Meet the people paying up to £100 for a bag of protein - BBC News
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By Jeevan Nerwan, Business Reporter
Published 8 hours ago
Amarpreet Singh's Story
Amarpreet Singh has been drinking protein shakes since he was 16. The 30-year-old, who lives in London and works in banking, started going to the gym when protein supplements were mostly associated with bodybuilders.
*"A 4.5kg bag of the whey protein I buy cost around £60 in 2020. By last year, the price had gone up to £120... Now the same bag is £170."
Proteinflation
Among his gym friends, these rising prices have even been given a nickname – "proteinflation".
A Broader Market for Protein
Over the years, protein powders and shakes have attracted a much broader customer base. Food manufacturers now offer high-protein versions of everything from bagels to water.
Evie Lewis' Experience
Evie Lewis, a 19-year-old University of Manchester student, began using protein powder a few months ago because she felt she wasn't getting enough protein in her diet.
*"You hear a lot more about protein now on social media... But at £32.99 for a 420g tub, I'm feeling the high price and tries to make the product stretch."
Long-Term Users
Max Longman, 32, from Manchester, has been taking protein supplements for 10 years, originally to help him gain weight. He now drinks a protein shake every day and says his monthly spending on whey protein has risen from around £45 a year ago to £60 now.
*"Loads of foods have protein added to them now... But that growing appetite for protein is running up against a problem - supply has not kept pace."
Supply and Demand Gap
According to global market intelligence platform Expana, the European price of one widely used type of high-protein whey was 130% higher in late August than a year earlier, and more than four times its level three years ago.
Other dairy proteins have also become more expensive... Manufacturers say that increasing demand is leading to higher prices.