​Focus On Protein: 24 October

Focus On: Protein, by Rob Brown (rob_j_a_brown@hotmail.com)

Publishing: 24 October

Advertising deadline: 9 October

Download the synopsis

Submissions deadline: 8 October

The story

Protein has become a universal cue for health. Simply putting ‘added protein’ on your product immediately communicates a positive message to consumers – which perhaps explains why less healthy brands are increasingly going down this route. Take Pot Pasta, which upped its protein content to include between 6.4g and 8.1g per pot in July. Confectionery brands also such as Snickers have also been busy adding to their protein lines – and the giants such as Mars and Mondelez see a bright future in this area. There is even such a thing as protein sweets. So just how much appeal does added protein have in these brands? Can protein really add a halo to lines that have been seen as unhealthy, or junk food – especially as the government clamps down on obesity and HFSS foods? Or does protein only have a finite appeal?

Key themes

Consumer appeal: Just how appealing is protein to today’s consumers? Are they continuing to increase their intake? To what extent is momentum slowing?

Obesity strategy: The obesity strategy is penalising HFSS foods. Adding protein to your product doesn’t mean it will escape those restrictions – but could it create more positive associations among consumers at a time when these foods are under fire? After all, protein is counted as a positive in the government’s nutritional profiling calculations.

Brands: Which brands are expanding their presence in protein? What is their motivation? What results are they seeing in existing lines, and how much potential do they see for further growth?

Kantar: How does has protein consumption changed over the past year? Is there any sign of a slowdown? We analyse the trends using Kantar data.

Innovations: We identify four new products or product ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before including launch date, RSP and a hi-res picture of each.

Veggie protein: Plant-based protein is hot property. So what are the different forms of plant-based protein? Pea protein has grabbed many of the headlines, but what other forms are there, such as oat protein and mycoprotein, and what are their respective benefits? Which one has the most potential to make it big?