Soaring Whey Prices Push Formulators Toward Plant and Hybrid Proteins
Whey protein prices sit far above year-ago levels. Suppliers like ADM, Puris and Roquette are pitching plant and hybrid proteins, but taste and texture remain hurdles.
Whey protein prices have climbed far above year-ago levels as protein demand outpaces supply. Suppliers are answering with plant and hybrid protein systems, but matching whey is not simple.
TLDR
- Expana put US high-protein whey concentrate at about $12.25 per pound in late August. That was up 134% year on year.
- Whey protein concentrate (WPC) 80 hit $10.50 per pound on Oct. 6, up nearly 88%, per Vesper.
- ADM launched eight soy and pea protein products in the first half of the year.
- Taste, texture and flavor masking remain the main hurdles for alternatives.
What Is Driving the Squeeze
Demand is coming from fitness culture and from consumers on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications seeking muscle maintenance, FoodNavigator reports. In Europe, Expana said prices ended August about 122% higher than a year earlier.
Supply is hard to expand. Whey is a byproduct of cheese, and cheese output is growing only modestly, said Kevin Geason of Tosca Services. Dennis Reid of Osage Food Products said prices hit all-time highs. Pricing is “just now starting to show signs of relief,” he said.
Why Whey Is Hard to Replace
Whey is a complete protein with a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of 1.0, the top score. Reid called it “the easiest one to formulate with to get a high degree of protein in a product.”
Alternatives often struggle on taste and texture. Traditional pea proteins carry earthy, grassy and beany notes, according to Puris. Yeast protein tastes earthy and grainy, and is hard to mask in vanilla, Reid said. Vesper analyst Jasper Endlich said pea, soy and rice proteins appear less often in blends because of flavor limits. Many brands instead pair whey with egg albumin, micellar casein or ultrafiltered milk.
How Suppliers Are Responding
ADM research found 66% of consumers globally want more protein, up from 57% in 2023. ADM’s Jacquelyn Rodenkirch highlighted soy, which also scores 1 on PDCAAS. Its new soy isolate, ProFam 883, targets dairy hybrid drinks and sports nutrition. ADM texture research found “creamy and smooth is the No. 1 texture that consumers want” across 12 applications.
Others are moving too. Puris launched H2-IZO pea protein for high-protein beverages in July. Roquette introduced Natralys Pea 850F. NNB Nutrition and Axiom Foods debuted PeptiClear hydrolyzed plant proteins in August.
Why It Matters
For R&D and procurement teams, whey is no longer a low-risk input. Hybrid dairy and plant blends can reduce exposure. But each product needs its own balance of nutrition, functionality, cost and consumer expectations. Flavor masking in vanilla and creamy mouthfeel in beverages are the key tests.
Sources: FoodNavigator; Food Business News.