A stag grows new antler every year. Velvet is that antler while it is still growing.
Each spring the stag casts last season’s hard antler and starts growing a new set. While it grows, the antler is soft, blood-rich tissue covered in fine hair: the “velvet”. It grows at up to 2 cm a day, and takes about 120 days to reach full size and harden into bone. Velvet is harvested part-way through, at 55 to 60 days, when soft tissue is at its peak and calcification is minimal. The stag grows a new set the following spring.
Velvet
- Harvested at 55–60 days of growth, at peak soft tissue
- Soft, with a living blood supply
- Removed under veterinary rules in New Zealand
- What this product is made from
Hard antler
- Fully grown and calcified, about 120 days after growth begins
- No blood supply
- Carried until it is cast in late winter, then regrown
- Commonly sold as dog chews, not as velvet
Photographed at Minaret Station, Alpine Deer’s own farm
The only mammalian organ that completely regrows every year. A typical New Zealand season; the southern hemisphere runs opposite to Europe, North America and North Asia.
2,000 years of use, 100 years of research
The earliest written record of velvet as a health tonic is a silk scroll from a Han dynasty tomb in Hunan, dated 168 BC. Li Shi-Zhen listed it in the Ben Cao Gang Mu in 1596, and Russian scientists, who began studying it in the 1920s, classed it as an adaptogen. Today velvet is studied in China, Korea, Russia, North America and New Zealand, where AgResearch Invermay and the University of Otago have led much of the work.
Earliest documented use, on a Han dynasty silk scroll
Peak antler growth rate, among the fastest tissue growth in any mammal
Growth stage at harvest, when soft tissue is at its peak
Fresh velvet needed to make 1 kg of dried powder
What is in velvet
Velvet powder is made from the whole antler: cartilage, forming bone, blood and connective tissue. That gives it an unusually broad composition.
Proteins and collagen
Rich in protein, with collagen types I, II, III and X from the growing cartilage and bone.
Glycosaminoglycans
Chondroitin sulphate is the main one, with hyaluronic acid, dermatan, keratan and heparan sulphate.
Amino acids
Rich in glycine, proline, glutamic acid, alanine, arginine and leucine, including essential amino acids.
Growth and signalling proteins
A range of naturally occurring growth factors, as expected in such rapidly growing tissue.
Phospholipids and gangliosides
Including sphingomyelin and gangliosides, concentrated in the upper antler.
Minerals
Calcium and phosphorus from forming bone, plus trace zinc, iron, copper, manganese and selenium.
Selected human studies
Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, as reviewed by Deer Industry New Zealand.
Strength training
38 active men on a 10-week strength programme took velvet powder daily or a placebo. The velvet powder group gained more knee extensor strength and muscle endurance.
Strength and body composition
Experienced male weightlifters took New Zealand velvet powder daily or a placebo for 10 weeks. Only the velvet group improved significantly in strength relative to body weight.
Recovery after exercise
After two weeks of taking velvet powder daily, participants ran downhill to induce muscle damage. The powder group showed a smaller rise in the muscle-damage marker creatine kinase, and soreness eased sooner.
Joint comfort
54 people with osteoarthritis took a velvet-containing product daily or a placebo for six months. The velvet group reported significant improvements in pain and overall condition at 3 and 6 months; the placebo group did not.
Bone
Velvet influences the activity of all three bone-related cell types: osteoblasts, osteoclasts and chondrocytes.
Blood
Animal studies suggest velvet supports recovery of red blood cell counts in anaemia.
Immune activity
Several velvet fractions show immunomodulatory activity in laboratory models.
Safety record
New Zealand studies found no signs of toxicity in rats given 1 g/kg of deer velvet daily for 90 days, and no reproductive or developmental effects under OECD guideline 421. In mice, the minimum lethal oral dose of velvet powder was above 5 g/kg, far beyond any human intake.
Guidance for consumers
- Consult a health professional before use if pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, or taking prescription medicines
- A small minority of people may be allergic
- Occasional reports of nosebleeds, headache, raised temperature or diarrhoea; reduce or stop if these occur
Summarised from the Deer Industry New Zealand Velvet Technical Manual, version 6.3. Many studies are small or conducted in animals, and results vary between studies. Findings are presented as published research, not as claims for this product. Permitted health claims differ by market.
Velvet from New Zealand deer farms
Our velvet comes from red deer farmed on open pasture across New Zealand, the world's largest producer of deer velvet. As an island nation with strict border controls and few insect-borne diseases, New Zealand keeps its livestock free of many diseases found elsewhere. Every farm we buy from works under the same national rules: velvet removed by a vet or certified velvetter, frozen within two hours, and tagged and declared, so each batch traces back to its farm of origin.
