3 - Protein: On the cusp of a renaissance?
So let's drill down to some more specific trends in product development.
Protein, so trend watchers - and opportunistic protein suppliers - keep telling us, is red hot right now, for all ages and both sexes, covering weight management, healthy aging, sports nutrition, and general health & wellness. But is this just hot air, or are we really in the middle of a protein ‘renaissance’?
Mintel certainly thinks so, while the flurry of activity in novel veggie proteins, along with attempts to broaden the appeal of sports nutrition products would certainly suggest that something is going on.
If you just look at the data (not the hype), says Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director at Datamonitor, new product launch numbers “fail to make a case for a rush to protein”.
However, he concedes that the raw figures “don’t really pick up on the enthusiasm level for protein at some of the top food and beverage companies… And protein does seem to be gaining as a concern with consumers.”
Marketing protein
But whether many new protein-packed products will succeed will depend on the positioning, of course. What's the sale pitch?
One clearly beneficial aspect of protein - its ability to help us maintain lean muscle mass as we age - is not something manufacturers are really spelling out in marketing messages, perhaps because they don’t want to start talking about sarcopenia or ‘old people’, notes Vierhile.
In fact, women in particular tend to regard high protein products as something for athletes, teenagers and me, he says.
“Consumers rarely like to talk about aging and the affect is has on the body."
Fuller for longer
However, the weight management message does resonate with more consumers, while targeting breakfast, or mid-morning eating occasions also makes sense from a scientific perspective, he says.
After all, most Americans get enough protein in total, say experts, the problem is that they tend to get most of it in the evening meal, when they would be better off spreading consumption across the day.
Protein at breakfast
Indeed, the fact that many women in particular are not getting enough protein at breakfast and lunch was a hot topic at a PepsiCo briefing at last year’s Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, where the firm revealed it was developing a novel protein-based product designed to appeal to women.
However, it has since declined to say when/if it is scheduled for launch.
(Check out this patent application for possible clues.)
In the meantime, it “looks like breakfast is the opportunity that many of the new higher protein products are targeting, launches like Dannon Activia Breakfast Blend Lowfat Yogurt and Special K Flatbread Breakfast Sandwich”, says Vierhile.