted by ICAR-NDRI have shown improvements in milk yield and animal health, positioning India as a strong player in herbal nutrition solutions.
Structural and regulatory challenges
Affordability and access remain significant challenges in the industry. Feed costs are under pressure due to the volatility of raw materials. The shift of maize for ethanol production and fluctuations in soyabean meal prices have driven up input costs. Since feed constitutes a major portion of livestock expenses, even minor price changes can significantly impact farmers’ profit margins.
Market fragmentation complicates the situation. The poultry sector operates through organised value chains, while cattle and aquaculture rely on local feed sources or on-farm mixing. This results in uneven nutritional outcomes and lower feed efficiency. Additionally, regulatory clarity is still developing. While compliance with BIS standards is required for certain categories, many specifications remain voluntary, creating uncertainty in the market.
India’s path forward
India is well-positioned to emerge as a global hub for animal nutrition. It has the world’s largest livestock base, supported by a growing research ecosystem. Policy support through initiatives such as the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund and the National Livestock Mission is strengthening capacity and encouraging investment across the value chain.
The next step lies in scaling awareness. Digital extension and targeted outreach can help farmers adopt precision nutrition practices more effectively. As adoption improves, gains in productivity and feed efficiency will follow. This shift can ease cost pressures and improve access over time. With sustained focus, India can build a more efficient and globally competitive animal nutrition ecosystem.
Nutraceuticals are integral to animal health and long-term productivity
India’s animal nutraceuticals market stands at a pivotal juncture, with strong growth potential across livestock, poultry and companion animal segments. Being an organised sector in industry, poultry nutraceutical segment is well established.
However, in the dairy sector, especially amongst the unorganised dairy sector, an untapped opportunity lies in bridging the widespread awareness gap around balanced nutrition, an essential yet often overlooked aspect of animal health.
In the livestock sector, productivity has improved through cross-breeding, better farm management, and a sharper focus on yield. While progressive dairy farmers understand nutritional practices, the small and marginal livestock farmers remain inconsistent, directly impacting fertility, immunity, and overall output. For small and marginal farmers, who rely on dairy as a steady source of income beyond seasonal agriculture, nutraceuticals offer a powerful lever to enhance productivity, improve animal health, and enable more predictable earnings.
The cross-breeding programs, improved fertility, and rising awareness will drive scale in the livestock sector. On the other hand, the companion animal segment is emerging as a high-growth opportunity. As per the INFAH estimates, companion care segment is poised for rapid growth, with a projected CAGR of 12 per cent from Rs 15 billion in 2025 to Rs 48 billion in 2035. Pet adoption has risen steadily, particularly among nuclear families, a trend accelerated during and after COVID. Yet, only a small percentage of pets in India receive balanced nutrition. As pet parents become increasingly conscious of calorie intake, breed-specific needs, and preventive healthcare, nutraceuticals are evolving from optional choice to essential components of overall pet wellness.
Addressing these gaps also require research-driven innovation. At Zenex Animal Health, the focus is on balanced nutritional feed supplements and advanced scientifically formulated solutions such as phytobiotics and probiotics to improve gut health, strengthen immunity, and support sustainable animal performance. Innovations including novel probiotic strains and next generation feed supplements underscore the role nutraceuticals can play in enhancing both productivity and disease resistance. Despite the promise, challenges persist in the absence of a well-defined regulatory framework for nutraceuticals. Further, limited rural infrastructure and access to veterinary services continue to constrain adoption. A prevailing misconception is that nutraceuticals are supplementary, in reality, they are integral to animal health and long-term productivity.
Encouragingly, growing government support, strengthening veterinary infrastructure including vet hospitals and diagnosis centres, milk processing facilities and increased availability of trained veterinarians and paravets are improving awareness and access. Together, these factors position India to emerge as a significant global player in the animal nutraceuticals space.
Nutraceuticals are being seen as tools that support animal health and output
India’s animal nutraceuticals market is still under-penetrated, but momentum is building. What was once seen largely as a premium add-on in feed or pet care is slowly becoming part of a wider preventive animal health conversation, both in livestock and companion animals.In livestock, the opportunity is significant because nutritional gaps remain large. Commercial feed penetration is still low compared with herd size, especially in cattle, where dry fodder and crop residue continue to dominate feeding practices in many regions. But that is changing as dairy economics come under pressure and farmers look more closely at feed efficiency, fertility, immunity and milk productivity.The numbers point to that shift. India’s animal feed supplements market was valued at $1.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to touch $2.6 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 5.3 percent, according to IMARC. At the same time, India’s livestock animal health market is expected to grow at 10.2 percent CAGR through 2033, supported by rising disease management spending and the government’s Rs 3,880 crore Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme.
Nutraceuticals sit squarely within that story. Probiotics, enzymes, toxin binders, mineral mixtures, herbal actives and gut health products are seeing wider use, particularly as producers, especially in poultry, move away from antibiotic-led growth models. India’s feed additives market alone is projected to reach $2.38 billion by 2034, underlining the broader move toward performance-focused nutrition.
Companion animal nutraceuticals are smaller in scale but growing faster. Products linked to gut health, joint support, skin care, stress and immunity are moving beyond niche urban demand. Growth in pet ownership, greater veterinary awareness and e-commerce-led distribution have all contributed to expanding the market.
One of the biggest misconceptions around animal nutraceuticals in India is that they are optional extras. In cattle, traditional fodder is often assumed to be enough to support productivity. In pets, homemade diets or kitchen leftovers are frequently seen as nutritionally adequate. In poultry too, discussions often remain focused on antibiotics, while scientifically formulated nutrition gets less attention. At the heart of this is a broader tendency to view nutrition as a routine cost rather than a productivity input.
That is also where a major untapped opportunity lies.
Much of the attention around nutraceuticals has focused on premium pet supplements, but the larger opening may be in smallholder livestock nutrition. India’s dairy and poultry sectors remain dominated by fragmented producers, many of whom are underserved when it comes to science-backed supplementation. Even modest gains in mineral balancing, rumen health, probiotics or reproductive nutrition can improve milk yields, feed efficiency and disease resilience.
Another area to watch is preventive health. There is growing scope to position nutraceuticals not as curative add-ons, but as part of routine health management — something that has already reshaped demand in human nutraceuticals.
Looking ahead, the market is likely to be driven by products linked not just to nutrition, but also to antibiotic reduction, methane efficiency, immunity, longevity and species-specific formulations.India may still be underestimating the category because nutraceuticals are often viewed simply as supplements. But as productivity pressures rise, they are increasingly being seen as tools that support animal health and output. That is where the market’s bigger opportunity may lie.