Alpine Deer was founded in 1964 by Sir Tim Wallis, one of the pioneers of New Zealand's deer industry, and is still 100% New Zealand owned. The photographs on this page were taken at Minaret Station, our own high-country farm on Lake Wānaka.
of velvet exported by New Zealand, 2022/23
Alpine Deer founded by Sir Tim Wallis
New Zealand owned
Photographed at Minaret Station, Alpine Deer’s own farm
Photographed at Minaret Station, Alpine Deer’s own farm
Photographed at Minaret Station, Alpine Deer’s own farm
Photographed at Minaret Station, Alpine Deer’s own farmIn New Zealand, velvet harvest is regulated from the paddock onward.
Two systems apply to every stick of export velvet: an animal-welfare programme run by the deer industry and veterinarians, and a government food-safety scheme run by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Removed only by a vet or a certified velvetter
The National Velvetting Standards Body trains and certifies farmers to remove velvet under a written contract with a supervising veterinarian. Pain relief is mandatory.
Re-certified every year, audited on farm
Certification is renewed annually, with a competency check each season. Audits cover facilities, practical technique, records and drug inventory.
Tagged and declared at harvest
Each stick is identified individually, or as a batch in a sealed container. A signed declaration records harvest date, supplier, and that no animal was within a withholding period for any veterinary treatment.
Traceable one step up and one step down
Records are kept for at least 4 years and must be retrievable within 2 working days, so any batch can be traced back to the farm it came from.
Velvet must be frozen within two hours of harvest in a freezer used for velvet only, and stay frozen until it reaches the processor. This is a legal requirement under MPI's Regulated Control Scheme for Deer Velvet Harvest, in force since August 2017.
Our registrations
Copies available on requestRisk Management Programme
Registered under the Animal Products Act 1999. Built on HACCP principles and verified by MPI.
PH372/01 · since June 2015Halal premises listing
Approved for halal processing of deer velvet, under a halal programme approved by the New Zealand Islamic Development Trust.
Valid to 31 August 2028Registered food facility
Registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the Food Safety Modernization Act.
Registration on fileNon-CITES species
Red deer (Cervus elaphus) is not listed under CITES. No CITES permit is needed to export antler or its derivatives from New Zealand.
DOC declaration, 2018Where New Zealand velvet goes
Export value by market, year ended September 2024. Total NZ$103.8 million.
From stag to sealed bag
Velvet is frozen on the farm where it is harvested, then processed at our Tauranga premises under our MPI-registered Risk Management Programme. All production is freeze-dried, so the velvet is never thawed. Every batch is tested before it ships.
Harvest
By a vet or NVSB-certified velvetter, with pain relief
Tagged and declared- Regulated
Freeze
Still-air frozen in a dedicated velvet freezer
Within 2 h · −18°C
Frozen storage
Received frozen from supplying farms
−18°C · −15°C or colderChipping
Cut on a bandsaw while still frozen
Slices approx. 3 cm- Not applicable
Thawing
Freeze-dried, so the velvet is never thawed
Freeze-drying
Moisture removed under vacuum
−21°C to max 50°C · approx. 4 daysBulk packing
Dried velvet packed in bulk
Controlled storage
Held at controlled temperature
Primary size reduction
First size reduction of the dried velvet
- Key control point
Thermal processing
Heat treatment for food safety
Min 123°C for 10 min Secondary size reduction
Reduced to the final powder
60 meshWater activity testing
Water activity of the powder tested
aw < 0.5Sample to laboratory
Each batch sampled and sent for laboratory testing
- Key control point
Packing, labelling, weighing
Batch-coded for traceability
Dispatch
With batch certificate of analysis
Two-thirds protein, one-third minerals
Independent analysis by the Massey University Nutrition Laboratory, on an as-received basis. Microbiology is tested batch by batch.
Crude protein
Ash, the mineral content
Calcium per 100 g
Moisture
Composition
Grams per 100 g of powder. Components are measured separately, so they do not sum to exactly 100.
Minerals
Milligrams per 100 g. Calcium and phosphorus make up most of the mineral fraction.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| EnergyCalculated from protein and fat | 1,246 kJ 294 kcal |
| Protein | 66.1 g |
| Fat | 3.3 g |
| Available carbohydrate | Not detected |
| Sugars | < 0.18 g |
| Total dietary fibre | 3.0 g |
| Ash | 30.5 g |
| Moisture | 1.4 g |
| Chondroitin | 1.2 g |
| Glucosamine | 3.0 g |
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Aerobic plate count, 30°C | 7,400 cfu/g |
| Escherichia coli | < 3 MPN/g |
| Bacillus cereus | < 10 cfu/g |
| Yeasts | < 50 cfu/g |
| Moulds | < 50 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Not detected in 25 g |
Results for one production lot. A certificate of analysis is issued for every batch we ship.
Appearance, storage and packaging
| Appearance | Light khaki powder |
| Storage | Sealed, away from light, at low temperature |
| Shelf life | 5 years from manufacture, unopened |
| Packaging | Made to your specification: pack size, material and labelling |