Consumers Increase Their Protein Intake
As consumers are faced with conflicting dietary advice, especially where fats and carbohydrates are concerned, protein has emerged as the “feel-good” macronutrient, and now new research from Mintel shows how consumers around the world are turning to it in order to help lose or maintain their weight.
Proving protein is more than just a fad, new research from Mintel looking at four key consumer markets – China, UK, US and Germany – finds a significant number of consumers increasing their protein intake in 2014 compared to the previous year. Indeed, as many as a quarter of consumers in China (26%) and the US (25%) said they were eating more protein than the year before, while a smaller, but still significant proportion of UK (13%) and German (12%) consumers claimed to have upped their protein intake.
High protein claims have continued to increase in food and drink launches over the past five years. The percentage of global food and drink products making a high protein claims increased 17% between 2010 and 2014.
Stephanie Mattucci, Global Food Science Analyst at Mintel, says: “It seems that protein is the latest unexplored area of a food product’s nutritional statement. Protein is no longer a fad, high protein diets and products have made a real impression on nutrition, re-shaping consumers’ attitudes towards protein in their diet. The desire for more health benefits from food and drink products has led to a boom for products that boast high protein content.”
The research highlights protein as a key ingredient of interest for weight-conscious consumers. Consumers were asked why they had increased their protein intake over the past year. Of the consumers eating more protein, around half of Chinese (51%), UK (47%) and US (46%) consumers said they were doing so to help maintain a healthy weight, followed by 39% of German consumers. Meanwhile, some 47% of Germans, and 42% of UK consumers who had increased their protein consumption, had done so in order to help them lose weight, together with 38% of US consumers and 23% of Chinese consumers. Furthermore, some 43% of US, 34% of Chinese, 31% of UK and 25% of German consumers who were consuming more protein were doing so in order to satisfy their appetite.
