Dairy Firms Chase Protein Boom, But Profits Remain Elusive
乳企追逐蛋白熱潮 利潤卻依舊難覓
by Lee Shih Ta 李士達 著
[Industry] [行業]
From marathon running to muscle building, the global sports boom is spreading beyond footwear and apparel into nutrition. Consumers are paying more attention to what they eat and drink before and after exercise, as well as what they wear and how they train.從馬拉松運動到肌肉訓練，全球體育熱潮正從鞋服領域延伸至營養領域。消費者越來越關注運動前後的飲食飲品，以及自身的穿着和訓練方式。
Protein drinks, energy supplements and functional nutritional products are emerging as new markets that food companies and sportswear brands are keen to enter.蛋白飲料、能量補充劑以及功能性營養產品正成爲食品企業和運動品牌爭相進入的新興市場。
China already has a substantial base of people who exercise. The General Administration of Sport of China’s 2025 National Fitness Survey found that 38.52 percent of residents age 7 and above exercised regularly, up about 1.3 percentage points from 2020. Average spending on sports among people aged 19 to 59 reached 2,428 yuan (US$362.75) per person. Exercise is increasingly becoming a routine activity on which people spend both time and money.中國已經擁有龐大的健身人羣基礎。中國國家體育總局2025年國民體質與健身狀況調查顯示，7歲及以上居民中，38.52%的人堅持規律鍛鍊，較2020年提升約1.3個百分點。19至59歲人羣的人均體育消費達到2428元（362.75美元）。健身正逐漸成爲人們投入時間與金錢的日常活動。
Running offers a concentrated setting for these products. The China Athletics Association’s 2025 China Marathon Blue Book recorded 594 marathon events during the year, with about 4.54 million combined entries in full and half marathons. These figures count entries, not individual runners, but they point to a big market for training and race-day nutrition.跑步爲這些產品提供了集中的應用場景。中國田徑協會發布的《2025中國馬拉松藍皮書》顯示，全年共舉辦594場馬拉松賽事，全程和半程馬拉松的報名總人數約爲454萬人次。這些數據統計的是報名人次而非獨立跑者，但足以反映出跑步訓練及賽事營養補給擁有龐大的市場需求。
Milk contains whey protein and casein, ingredients also used in sports nutrition products. This gives dairy companies an opportunity to extend their milk supply and processing capabilities into protein supplements. Their offerings can range from everyday milk to convenient protein drinks for before or after training, reaching runners, gym-goers and other consumers with specific nutritional needs.牛奶中含有乳清蛋白和酪蛋白，這些成分也被應用於運動營養產品中。這爲乳製品企業提供了將牛奶供應和加工能力拓展至蛋白質補充劑領域的機會。企業的產品品類可涵蓋日常飲用的牛奶，以及訓練前後飲用的便捷型蛋白飲料，覆蓋跑步愛好者、健身房會員及其他有特定營養需求的消費者。
Chinese media, citing industry data, reported that large-scale dairy processors produced about 29.5 million tons of dairy products in 2025, down 1.1 percent year-on-year. Liquid milk still accounted for more than 90 percent of total output. With the industry so heavily weighted toward milk, processors need to find more uses for their raw milk if they want to expand revenue.中國媒體援引行業數據報道稱，2025年大型乳製品加工企業的乳製品產量約爲2950萬噸，同比下降1.1%。液態奶仍佔總產量的90%以上。鑑於行業對液態奶的依賴度極高，加工企業若想增加收入，就需要爲原料奶開拓更多用途。
Credit: Imaginechina圖片來源：Imaginechina
Caption: A half-marathon event near Suzhou Creek in Shanghai in March. The global sports boom have long arrived in China, with sports events like marathons emerging across the country.說明：3月上海蘇州河畔的一場半程馬拉松賽事。全球體育熱潮早已席捲中國，馬拉松等體育賽事在全國各地蓬勃興起。
From dairy farms to the starting line從奶牛場到起跑線
