Food firms scramble to meet the high-protein craze

"Several months ago Andie started playing around with a fitness app. It recommended that she substantially increase her protein intake. The hard part for her was doing so without also increasing calories. "So I started trying to find high-protein alternatives to things I was already consuming," she explains. This included yogurt, milk, coffee, cereal and pasta. "I realized that everything tasted pretty much the same to me, and I started then actively seeking these products." So she was excited when a Canadian restaurant chain introduced high-protein lattes earlier this year. Andie, who did not want to give her surname, drinks them without sweetener, and describes it as a "decent" product."

"Is it a more expensive diet? Living in Vancouver, Andie says prices are already quite high. "High protein is usually a couple of dollars extra, so it's not a big difference." Like Andie, you may have noticed on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus a high-protein craze sweeping the food sector. Surveys show consumers increasingly care about the protein content of their food. In the US between March 2024 and March 2025, there was 4.8% volume growth in sales of products labelling themselves as protein-rich, compared to the previous year, according to research group NielsenIQ."

Consumers are increasingly prioritizing protein content across many food categories, driving growth in products labeled protein-rich. Milk consumption rose for the first time since 2009, aided by interest in protein and niche offerings like bovine colostrum. Whey protein expansion, derived from cheese production, powers a billion-dollar sector that fuels new product launches including high-protein coffees and lattes. Some consumers replace familiar items with higher-protein alternatives to boost intake without adding calories. Price premiums often amount to a few dollars. Market data show measurable volume growth in protein-labeled products and broad retail and restaurant adoption of high-protein options.

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