Industrial leap under the wave of bio-manufacturing

Natural Plant Extracts: Industrial Transformation Under the Wave of Bio-Manufacturing  

1. Industry Development Overview  

(1) Industry Definition  

Plant extracts refer to products obtained by physical or chemical extraction, concentration, separation, drying, and other processes from whole or part of a plant, targeting and enriching one or more active components without altering the original structural characteristics of the plant. Based on component properties, they can be classified into alkaloids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, terpenes and volatile oils, organic acids, phenols, etc.; by product form, they include essential oils, extracts, powders, crystals, etc.; and by content standards, they can be categorized into effective monomer extracts, standardized extracts, and ratio extracts. They serve as a key intermediate linking plant raw materials to end consumer products and are an important vehicle for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine and the development of natural products.  

(2) Development History  

1) Embryonic Stage (1960s–1980s)  

The industry emerged from the exploration of modern industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine. Represented by the extraction of flavonoids from ginkgo leaves for pharmaceutical development, initial technical pathways from plants to extracts were established. However, production scales were small, standardization was low, and processing was predominantly workshop-based.  

2) Industrial Growth Stage (1990s–2010) 

 

Driven by rising demand for natural products in Europe and the U.S., specialized extract manufacturers proliferated. Leveraging abundant medicinal plant resources and the introduction of advanced equipment like supercritical extraction and membrane separation, China quickly became the world’s leading supplier of plant extracts, with a distinct export-oriented focus.  

3) Rapid Growth Stage (2010–2022)  

The industry shifted from single-component extraction to comprehensive, high-value utilization of all components, gaining global competitiveness in fields like natural pigments and natural sweeteners. Export value grew rapidly from 2010 to 2015, reaching a historic peak during 2020–2022 amid a surge in global preventive healthcare demand.  

4) Quality and Efficiency Enhancement Stage (2023–Present)  

With slowing global economic growth, declining overseas consumer demand, and intensified market competition, export value has faced pressure for three consecutive years. The industry has entered a transformation phase centered on quality upgrades and differentiated competition, with “internal value enhancement” becoming the dominant theme.  

(3) Current Industry Status  

The global plant extract market is undergoing structural transformation: growth in traditional bulk categories is slowing, while demand for high-value, standardized extracts is steadily rising. The “clean label” trend continues to drive the penetration of natural ingredients in food and beverage, cosmetics, and other sectors. As the world’s core supplier, China’s exports remain at a high plateau, showing signs of stabilization after three years of minor adjustments. The domestic market maintains rapid growth driven by health-conscious consumption upgrades. The industry as a whole has entered a “quality and efficiency enhancement” phase, with competition shifting from scale expansion to quality upgrades, technological differentiation, and compliance capacity building. Emerging technologies like synthetic biology and AI-assisted R&D are accelerating adoption, driving the industry’s transition from resource-dependent to technology-driven. Plant extracts are evolving from basic intermediates into high-value functional ingredients.