Muscling in on protein

Protein has escaped the gym. No longer confined to the lockers of aspiring Arnies, some 13% of UK consumers say they’ve upped their protein intake in the past 12 months, according to Mintel, with 47% doing so to help maintain a healthy weight.

“For those focused on sport and fitness, it’s about muscle-building and recovery, but protein helps promote the feeling of being full for longer,” says Dairy UK CEO Judith Bryans, “and the move to reduced-carb diets has resulted in consumers substituting protein for carbs.” 

Not surprisingly, retailers and manufacturers have responded in force. The trend originated in the US, but there has been a huge surge in UK products making often bold claims about protein content on front of pack, from 38 listed with Brand View in 2011 to 186 this year - a power lift of 389%. Indeed in the past 12 months alone 109 new protein-heavy products have hit supermarket shelves, an explosion of vivid pink cereal boxes, bagels in neon orange, and powdered cooking sauces in bulky square tins.

So who is muscling in on the protein market and how? What does a product mean when it calls itself ‘high in protein’? What regulations exist around making such a claim? And with news stories warning of the health risks of too much protein increasingly common, is a backlash on the way?

Protein power

From pizza to porridge to petfood, protein has proven itself a versatile ingredient, with an array of categories looking to supply the increase in demand (see box, below). Specialist suppliers in sports and nutrition dominate, with 70% of new protein product launches in the past year, according to Brand View.

“Muscle food used to be predominantly used by young males who had an interest in keeping fit, but now our customers are from every walk of life,” says Darren Beale, director of Delicious Marketing Group, which owns Musclefood.com. The website launched in 2013 and sells everything from High Protein Tuna, Onion and Olive Pizza, to Dairy Free Soya Protein Smoothies. And it’s doing a roaring trade, with sales of its high protein porridge increasing by 708% in the last 12 months.

Beale says he noticed a broadening of their niche clientele about a year ago, and the site now counts celebrity clients ranging from boxer Joe Calzaghe to the less athletic TV presenter Jonathan Ross.

To cater for this widening customer base Beale has increased the number of high protein foods, which are popular with their female shoppers, rather than supplements like protein pills or powders. He also introduced a range of high-protein ready meals “for an older audience that wanted a high protein diet with the convenience of not having to cook”.

The past 18 months have also seen a number of new brands enter the food and drink market with portfolios dedicated to protein. Blend Bros is one. “We saw a gap in the market,” says founder Charlie Dixon, who unveiled its high-protein savoury sauce range, including Mexican Pibil Stew and Thai Jungle Curry, at Body Power, a supplement expo held at the NEC in May.

Despite the muscular men splashed all over the brand’s website, Dixon insists these images don’t solely represent his target audience. “We imagine them to be healthily inclined, but they don’t need to look like Arnie Schwarzenegger,” he insists. “And there’s a lot of scope for our product from patients recovering from accidents who need protein in their diet to recover, and who would struggle to eat meat, or a large meal.”

Cereal opportunity

Established brands and retailers are also bulking up their ranges with protein-enhanced variants. Richard Lawrence, head of brand at Weetabix, says he was “surprised” at how much opportunity protein presented after consumer research found the nutrient “appeals to all sorts of consumer groups”.

Weetabix launched both Weetabix Protein Crunch cereal and Weetabix On the Go protein breakfast drinks in June. “There are good opportunities for cereals,” he adds (see box). “Loads of consumers are telling us it’s difficult to get protein in the morning, and for the maximum physiological benefit you should consume protein evenly through the day.

“From my perspective it’s about moving protein from a niche, young adult male-focused proposition into a real mainstream one, accessible to everyone who just wants to get more of it in their diet.”

Weetabix isn’t alone. Kellogg’s is launching its Special K Protein Crunch this month, Nature Valley added protein cereal bars to its portfolio in January, and Arla introduced Arla Protein Yoghurts in March, which create “a new fuss-free way to boost your protein fix” it claims. Sales are “continuing to build”, with volume up 33% in the latest four-week period, they say.

And retailers could be next in line to capitalise with own-label options. Leading the way has been M&S, which launched its high protein Fuller Longer meals in 2010 (rebranded Balanced For You last year.) It has since followed up with new SKUs such as its Edamame and Houmous Protein Pot.

Asda has also “doubled or tripled” its range of protein supplements in the last two years, says CEO Andy Clarke, but he adds the retailer “may be behind” others in bringing the trend to their private label food offering. However “as new products are coming to market we are adjusting to support that” he says.

High protein definition

But with such a flurry of new and established brands shouting about protein, what do their claims actually mean? The EU Regulation on nutrition and health requires any food and drink product that claims to be ‘high in protein’ or a ‘source of protein’ to achieve a specific quantity of protein per 100g.

“A claim that a food is high in protein may only be made where at least 20% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein,” explains Sukh Gill, director of global regulatory services at Leatherhead Food Research, though if a product wants to claim it’s a “good source” of protein, that number can be just 12%.

In a box of Weetabix Protein Crunch, for example, the 20g of protein per 100g is equivalent to 21% of the 379 calories (energy value) in the same size portion - making it compliant with the 20% minimum required for a ‘high in protein’ claim.

However, what the UK lacks is any controls over the quality of this protein. That’s in stark contrast to the US, where Gill says “low quality” protein (based on its composition of amino acids) can prevent a product labelling itself a significant source of protein, regardless of quantity.

It’s a gap in the law the UK government could look to close in the near future, after both the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization proposed the introduction of a new protein quality score.

If adopted it could spell trouble for plant-based proteins, used by Weetabix and Kellogg’s, many of which “can be regarded as being of lower nutritional quality due to their low content in one or several indispensable amino acids” Gill explains, while protein derived from animal sources (meat, fish, milk and eggs) is considered of higher quality.

It’s a distinction the dairy industry would welcome. Bryans believes the FAO recommendations would be “a major step forward in clearly distinguishing dairy protein from plant protein” as “many plant proteins are incomplete” - which means, as far as Bryans is concerned, that plant protein is of lower quality than animal protein.

Melanie Felgate, senior analyst at Datamonitor, suggests flagging up different types of protein on pack could be one way to avoid a possible backlash.

Health concerns

Even with the “right kind of protein”, a high protein diet is not without its risks, however. In April, Datamonitor released a report predicting a decline in the high-protein trend as more consumers become aware of the potential health risks.

The report said high levels of protein have been linked to kidney damage, digestive health problems, and even colon cancer. And Felgate believes even where these “are not necessarily a genuine risk, if consumers become aware of them this could lead to a backlash, as we’ve seen with sugar in recent years”.

While damage to kidneys may only be “a threat to those with existing problems”, that won’t stop tabloids whipping up anxiety among readers.

Sean Uprichard, head of brand at ‘protein-boosted’ breakfast line Fuel10k, is unfazed. “An increased appetite for protein among young consumers sits at the heart of recent product protein trends,” he says. “We do not see this appetite or our business momentum slowing any time soon.”

And Terry Jones, director general of the Provision Trade Federation, believes it’s the challenge of meeting surging demand for protein that industry should be most worried about. “One of the risks is whether demand outstrips supply,” he says. “It’s not a looming risk but certainly as this becomes more of a mainstream product, it’s something we need to factor in.”

And with the market beefing up, failure to do so would risk an outcry from more than just irate bodybuilders down the gym.What’s on the protein-plus menu?