The markets for dietary supplements and functional foods are boosting sales of dairy ingredients, according to a new report.

In 'The World Market for Dairy Bioactive Ingredients 2009-20012', Danish analysts 3A Consulting estimate the market for functional milk extracts to be worth $700 million a year and growing at between 10% and 20%, driven by demand from the broader nutrition industry.

The report, which is published this month, covers a range of ingredients, including milk and whey hydrolysates, peptides, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin and milk phospholipids.

Tage Affertsholt, managing partner at Aarhus-based 3A, said: "Generally, bioactives addressing the current key health issues have excellent growth opportunities, and dairy-derived bioactives will be part of the solution in the future."