The global pea starch market is projected to grow from USD 433.8 million in 2025 to USD 776.2 million by 2032, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.67% over the forecast period, according to a new report from Kings Research. Valued at USD 403.1 million in 2024, the market’s rapid expansion reflects surging consumer demand for allergen-free, clean-label ingredients and the pharmaceutical industry’s growing embrace of plant-based alternatives to traditional gelatin.

Pea starch, derived from yellow peas, is a natural carbohydrate valued for its thickening, gelling, and binding capabilities. As a gluten-free, clean-label functional ingredient, it has found broad application across food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, and industrial sectors, where it supports performance, stability, and formulation consistency in an era of increasingly discerning consumers.

Gluten-Free Demand Anchors Market Growth

The most powerful driver of pea starch adoption remains the surging demand for gluten-free products among consumers managing gluten intolerance and celiac disease. These consumers are actively seeking alternatives to wheat- and barley-based ingredients, creating sustained demand for effective substitutes in food production. Pea starch has emerged as a particularly effective option because it delivers functional properties, including thickening, gelling, and stabilizing, comparable to traditional starches while remaining naturally gluten-free.

This rising consumer preference is encouraging food manufacturers to incorporate pea starch across an expanding range of bakery products, snacks, and other gluten-free formulations. By end use, the food & beverage segment held the largest share of the market in 2024 at 45.23%, driven by rising demand for clean-label and gluten-free ingredients across processed foods, baked goods, and snack categories.

Pharmaceutical Sector Embraces Plant-Based Capsules

Beyond food applications, one of the most significant trends reshaping the pea starch market is its growing adoption in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical softgel capsules. Manufacturers are increasingly replacing traditional gelatin with pea starch to produce vegetarian and allergen-free capsules, a shift driven by rising consumer demand for clean-label and plant-based products across the broader supplement industry.

Roquette’s May 2024 launch of its LYCAGEL Flex hydroxypropyl pea starch premix illustrates the sophistication now emerging in this application area. Designed specifically for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical softgel capsules, the premix provides manufacturers with a plant-based alternative to gelatin, allowing customization of plasticizer combinations across various capsule formulations while offering reduced degassing time, easy equipment cleaning, and mechanical strength that holds up over six months of storage.

By type, the industrial segment led the market in 2024 with USD 182.3 million in revenue, driven by increasing use of pea starch in biodegradable packaging, adhesives, and textile applications where sustainable raw materials are gaining growing preference among manufacturers.

North America Leads on Processing Investment

North America commands the largest regional share of the pea starch market, accounting for 34.55% in 2024 with a valuation of USD 139.3 million. This dominance is driven by expanding processing plant capacity and substantial private-sector investment in advanced food ingredient manufacturing facilities across the United States and Canada, investments that are scaling production of gluten-free and plant-based ingredients for bakery, snack, and meat alternative applications.

Roquette’s November 2024 announcement of plans to double production capacity at its pea processing plant in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, underscores the scale of this investment. The USD 600 million facility, which produces pea protein, food-grade starches, and other components, is receiving new equipment partially funded through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership, a public-private collaboration aimed at strengthening domestic agricultural processing capabilities.

Asia Pacific Emerges as Fastest-Growing Region

Asia Pacific is poised to register the fastest regional growth, with a projected CAGR of 9.39% through 2032. This acceleration is driven by government initiatives promoting domestic pulse processing industries in countries such as China and India, programs designed to support the use of locally grown peas for starch extraction while providing incentives for private-sector investment in processing infrastructure.

Expanding manufacturing capabilities across the region are improving production efficiency, ensuring more consistent supply, and reducing dependency on imports. As availability increases, adoption of pea starch across food, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications is expected to accelerate correspondingly, positioning Asia Pacific as an increasingly important growth engine for the global industry.

Supply Constraints Present an Ongoing Challenge

Despite favorable demand dynamics, the pea starch market faces a persistent constraint: the limited availability of high-quality peas suitable for starch production. Variations in crop quality driven by weather conditions, soil fertility, and seasonal fluctuations make it difficult for manufacturers to maintain uniform product quality, a constraint that can directly impact production efficiency and restrict overall market growth.

To address this challenge, companies are collaborating directly with farmers to implement improved cultivation practices and select pea varieties with higher starch content. Simultaneously, manufacturers are adopting more advanced processing techniques designed to optimize starch extraction and maintain consistent product quality despite variability at the agricultural input stage.

Competitive Landscape and Recent Developments

Key players operating in the pea starch market include Ingredion, Roquette Frères, Emsland Group, COSUCRA, The Scoular Company, Puris, Nutri-Pea, Vestkorn, Meelunie B.V., Dakota Ingredients, P&H Milling, Inc., Farbest Brands, Ebro Foods, S.A., Laybio, and Makendi WorldWide. These companies are actively pursuing strategic investments and partnerships to strengthen their capabilities in manufacturing new ingredients and finished food products, often collaborating with industry peers, suppliers, and research institutions to accelerate innovation.

Notable recent activity includes Protein Industries Canada’s July 2025 announcement of a pilot project with Louis Dreyfus Company and the Chronic Disease Innovation Centre to develop pea-protein ingredients, a commitment of approximately USD 34.7 million focused on producing pea protein isolate at a new facility in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Separately, Bunge expanded its portfolio in June 2024 to include pea and faba protein concentrates through a collaboration with Golden Fields in Latvia, introducing non-GMO, finely powdered protein concentrates extracted via dry-fractionation to support sustainable production practices.

Regulatory Landscape

Pea starch is subject to food safety oversight across all major markets. In the United States, the FDA regulates the ingredient under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, while Europe’s Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 governs food additive authorization and use. India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority regulates pea starch under its Food Products Standards and Food Additives Regulations, and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare oversees compliance through the Food Sanitation Act, ensuring consistent safety and quality standards across international supply chains.

Outlook

With gluten-free and plant-based consumption trends showing no signs of slowing and the pharmaceutical industry increasingly embracing pea-derived alternatives to animal-based ingredients, the pea starch market is well positioned for continued double-digit-adjacent growth through 2032. Manufacturers that can secure consistent, high-quality raw material supply while scaling production capacity are best placed to capture this expanding opportunity.