Asia’s appetite for protein is growing rapidly, creating one of the most attractive opportunities in food and beverage today.
Yet the winners will not be those that simply add more protein to existing products. They will be the companies that identify where protein delivers meaningful consumer value, justify a premium price point, and generate sustainable returns on investment.
The opportunity is significant. According to Euromonitor International, high-protein food, drinks and supplements generated more than $3tn in global retail sales in 2025.1 DBS Research estimates that it could reach $3.6tn by 2030, based on global inflation of 2% and annual volume growth of 1.7%.2
Protein-fortified food is smaller but faster-growing, and is projected to reach $102bn by 2030, expanding at 6.2% annually.3 Asia Pacific is expected to grow at 7.2%, while regional high-protein product launches have increased by 47% over the past five years.4
But capturing that growth will require precision rather than simply adding more protein across a portfolio. A high-protein snack, a nutritional drink for an older adult and a plant-protein ingredient solve very different needs. The question is where protein genuinely adds value to the product and whether the economics stack up.
The key question is no longer whether to participate in the protein opportunity, but where protein creates enough consumer value to justify the additional formulation costs, supply-chain complexity and capital investment.
Demand is fragmenting, not converging
Protein’s shift into mainstream diets is often presented as a single consumer trend. In reality, demand is fragmenting across different life stages, health priorities and consumption occasions. For manufacturers, that changes how products need to be formulated, positioned and priced.
For younger consumers, protein sits within a wider interest in fitness, energy, gut health and convenient nutrition.5 This is expanding demand for portable drinks, bars, snacks and fortified foods, but convenience cannot come at the expense of taste, and a nutritional claim alone may not justify a higher price.
Healthy ageing presents a different need. By 2050, one in four people in Asia Pacific is expected to be aged 60 or above.6 For this group, the opportunity may be less about simply offering “more protein” and more about delivering sufficient nutrition in portions consumers can comfortably consume and in forms they recognise and enjoy. Texture, serving size and familiarity can therefore be as important as the nutritional specification.
Glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, medicines create another potential consumer segment. A 2024 US consumer study found that 95% of surveyed users of GLP-1 weight-loss medication were eating smaller portions. Some 78% wanted smaller packs, 82% were looking for additional functional benefits and 60% sought more protein-rich foods.7 Although these findings are specific to the US and adoption will vary by market, they point to potential demand for compact, nutrient-dense formats.
There is no single protein consumer. Manufacturers need to understand the nutritional need, eating occasion, preferred format and willingness to pay before deciding where protein belongs in their portfolio.
The opportunity may already be in the portfolio
For established food companies, portfolio renovation may offer a faster route into protein than creating a new product. It can build on an established brand and existing distribution, while positioning protein as an additional benefit.
Several publicly announced product launches illustrate this approach. F&N has extended 100Plus brand into protein-enhanced recovery with 100Plus Pro High Protein.8 Mengniu’s Shiny Meadow offers higher-protein fresh milk, while Barilla has introduced Protein+ pasta.9,10 These products bring protein into familiar consumption occasions.
JAPFA’s OLAGUD ready-to-eat chicken breast fillet packages a conventional animal protein in a format suited to portable consumption.11
The strategic question is whether protein makes the original proposition more useful. In a hydration brand, that might mean recovery. In dairy, it could mean satiety or healthy ageing. In pasta or bakery, it may add nutrition to a household staple.
Poorly judged extensions risk adding cost and formulation complexity without giving consumers a convincing reason to switch. A prominent protein number on the pack may attract attention, but it is not a substitute for a clear product role.
Formulation will determine how much of the opportunity is real
Protein enrichment can alter viscosity, solubility, flavour and mouthfeel. Depending on the application and source, manufacturers may encounter bitterness, dryness, chalkiness or unfamiliar aromas. Protein bars can harden during storage, while added fibre and micronutrients can complicate formulation.
