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By Jordan Gunn
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The functional ingredients industry is undergoing a quiet but significant reorientation. Rising regulatory scrutiny in major markets, tightening health claim standards on both sides of the Atlantic and increasingly sophisticated consumer expectations are pushing manufacturers to substantiate their products through peer-reviewed clinical research rather than marketing narrative.
In the United States, the FDA’s evolving position on structure-function claims and consumer demand for clinically validated ingredients are reshaping how ingredient suppliers position their portfolios. In Europe, health claim legislation places a comparable burden of proof on manufacturers. For much of the collagen sector, historically built around commodity hydrolysates and broad wellness claims, this shift represents a structural challenge. For a smaller group of manufacturers positioning themselves as investing in clinical validation as a production standard rather than a marketing tool, it represents an opportunity to redefine competitive positioning.
Sel Sanayi A.Ş. and its brand CollaSel are among companies seeking to position themselves within that transition, with three peer-reviewed clinical publications in two years and a technical approach to bioactive peptide production that departs from prevailing industry practice.
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The March 2026 issue of Biomedicines carried a study by researchers at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Milan that has drawn attention across the functional ingredients sector. The study evaluated CollaSel Tripeptide, a bioactive peptide developed by Sel Sanayi, finding that its ACE and DPP-IV inhibitory activity and GLP-1 stimulation properties demonstrated superior bioactivity compared to a benchmark collagen hydrolysate. The researchers said the findings suggested potential future applications in cardiometabolic health and weight management.
The Milan study is the third peer-reviewed publication on Sel Sanayi’s collagen products in two years. CollaSel Pro, a hydrolyzed collagen peptide manufactured by the company, has been the subject of two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The first, published in September 2024, examined its efficacy in improving skin elasticity, hydration and roughness in adult females over eight weeks. The second, published in 2025, evaluated efficacy and safety in 160 osteoarthritis patients, finding significant improvements in joint pain, stiffness and physical function across the knee, hip and ankle joints.
Those studies suggest that CollaSel Tripeptide may stand out from typical collagen products because of its much smaller molecular size. Most collagen supplements on the market have molecules weighing between 2,000 and 5,000 Daltons, whereas CollaSel is significantly smaller at around 300 to 500 Daltons.
Researchers believe the smaller molecular size may support improved absorption, as it can pass through the intestinal wall intact using a natural transport system in the body called PepT1. This means the body is exposed to roughly 2.7 to 3.3 times more CollaSel Tripeptide than standard collagen products, based on total absorption over time.
Selim Tezman, CEO of Sel Sanayi and CollaSel, frames the company’s approach to clinical validation as an operational commitment rather than a marketing exercise. “Science and clinical studies are not a marketing tool for us; they are the foundation of our production standard,” he says. “Products that cannot be scientifically substantiated are seeing their position in regulated markets diminish year on year, whether in the United States, Europe or Asia. The consumer today, whether a formulator specifying an ingredient or an end user reading a label, is far more informed than the industry was structured to accommodate a decade ago.”
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Collagen has only been widely known as a supplement for around a decade, but Sel Sanayi has been in business much longer. The company was founded in 1961 and manufactures hydrolyzed collagen, hydrocolloids, protein and bioactive ingredients. Exporting 95 percent of its production across 45 countries, it serves the pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical sectors in the United States, Europe and beyond.
The company has completed major capital investments in its production facilities over the past three years and is executing another significant investment program in 2026. These investments cover capacity expansion, the strengthening of R&D infrastructure, and the development of new protein derivatives that expand the company’s bioactive ingredient portfolio. Sel Sanayi says it has increased its investment in clinical research and product development in recent years, reaching one of the highest R&D intensities among global manufacturers in its sector.
For Tezman, the broader shift underway in the ingredients industry is not a passing trend but a durable structural change. “We view clinical research as a long-term investment in credibility,” he says. “An industrial philosophy grounded in high-technology production and validated by scientific evidence is one that ultimately benefits patients, consumers and the wider industry. That is the direction we have chosen to build the business around, and we believe it is the only sustainable path for ingredient manufacturers operating in serious markets.”
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