Protein Priority
The Mainstream Movement Towards High Protein Diets
There is a powerful and growing change in the way that consumers are talking about protein. I’m calling this as one of the largest consumer shifts in the next decade.
Often, I notice these trends through patterns of conversation — the same topics coming up with different people who do not know each other and aren’t members of the same community. More than six times in the last six weeks, I’ve had someone tell me that their nutritional goal is to consume way more protein this year. Specifically, their target for daily protein consumption is 1g of protein for every 1lb of body weight (let’s call this 1g/1lb/day).
Let’s start with why this is interesting: 1g/1lb/day is not new — it has been a rule of thumb in bodybuilding for a long time. However, these people talking to me about their protein goals are not bodybuilders. They are health-conscious consumers with a significant age range (between 30 and 60) who are not notably big/muscular and don’t project weightlifting as a core defining piece of their identity.
They are the same kind of consumers who likely have explored low carb, high healthy fat, and flexitarian diets over the past 10 years. They shop at Whole Foods, don’t have GNC memberships, and work out at Equinox or F45 Training, not at Gold’s Gym.
So why are they so focused on protein now?
Odds are, they learned about this concept from the growing and highly influential longevity community, led by celebrity doctors like Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia.
This concept of much higher protein consumption (combined with higher frequency of strength training) has been called out repeatedly on the Huberman Lab podcast and is a core takeaway of Attia’s new book Outlive.
The longevity community has many philosophical similarities to the biohacker community, but differs in a nuanced but important way: the motivation is living a longer life with higher quality of life in one’s advanced years, rather than optimizing human performance in the present.
Why does this matter? Because inconveniencing yourself to optimize your 30–60 years when you’re already “healthy enough” isn’t incentive enough for many people to change their behavior. Meanwhile, living like you are 50 in your 70s or like 60 in your 80s and 90s is highly motivating for a wider audience. High protein is key for building enough lean muscle mass to avoid frailty in your later years (letting you do the activities you love and reducing the risk of disease and harmful falls).
What does this mean for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands?
First: There is a substantial and net new cohort of consumers who are about to view protein content as the first thing they look at on a nutritional label (even before sugar or carbs). Some brands are already leaning into this. For example, Sweetgreen has repositioned its “Protein Plates” as “High Protein” in their app within the past month.
Others who have a particularly high protein/calorie ratio should see a shift in their favor. This is great news for whey or meat protein brands, who might see a swing back in interest from those who were looking to plant proteins only because it seemed healthier (it’s really hard to do 1g/1lb/day on plant proteins).
Second: New brands can attack how practically difficult it is to achieve 1g/1lb/day. For example, I weigh approximately 185lbs, so that would be four meals per day of 45g of protein minimum (not happening). Any snack, shake, or supplement that is easy to prepare/consume and can assist consumers in repeatedly hitting this goal will have a lot of interest coming their way.
Third: New brands can thrive on repositioning protein to a consumer that does not resonate with existing brands. The intimidation in the supplement market is real — Bodybuilding.com and GNC do not speak to this new consumer. Create Wellness has done a nice job on this same challenge with creatine, showing there is real room to grow the market by inviting in a new audience.
If you’re tackling 1g/1lb/day personally or solving the problem with your business, I’d love to hear from you!
