Consumer interest in dairy protein is the most important growth trend in the food, nutrition and health business, and it's set to stay that way for the remainder of this decade.
Surging sales of cottage cheese are a good illustration of dairy protein's appeal. While it's true that social media has played a key role in the cottage cheese frenzy, this was only possible because cottage cheese aligns with what consumers want: a simple, natural, versatile, good-tasting food that provides a good source of protein.
As a result, American cottage cheese sales grew 16% by value and 11% by volume in 2024 – an amazing achievement in a period when most supermarket categories were flat. In Sweden, cottage cheese sales grew 30% over the past year, with a 40% growth surge in the UK.
That same growth is reflected in dairy protein products of all kinds, from yoghurt to quark. Supermarket sales data shows that, in 2024, US sales of products with a high dairy protein content grew by 17%. The story is similar in many other countries.
Animal protein is the leading trend
We're not alone in identifying consumer demand for animal protein as the biggest growth trend. Whole Foods Markets, the leading natural foods retail chain in the US and part of Amazon, has a strong grasp of the preferences of active health consumers. Whole Foods says consumers in 2025 are looking to incorporate more protein in their diet – and they are prioritising animal protein.
There is also emerging consumer interest in two additional benefits of dairy protein, which are going to propel demand even further: energy and digestive wellness.
Energy has always been a top-five priority for consumers, giving rise to the success of energy drinks. But many people want energy in a more natural way, and that is protein's advantage. Starbucks, for example, has launched a drink which combines coffee with protein. Consumer data showed that Starbucks shoppers buy protein supplements six times more frequently than the average consumer. The marketing for Starbucks higher protein coffee focuses on taste with the tagline "protein never tasted so good".
Digestive wellness is another emerging growth driver. Amino acids – protein’s building blocks – help strengthen the intestinal lining. They can help reduce the symptoms of conditions such as ulcerative colitis, a gut health problem that affects about 10% of people. In California, the birthplace of many trends, the gut health benefits of animal protein are already showing up in brand messaging. Dieticians are also beginning to communicate about proteins for improved digestive wellness.
Calmness in uncertain times
After animal protein, mood & mind is another important long-term growth trend in nutrition and health. This connects to energy and digestive wellness and is of growing interest for consumers, who increasingly experience the world as a place filled with threats and uncertainties.
In almost every culture, people have long used food to influence their mood, to help with anxiety, sleep or feelings of depression. In 2024, an average 22% of consumers claimed to be eating foods that boost their mood and mental wellbeing, according to our own five-country research. This is up from 19% in 2022. Younger consumers are more actively looking for these benefits from foods than older consumers, and they are turning to familiar foods and ingredients – dairy, chocolate and probiotics, for example – to lift their spirits.
Probiotics are one of the strongest opportunities within mood & mind. Their benefits for digestion and immunity are already well established, from America to Asia to Europe. An established part of mainstream food consumption over the last 30 years, they need no explaining to consumers.
Probiotic brands may be able to widen their appeal by harnessing an effective probiotic that delivers benefits for mood as well as digestion. Asia is leading this movement. Launched in Japan in 2021, Yakult 1000 is a pioneering probiotic dairy drink aimed at people in their 30s to 50s. The packaging carries claims that it can alleviate stress, improve sleep quality and regulate intestinal function.
Yakult 1000 rapidly became a success, achieving sales of over $1.1 billion in 2024. It is almost certainly the most successful new health product launch anywhere in the world in the last five years.
Top trends for driving growth
Other top-10 trends that will create opportunities and drive growth for food and beverage companies include:
Rethinking fat: Although most consumers still try to avoid fat, younger, active health consumers are leading the change. Thanks to information on social media, they are slowly losing their fear of fat. Increasingly, peer-reviewed evidence shows that there was no credible scientific basis for avoiding saturated fat. Even scientific experts who helped write America’s dietary guidelines now say that negativity about fat was a mistake. Consequently, more consumers accept without fear “a little more fat” in indulgent products such as yoghurt, with many embracing the benefits of dairy fat for satiety and weight management.
Real food: The potential and power of this trend has been validated by PepsiCo’s acquisition of Siete Foods for $1.2 billion. Siete has built its success on making Mexican-American snack foods with few and simple ingredients and less processing. That PepsiCo would embrace such a brand was unimaginable five years ago. The consumer trend towards fewer and simpler ingredients is a consumer trend that emerged 20 years ago and then evolved into the clean label trend. Now it is also about foods that are less or more simply processed. It will continue to create growth for brands.
Emergent blood-sugar management: Thanks to social media influencers, most of them credible nutrition researchers and medical doctors, people are learning how healthy blood sugar levels can benefit mood & mind, sleep, stress, anxiety, hormone health, energy, sports performance and weight management. This connects to and supports the real food trend, with consumers looking to foods with more protein and fat for healthy blood glucose. The scientifically proven link between hormone health and better blood sugars means that some manufacturers are connecting both in nutrition bars, for example.
Whatever the global economic or political backdrop, the future is positive for companies willing to truly understand consumer growth trends, to innovate and to focus on taste and texture.