Delivering more nutrition in a smaller serving increases the challenge. The product must remain pleasant to consume and stable throughout its shelf life. Suppliers, flavour and texture experts, packaging partners and manufacturers therefore need to collaborate early and test formulations under actual processing, storage and distribution conditions.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients, for example, says its caseinate-based solution is designed to help protein bars remain softer over a 12-month shelf life.12 Performance would still need to be validated in each manufacturer’s formulation and operating environment.
The introduction by McDonald’s of a soy and pea protein slice as a burger add-on in India illustrates another principle.13 New ingredients can be easier to introduce when they are attached to an established eating occasion. This is where the gap between a technically viable product and a commercially viable one becomes apparent. Nutrition may drive the first purchase, but taste, convenience and price will determine whether consumers come back.
Protein does not have to be an either-or choice
Animal and plant protein are often framed as competitors. For manufacturers, hybrid products may offer another route to market, where they retain familiar taste and texture while adjusting nutritional composition or diversifying their ingredient base.
A blind sensory study commissioned by the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific and conducted by the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation found that several meat products enhanced with plant proteins closely matched their conventional counterparts on taste.14
The findings do not mean that all hybrid products will succeed. They do, however, suggest that plant proteins can play a role beyond products marketed as complete meat substitutes.
For meat processors, hybrid formulations could sit alongside existing products rather than replace them. They may also create opportunities for ingredient suppliers in binding, flavour, texture and nutritional enhancement.
Foodservice could provide a useful trial environment, allowing products to be introduced as part of a prepared dish rather than being judged solely as packaged substitutes. However, nutritional quality, allergen considerations and formulation performance will vary according to the protein source and product.
Ingredient choice is also a supply-chain choice
Manufacturers must look beyond the protein percentage shown on a specification sheet. Whey, casein, soy, pea, rice and fermentation-derived proteins differ in nutritional composition, allergen considerations, flavour and functional performance. They also respond differently to heat, extrusion, mixing and storage.15
The preferred protein for a ready-to-drink beverage may not work in a baked product. A technically strong ingredient may also create sourcing exposure if production is concentrated or vulnerable to price swings.
Supplier capability matters too. Manufacturers increasingly need partners that can support testing, regulatory requirements and the move from pilot production to commercial scale. Companies may also need multiple protein sources and regional production arrangements. This can help avoid reliance on one ingredient, supplier or production location.
Execution is the key
Asia’s protein opportunity is sizeable and still expanding, but the next phase of growth will be defined less by demand and more by execution. Success will not come from maximising protein claims or launching the widest range of products. It will come from understanding specific consumer needs, selecting the right protein sources, overcoming formulation challenges and building resilient supply chains.
At DBS, its work across the food and agribusiness value chain provides a close view of these shifts, and how businesses are responding to changing demand, strengthening supply chains and investing for growth.
Author: Bastavee Barooah, managing director and global head of food and agribusiness, Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank
References
- Euromonitor International. The Age of Protein maxxing and the Future of Protein Demand.
- The high-protein market encompasses protein-fortified products, supplements, and naturally protein-rich foods such as meat and eggs.
- Grand View Research. Protein-fortified Food Products Market (2024 - 2030).
- Biospringer. High Protein Innovation: Asia Pacific Opportunities 2026.
- FoodNavigator. Gen Z and Millennials redefine wellness: Protein, fiber and flavor drive food choices.
- ESCAP. Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Population Ageing: Reframing Aging.
- AMC Global. Impact of GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs on Food Choices.
- F&N. 100Plus Pro High Protein.
- FoodNavigator. Shiny Meadow launches fresh milk with higher protein and calcium content to fulfil consumer demand in Hong Kong.
- Barilla Group. Barilla Protein+: The pasta you’ve always loved, with a push of protein.
- JAPFA. JAPFA Food Launches OLAGUD Ready-to-Eat Chicken Breast Fillet for Export Market.
- Friesland Campaign. Excellion® – Healthy Indulgent Protein bar.
- Reuters. In protein-deficient India, McDonald’s, Bollywood and cricket fuel wellness craze.
- Good Food Institute. Enhancing Meat with Plant Proteins: A Sensory Analysis in APAC.
- Nutra Ingredients Limited. How to evaluate protein ingredients quality.