Protein stays a cornerstone of innovation for meals and beverage manufacturers. Right here’s how Danone, PepsiCo and Basic Mills are exploring the worldwide megatrend
Protein has advanced from a distinct segment health development to a mainstream wellness staple. It’s being added to something from espresso to cookie dough and water as meals and beverage model race to fulfill client objectives round satiety, power, muscle acquire and urge for food management.
It’s not nearly staying aggressive: for FMCG majors, protein is a key ingredient of their portfolio growth and diversification plans. Right here’s how three of the world’s greatest meals and beverage corporations are approaching protein to gas progress in 2026.
Danone plugs the plant-based protein hole
Buoyant demand for protein globally propelled Danone’s efficiency to new heights in 2025 as the corporate continued to capitalize on urge for food for yogurt in codecs from tubs to RTD drinks by international manufacturers together with Oikos, YoPro and HiPro.
In North America, Danone launched a shelf-stable protein shake beneath Oikos to enter a brand new section; and in Europe, it expanded its skyr vary into the UK after seeing a 29% enhance in volumes within the French market. Reacting to the rising weight administration development, Danone additionally launched Oikos Fusion in the summertime, a shake formulated to assist the dietary wants of GLP-1 remedy customers, packing elements that assist muscle well being and satiety.
Demand for Danone’s high-protein merchandise is outpacing provide at current, and that actuality is beginning to have an effect on the corporate’s monetary efficiency. Within the group’s Q3 FY25 outcomes, CFO Juergen Esser instructed traders Danone is being “fairly significantly stored by manufacturing capability” however added that new capability is coming on-line from This autumn. “That may enable us not solely to proceed pushing high-protein yogurts but additionally to activate the remainder of the yogurts portfolio,” he defined.
And it’s not simply dairy protein that Danone is involved in: high-protein plant-based merchandise can be the place the sport is at for the group.
Protein is among the innovation developments that’s reinvigorating plant-based, with yogurt and drinks options among the many most in-demand codecs. In latest months, Danone has responded by introducing Silk Protein, a high-protein variant of its best-selling plant-based milk different model in North America.
Kallie Goodwin, SVP of Plant-Primarily based Drinks, Danone North America, instructed us that protein stays some of the sought-after vitamins amongst customers, and the momentum behind it doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime quickly.
“In reality, on-line searches on high-protein meals are booming – up by 105% within the final 12 months – and we’ve seen the protein class drive $112 billion in annual retail gross sales. Moreover, we all know that youthful customers – significantly Gen Z – are consuming plant-based drinks a number of instances every week. As folks discover methods so as to add plant-based merchandise into their lives, they’re doing so not simply as a substitute for animal merchandise, however as a proactive well being alternative.”
However regardless of the momentum across the dietary advantages of protein, the plant-based class, and significantly plant-based milk, has dragged behind in creating tasty, handy, and nutritious protein improvements, she added.
“There’s a transparent hole in plant-based choices as solely 33% of America’s protein consumption comes from plant-based sources,” mentioned Goodwin. “Silk Protein fills this hole, delivering the best protein content material of any refrigerated plant-based milk on cabinets, with 13g of full plant protein (50% greater than common dairy milk).” The product additionally packs 3g of fiber, has half the sugar of standard dairy milk and is formulated with out synthetic sweeteners.
Silk Protein faucets into one other development: weight administration. “Persons are more and more embarking on weight reduction journeys to assist general wellness objectives – in search of personalised, nutrient-rich choices to keep up muscle and promote intestine well being,” Goodwin instructed us. “In reality, one in 4 folks within the US (27%) on a weight reduction journey and ~10% of Individuals on a GLP-1 remedy. Silk Protein is a superb instance of how we’re assembly client demand for nutrient-dense merchandise to assist fill gaps of their every day diet consumption.”
PepsiCo: “Protein is driving a variety of progress”
Beverage and snacking main PepsiCo is about to incorporate extra protein, fiber and complete grains throughout its product classes to bolster the competitiveness and monetary efficiency of its North American arm.
Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO at PepsiCo, Inc., instructed traders through the group’s Q3 FY25 investor name that the corporate will achieve this through three manufacturers: Muscle Milk, Propel and Starbucks.
Muscle Milk is getting a brand new formulation with cleaner elements and up to date packaging, with two variants, a 26g Base and a 42g Professional drinks set to land on cabinets within the new 12 months.
Starbucks Espresso + Protein – formulated with 100% Arabica espresso and 22g of protein, 5g fiber, minerals, nutritional vitamins and 2g of sugar – is positioned into the well being and wellness section; and Propel Clear Protein, a whey powder combine with fiber and electrolytes, targets the purposeful hydration and GLP-1-friendly area on the similar time.
“We at all times attempt to leverage as a lot as we are able to our present platforms – it’s cheaper and is a greater enterprise resolution,” Laguarta mentioned.
“Muscle Milk is a superb model that as we enhance the product, will probably be an amazing tasting, excessive ranges of protein, good mouth really feel and no artificials. It would clearly serve a variety of customers which are searching for protein drinkable options to switch meals or snacks all through the day It’s a model that has potential.”
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Turning to Propel, the CEO mentioned: “Propel is a superb platform: it has a excessive penetration in feminine, and it’s been rising at a double-digit CAGR for the final 5, six years. It has a variety of credibility in hydration, however I feel it could possibly increase into extra. For this reason we expect that we are able to take it into extra of a purposeful hydration-plus platform with Propel – centered on females, however not solely, each in powders and in liquids.
“That may have a multi-year innovation alternative for us as we see customers searching for extra purposeful options in drinks that aren’t even obtainable proper now out there.”
Basic Mills: Concentrate on pricing and protein
It might have shed its North American yogurt portfolio in certainly one of dairy’s greatest 2025 offers, however Basic Mills stays involved in driving progress by protein-rich choices.
The corporate’s group president of North America Retail and North American PET, Dana McNabb, instructed traders the corporate has been reacting to ongoing inflationary pressures impacting customers: a technique it is going to persist with in 2026. “With customers beneath vital financial stress, we’re investing to slim worth gaps on a few of our greatest product strains or get beneath key worth cliffs with the aim of addressing worth worth on about two-thirds of our NAR portfolio,” McNabb mentioned.
And within the agency’s Q2 FY26 replace in December 2025, CEO Jeffrey Harmening mentioned sturdy efficiency from the likes of protein-fortified cereal and different classes will assist the group meet its gross sales goals.
“Our first half innovation and renovation information delivered the correct mixture of product advantages; nice style, comfort and affordability that resonate with customers and drive outcomes forward of our expectations, together with sturdy efficiency from Cheerios Protein, Pillsbury’s Bakes Up Larger information, Mott’s snack bars and Annie’s Tremendous! Mac. With early success on our lineup of larger and higher new product launches we stay on monitor to ship a 25% enhance in gross sales from new merchandise in FY26.”
Within the second half of the fiscal 12 months, Basic Mills will concentrate on launches within the fastest-growing client developments in meals, he added, together with protein.
“On protein, we’re highlighting 50% extra chocolate information and our new line of Nature Valley creamy protein snack bars. We’re introducing new indulgent flavors of our fast-growing Nature Valley protein granola line, which generated Nielsen-measured pound progress of practically 20% in Q2. We’re increasing availability of our Ghost protein cereal line, and we’ll begin to scale up a line of Ghost efficiency diet bars that ship 20 grams of protein, solely 2 grams of sugar.”
And so, the protein bubble retains on rising – and CPG majors proceed to benefit from it.