That’s the backdrop behind Mengniu Dairy’s latest moves. Maction, its sports nutrition brand, recently completed a Series A+ funding of nearly 100 million yuan, with Citic Agriculture Industry Fund, Li Ning and Viva Goods among the investors. The funding was reported in September, offering a new example of growing ties between the dairy and sportswear industries.這就是蒙牛乳業最新動作背後的背景。其運動營養品牌馬勝（Maction）近日完成近1億元人民幣的A+輪融資，中信農業產業基金、李寧及維維股份等爲投資方。該融資信息於9月披露，成爲乳製品與運動服飾行業聯繫日益緊密的又一新例證。
Maction’s products include liquid protein, energy gels and liquid salt supplements, targeting serious athletes and people who train regularly. Li Ning said the partnership would help it better understand sports consumers. Sports apparel and nutritional products serve many of the same customers, giving the two companies a closer understanding of athletes’ training and race-day needs.馬蒂森的產品包括液態蛋白質、能量膠和液態鹽補充劑，目標客戶是專業運動員和定期訓練的人羣。李寧表示，此次合作將幫助其更好地瞭解體育消費者。運動服飾與營養產品的客戶羣體高度重合，這也讓兩家公司能更深入地瞭解運動員的訓練需求和比賽需求。
Mengniu is also expanding its ingredients business. In April, it began mass production of products including lactoferrin, D90 demineralized whey powder and cheese. In June, it launched MnmpX, a dairy ingredients brand aimed at customers in the food, functional nutrition and sports nutrition sectors. From selling supplements directly to supplying ingredients to other companies, Mengniu is seeking new revenue sources.蒙牛也在拓展其配料業務。今年4月，該公司開始批量生產乳鐵蛋白、D90脫鹽乳清粉和奶酪等產品。6月，蒙牛推出了乳製品配料品牌MnmpX，面向食品、功能營養和運動營養領域的客戶。從直接銷售營養品到爲其他企業供應配料，蒙牛正在尋找新的收入來源。
Rising prices for some dairy-based supplements have also drawn market attention. Yicai reported in June that the price of high-purity whey protein isolate WPI90 had doubled, while whey protein concentrate WPC80 had nearly doubled. The average import price of whey products into China rose 17 percent. These figures cover different products and measures, so they shouldn’t be treated as the same price indicator. They also show that increases were concentrated in specific categories, and not every whey product has become a high-value business.部分乳制補充劑的價格上漲也吸引了市場關注。第一財經6月報道稱，高純度分離乳清蛋白WPI90的價格翻倍，濃縮乳清蛋白WPC80的價格也近乎翻倍。中國乳清產品的平均進口價格上漲了17%。這些數據涵蓋了不同產品和不同指標，不應被視作同一價格參考。同時也能看出，價格上漲集中在特定品類，並非所有乳清產品都成了高利潤業務。
Profitability still in the wings 盈利能力仍待觀望
The cheese business already offers more tangible evidence of demand and profit potential. Milkground Food Tech, a Mengniu subsidiary, last week reported revenue of 4.87 billion yuan for the first nine months of this year, up 22.97 percent year-on-year. Its net profit of 212 million yuan was up 20.37 percent, while its adjusted net profit, which excludes non-recurring items, rose 28.15 percent to 153 million yuan. The company said new natural cheese products continued to come to market, while revenue from both retail and corporate customers grew by more than 20 percent.奶酪業務已爲需求和利潤潛力提供了更切實的證據。蒙牛旗下子公司奶優食品科技上週公佈，今年前九個月營收達48.7億元人民幣，同比增長22.97%。公司淨利潤2.12億元，同比增長20.37%；剔除非經常性項目的調整後淨利潤也增長28.15%，至1.53億元。該公司表示，新款天然奶酪產品持續上市，零售客戶和企業客戶的營收均實現20%以上的增長。
