Protein Expands into Everyday Dairy Products
Ingredients such as soy protein are appearing in an expanding range of food categories, from beverages to plant-based alternatives to dairy products. These formulations add a nutritional claim to products while requiring manufacturers to preserve texture, stability, flavour, processability and shelf life.
Pedro Tatoni, ADM’s marketing manager for Human Nutrition in Latin America, said that protein innovation required a balance between nutritional quality, technological performance and economic viability. “Developing ingredients and formulations that make it possible to optimise processes and costs is an important step towards broadening consumer access to protein-enriched products across different food categories,” he said.
Cost is also identified as a factor in the commercial reach of these formulations. According to the report cited in the article, accessible protein-enriched foods that can serve different consumer profiles without sacrificing quality, taste or functionality have become a competitive differentiator for manufacturers operating in expanding categories.
The role assigned to protein is also changing. It was previously associated mainly with physical performance, but is increasingly being presented as part of a balanced diet at different stages of life. This shift supports the development of ordinary food products with added protein, including yogurt and cereal bars, rather than products positioned as separate from everyday eating habits.
For the dairy chain, the main development is the broader use of protein reformulation in established categories. Yogurts, desserts and ice creams are identified among the categories gaining such formulations, alongside plant-based alternatives that compete for space on the same shelves.
Tatoni said food innovation took place at the intersection of science, application knowledge and an understanding of consumption trends. “We observe a market in which the search for protein is expanding across different food categories and consumption occasions, driving the development of solutions that combine nutritional value, technological performance and sensory experience,” he said.
