The market’s ripped with protein products right now.
And it’s not just the usual powders and bars. Even snacks that used to be full-carb comfort food like cereal and waffles are suddenly jacked. There’s protein WATER.
Google searches for “high-protein” hit an all-time peak this year.
But 2025 isn’t protein’s first Marketing rodeo.
Brands have put a ton of muscle behind the macronutrient over the years. Bodybuilders in the 60s, Atkins die-hards in the 2000s…but it’s been out-muscled by new superfoods and other health “hacks.”
Now, protein is back. With better PR.
Brands are switching it up, leaning into lifestyle more than health and fitness.
This is the story of…the Protein-aissance.
Protein didn’t just show up on your TikTok FYP.
It’s been bulking since the Eisenhower era.
Bodybuilders have bulked up with milk-based protein powders since the 50s and 60s. Then the fitness boom in the 70s & 80s made whey into the default post-workout move.
Think: chalky powders, shaker cups, and the kind of tank tops you need Arnold-level confidence to pull off.
Parents. Runners. Office workers. People trying to get to 2pm without another iced latte.
It’s not about losing or restricting. It’s about getting enough.
TLDR: Protein got a rebrand.
As every great Marketer knows, trends like this don’t happen in a vacuum.
GLP-1 meds like Ozempic have changed how people eat.
1 in 8 US adults have taken them.
And when you’re losing weight fast, doctors will remind you protein is extra-important.
So: “eat enough protein” = the new wellness commandment.
But here’s the thing.
Most people already eat enough protein.
But the exact amount is squishy, based on a lot of factors. And we don’t talk very much about the dangers of OVER-consuming protein.
And that lack of clear guidelines means a lot of consumers assume they AREN’T hitting that protein goal.
The vaguer the goal, the bigger the market.
Let’s break it down.
Brands in the protein game fit into one of these categories:
🥛 Protein OG
🍞 Protein newcomer
🍪 Legacy CPG hopping on the protein b(r)andwagon
PUT IT IN PRACTICE
Think of which category your brand falls into within your industry. Are you an OG, a newcomer, or a legacy interested in a trend?
Here’s your homework:
If you’re an OG → Brainstorm how to revise and revive a campaign, product, or practice that succeeded for your brand in the past. Keep the essence, but update it for today’s market.
If you’re a newcomer → You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the whitespace among the OGs, but your fellow upstarts might be a bigger threat. Check in on a few competitors. I like to start with social listening on Reddit and TikTok searches.
If you’re a legacy trying to participate→ Jot down some emerging trends your brand can dabble in authentically and think about how you can test this with an existing product or service. You’ve got distribution and data. Now use it to try something small and weird that fits with your brand’s DNA.
Each protein category comes with unique opportunities and challenges. Let’s bite into ‘em.
🥛 Protein OG: Milk
We’re in the middle of a back-to-the-cow movement. (I was tempted to type “moo-vement,” but decided to spare you. You’re welcome.)
Milk is officially back in the chat. After 15 years of decline, cow milk sales actually went UP last year.
I’m calling it now: The “Got Milk?” campaign will come back in 2026 and feature influencers instead of celebs. Same mustache, but with a ring light.
But being a protein OG isn’t an automatic win for milk.
Lactose intolerance is more common than ever.
Ethical & sustainability worries are still there.
And there are a lot more ways to get your protein these days.
Meanwhile, plant milk brands are making higher-protein formulas to compete with dairy’s advantage.
1 solution might create a truce: hybrid milk that’s part plant, part cow.
Albert Heijn, the biggest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, launched a private-label version this summer.
Dairy diplomacy incoming?
Bro crushed it with the cow design. (via DairyReporter)
🍞 Protein newcomer: Ballerina Farm
Co-founded by influencer Hannah Neeleman, dubbed “Queen of the Tradwives,” and her husband Daniel Neeleman (son of the founder of JetBlue), mega-popular Ballerina Farm started with meat packing and now sells Farmer Protein Powder and High Protein Farm Flour.
The Neeleman’s spun their brand positioning out from their influencer values.
This isn’t your coach’s protein powder. It’s Wholesome Family Protein powder.
Plus, it has collagen peptides and prebiotic fiber. Do I know what those are? No.
Do I know they’re required for a full Wellness Bingo? Yes I do.
Ballerina Farm’s strategy: Come for the aspirational lifestyle content, pay for the protein.
8 kids (so far).
Cows with cute names. 10.5M TikTok followers, many of them women who like to cook and bake (lesser-tapped protein market)
The website has the positioning in a sentence: “journey of simple living, wholesome food, and the daily rhythms that make a house a home.”
Kodiak Cakes walked (with its high-protein baking mixes) so Ballerina Farm could pirouette (with High Protein Farm Flour), which can be used to make anything.
Never mind that flour’s technically a carb.
It’s all about the story.
And in a crowded market, your story is everything.
Ballerina Farm’s move: turning functional fuel into a symbolic aesthetic.
🍪 Legacy CPG hopping on the protein b(r)andwagon: Starbucks
Established brands have the resources to experiment with food trends and get new products into market quickly.
The downside is that new products feel gimmicky if they’re not authentic to the brand.
Or deceptive, if they’re chasing health halos without actually being healthy. Something the protein market is more likely to care about.
Starbuck’s ready-to-drink protein beverages hit grocery stores last summer. This September, they added protein lattes and protein cold foam to the permanent menu.
The sugar and calories in these drinks clash with the target audience.
The same crowd that cares about getting enough protein in their diet…also cares about making sure they don’t get too MUCH of the other stuff.
Will consumers drink them nonetheless?
YES, especially if they like the flavor.
But the risk here: when your product promises health but delivers a sugar crash, customers wise up fast.
Especially with so many other options out there.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE HAT
You know when you’re in a meeting with your CEO and she’s like, “I have a feeling this will work”?
It almost never works. But you know what does? Science. Neuroscience, actually. 🧠
At Marketingland on Oct 30, supergenius / influencer author Richard Shotton is breaking down the behavioral science that’ll actually show up in your KPIs.
You’re gonna love it. RSVP this week and get entered to win my favorite hat.
MARKETING CHEAT SHEET (WHAT TO LEARN FROM THIS STORY):
1️⃣. Same macronutrient, new Marketing:
Protein’s been around forever.
What’s new is the narrative.
Brands are leaning into lifestyle and well-being instead of fitness and diet culture, taking protein marketing from “get ripped” to “feel good/stay healthy.”
So: if you’ve got a product that’s not moving, you don’t necessarily need a rework.
You might just need to rethink the positioning.
2️⃣. Know your lane (for now):
Each protein player fits somewhere: Protein OG, Protein newcomer, or Legacy CPG hopping on the protein b(r)andwagon.
None of them is automatically better. The point is knowing where you are, and evolving from there.
Once you know where your brand is, you can explore emerging trends authentically. Without losing track of your goals, or what your customers need.
And 1 day, you might even change lanes.
3️⃣. Market moderation:
Extremes make noise, but balance SCALES.
Protein’s new power move is subtle. Going outside bars & powders and getting into the foods we already eat and ingredients we already use, like Ballerina Farm’s High Protein Farm Flour.
Fitting into existing behaviors >>> overhauling behavior.
An easy healthy swap? A lot more likely than a full diet overhaul.
Change = friction. How can you make choosing your brand feel easier, or fit into an existing habit or routine?
Ahh, the bell has rung. Please be sure to do the reading (follow The Marketing Millennials on LinkedIn and me, Professor Millennial, on X).
Off you go, passing period is only 11 minutes and there’s already a line at the vending machine that sells protein potato chips.
Until next time,
Professor Millennial
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