Once the dominion primarily of sports nutrition, “high protein” is an opportunity no formulator can afford to ignore—whether you’re a functional food purveyor or food and beverage marketer.

In 2015 and beyond, the formulators who stand to win understand that consumers’ appetite for protein doesn’t stop at the supplement store. Look no further than pharmacy shelves, which bow under the weight of protein shakes and bars. In the grocery store, protein claims have moved beyond traditional realms like dairy. The aisles now teem with cereals, baked goods and beverages (even pet foods and dressings) making “high protein” claims. That’s to say nothing of the glossy magazines putting protein in their headlines.

What’s driving the protein passion? Credit a surge in health and wellness awareness, as well as ever more sophisticated exercise and nutrition science. The extreme protein diet craze of the early 2000s has given way to a better-informed consumer base. Fortunately, people no longer dine on bacon and cheese all day. But they have developed what you might call a “protein IQ,” replacing carbohydrates with protein-based energy sources for the latter’s wellness edge. 

All of this dovetails with the phenomenal success of the sports nutrition market, which has outperformed all other consumer health categories globally, according to Euromonitor. Within sports nutrition, protein is by far the fastest growing market. To capture their fair share of this success, mainstream brands have taken up the protein mantle. And why wouldn’t they?

Read the entire Market Update by clicking the link below.