More and more food brands are incorporating protein into their products.
In the breakfast category in particular, food and beverage giants have rushed to launch protein-rich versions of staples like pancakes and cereal. Earlier this month, Keranova introduced a high-protein version of its Eggs with 10 grams of protein per two waffles. General Mills has launched several high-protein cereal SKUs, including new products created in partnership with protein maker Ghost called Wheaties Protein and Ghost Protein Cereal.
The rush to develop protein-rich products is driven by the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Maunjaro and Wegobee, but also by a growing interest in eating more nutritious meals, especially in the breakfast category, which has traditionally been dominated by sugary cereals and baked goods. To gain a bigger share of the market, food giants are rushing to develop new protein-rich products, while startups are tweaking packaging and marketing messages to highlight protein content.
“It’s being driven by lifestyle changes,” Colombe Bommeler, senior director of category insights at Kantar, told Modern Retail. “I think people are becoming a lot more interested in certain diets like the ketogenic diet and are more health-conscious.”
Indeed, demand for high-protein products is on the rise among people looking to live healthier lifestyles: Kantar’s “Defining Better 2024” survey found that 42% of shoppers looking for healthier options said they’d be interested in seeing more high-protein groceries. Bommelaar said the trend is pushing brands to highlight the existing nutritional benefits of their products.
Amy Tsakirelis, vice president of marketing at Cedars Foods, told Modern Retail that the company is expanding basket sizes for its existing protein-packed items: In just a little over a year, she said, the company’s basket sizes have grown from one item to five items per shopping trip.
Many of Cedars Foods’ products are already high in protein, but the company has adjusted its marketing strategy to make people aware of that, Tsakirelis said. One of Cedars Foods’ brands is Brekki, a ready-to-eat oatmeal. Brekki products contain up to seven grams of protein per container, so the company is well positioned to capture the demand for protein. The company invested in promotional materials, including new product photos, to further highlight Brekki’s nutritional content on social media this summer.
“All of our messaging is just emphasizing that this is a high-protein product,” Tsakirelis said. “It has oats, it has ancient grains, it has flaxseeds, it has chia seeds, it has buckwheat, it’s just a complete product.”
Barry Thomas, senior thought leader at Kantar, said the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic is dramatically changing the portfolios of large CPG companies, and people taking these types of medications are typically advised to eat more of a high-protein diet.
“The problem with taking these drugs and trying to lose weight is that you generally lose too much muscle mass,” Thomas says. “You want to build muscle mass, so you try to eat more protein.”
Previously, many brands focused on offering protein-rich snacks like protein bars, chips and shakes to meet protein demand, according to Kantar’s Bommelaar. Now, these companies are increasingly focusing on introducing protein-rich breakfast items. High-protein eaters aim to get about 30 grams of protein at breakfast to meet their daily goals.
Keranova is meeting the demand by adding health benefits to its already popular product line, Eggo. The new product line comes in two flavors: Chocolate Chip Brownie and Strawberry Delight.
Packing protein and other nutrients into well-known products is a common strategy among CPG brands. Like Keranova, General Mills has also added protein to its Wheaties breakfast cereal, which initially contained only 3 grams of protein. The new Wheaties Protein line comes in two flavors, Maple Almond and Honey Pecan, with 22 grams and 21 grams of protein, respectively.
Bommeler expects the high-protein trend to start permeating into a variety of food categories beyond snacks and breakfast. Several major food companies have already begun to roll out high-protein fast-food options. Nestle, for example, announced this week that it will launch a new line of frozen pizzas and protein-enhanced pastas in the U.S. called “Vital Pursuit.”
“Competitors [a product]”And if you don’t respond with your own products, you’re definitely going to lose sales,” Bommelaar says. “You have to get on board as quickly as possible.”