The results suggest there’s demand and profit potential for developing more uses for milk. Milkground attributed the rising profit to a growing contribution from its core cheese business and greater supply-chain efficiency. But cheese alone can’t prove that sports protein products will succeed: the customers, costs and sales channels are different.研究結果表明，開發牛奶的更多用途存在需求和盈利潛力。Milkground 將利潤增長歸因於核心奶酪業務的貢獻不斷增加以及供應鏈效率的提升。但僅靠奶酪並不能證明運動蛋白產品會取得成功：其客戶羣體、成本和銷售渠道均有所不同。
Mengniu’s segment figures illustrate the gap between sales growth and stronger returns. In the first half of this year, its external revenue from cheese rose 32.6 percent to 3.15 billion yuan, but the segment’s pretax profit edged down from about 229 million yuan to 227 million yuan. Calculated as a percentage of revenue, profit from the segment fell from about 9.7 percent to 7.2 percent. Higher sales have yet to translate into a larger share of profit relative to revenue.蒙牛各業務板塊數據顯示了銷售額增長與更高利潤回報之間的差距。今年上半年，其奶酪業務外部收入增長32.6%，達到31.5億元人民幣，但該板塊稅前利潤從約2.29億元小幅降至2.27億元。按收入佔比計算，該板塊利潤佔比從約9.7%降至7.2%。銷售額的提升尚未轉化爲利潤在收入中佔比的提高。
Advanced processing also depends on making use of the whole milk supply. Overseas, whey production is often integrated with cheese processing, while China’s market is still developing in that regard. After extracting high-value proteins, processors also need stable buyers for remaining parts for the economics of processing to work.先進的加工還取決於對全脂牛奶供應的充分利用。在海外，乳清生產通常與奶酪加工相結合，而中國在這方面的市場仍處於發展階段。提取高價值蛋白質後，加工商也需要穩定的買家來收購剩餘產品，才能實現加工的經濟效益。
Whether consumers will keep buying is another key question. In a 2025 survey by Shangpu Consulting Group, 58 percent of respondents said they chose domestic protein powder brands, compared with 42 percent who chose imported brands. iResearch estimates, using 2023 data, that dietary supplement penetration in China is below 30 percent, compared with more than 50 percent in the US. That estimate covers dietary supplements as a whole, not protein powder or sports nutritional products specifically.消費者是否會持續購買是另一個關鍵問題。在商普諮詢集團2025年的一項調查中，58%的受訪者表示選擇了國產蛋白粉品牌，而選擇進口品牌的受訪者佔42%。艾瑞諮詢基於2023年的數據估算，中國膳食補充劑的滲透率低於30%，而美國則超過50%。該估算涵蓋的是整體膳食補充劑，並非特指蛋白粉或運動營養產品。
The supply chain also needs further development. China imported 432,600 tons of whey products in the first eight months of 2026. Those serve a range of uses and cannot be equated directly with demand for sports nutrition ingredients. Overseas dairy industries often developed cheese processing alongside whey utilization, while China’s processing base remains comparatively limited in that way.供應鏈也有待進一步發展。2026年1-8月，中國進口了43.26萬噸乳清製品。這類產品用途廣泛，不能直接等同於運動營養原料的需求。海外乳業通常在乳清利用的同時發展奶酪加工，而中國在這方面的加工基礎仍相對有限。
Whether the protein boom can deliver sustained growth will ultimately depend on products becoming part of consumers’ everyday diets, generating repeat purchases and producing actual profits, rather than being a fleeting flash in the pan.蛋白行業的繁榮能否實現持續增長，最終取決於相關產品能否成爲消費者日常飲食的一部分，帶來復購併產生實際利潤，而非曇花一現。
![[On Fire] VICE – The New Hot Place in Town w/Big Names Behind It](https://www.guojiribao.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/91a052da-9e60-4944-91de-b71e0fbd2638_0.jpg)