In the modern functional beverage era, products aligned with niche ingredients and attributes easily fall in and out of fashion. Even vital macronutrients such as carbohydrates and fats have been on the outs at times, but protein remains a nutritional evergreen: While the industry is well within a functional “protein plus” beverage wave, experts claim we may never find the point of “peak protein.” “Protein continues to be a health halo,” emphasized Scott Dicker, senior director of market insight at SPINS.
“As we see more and more consumers interested in health...
they’re consuming more and more information around [protein] and it is changing a lot of their daily routine.” That interest is reflected in increased sales and M&A activity: Total dollar sales for the liquid protein and meal replacement category totaled $5.3 billion, a 13.
9% increase, according to recent Circana data for the 52-week period ending April 21, 2024. The growth was supported by significant volume/unit share gains of 11.2%.
Within that landscape, everyone from legacy, leading players like Bellring Brand’s Premier Protein to disruptive concepts like plant-focused Only What You Need (OWYN), which recently sold to Simply Good Foods, have seen upward volume momentum. Premier remains at the top, locking in over $1 billion in sales (+33%) for its shelf-stable milk protein and meal replacement products while volumes grew 24% and average prices increased 7.3% in the past year, according to Cir.
