Protein remains a cornerstone of innovation for food and beverage brands. Here’s how Danone, PepsiCo and General Mills are exploring the global megatrend
Protein has evolved from a niche fitness trend to a mainstream wellness staple. It’s being added to anything from coffee to cookie dough and water as food and beverage brand race to meet consumer goals around satiety, energy, muscle gain and appetite control.
It’s not just about staying competitive: for FMCG majors, protein is a key ingredient in their portfolio expansion and diversification plans. Here’s how three of the world’s biggest food and beverage firms are approaching protein to fuel growth in 2026.
Danone plugs the plant-based protein gap
Buoyant demand for protein globally propelled Danone’s performance to new heights in 2025 as the company continued to capitalize on appetite for yogurt in formats from tubs to RTD drinks through global brands including Oikos, YoPro and HiPro.
In North America, Danone introduced a shelf-stable protein shake under Oikos to enter a new segment; and in Europe, it expanded its skyr range into the UK after seeing a 29% increase in volumes in the French market. Reacting to the emerging weight management trend, Danone also released Oikos Fusion in the summer, a shake formulated to support the nutritional needs of GLP-1 medication users, packing ingredients that support muscle health and satiety.
Demand for Danone’s high-protein products is outpacing supply at present, and that reality is starting to affect the company’s financial performance. In the group’s Q3 FY25 results, CFO Juergen Esser told investors Danone is being “quite seriously kept by production capacity” but added that new capacity is coming online from Q4. “That will allow us not only to continue pushing high-protein yogurts but also to activate the rest of the yogurts portfolio,” he explained.
And it’s not just dairy protein that Danone is interested in: high-protein plant-based products is also where the game is at for the group.
Protein is one of the innovation trends that is reinvigorating plant-based, with yogurt and drinks alternatives among the most in-demand formats. In recent months, Danone has responded by introducing Silk Protein, a high-protein variant of its best-selling plant-based milk alternative brand in North America.
Kallie Goodwin, SVP of Plant-Based Beverages, Danone North America, told us that protein remains one of the most sought-after nutrients among consumers, and the momentum behind it doesn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon.
“In fact, online searches on high-protein foods are booming – up by 105% in the last year – and we’ve seen the protein category drive $112 billion in annual retail sales. Additionally, we know that younger consumers – particularly Gen Z – are consuming plant-based beverages several times a week. As people explore ways to add plant-based products into their lives, they’re doing so not just as an alternative to animal products, but as a proactive health choice.”
But despite the momentum around the nutritional benefits of protein, the plant-based category, and particularly plant-based milk, has dragged behind in creating tasty, convenient, and nutritious protein innovations, she added.
“There’s a clear gap in plant-based offerings as only 33% of America’s protein intake comes from plant-based sources,” said Goodwin. “Silk Protein fills this gap, delivering the highest protein content of any refrigerated plant-based milk on shelves, with 13g of complete plant protein (50% more than regular dairy milk).” The product also packs 3g of fiber, has half the sugar of regular dairy milk and is formulated without artificial sweeteners.
Silk Protein taps into another trend: weight management. “People are increasingly embarking on weight loss journeys to support overall wellness goals – seeking personalized, nutrient-rich options to maintain muscle and promote gut health,” Goodwin told us. “In fact, one in four people in the US (27%) on a weight loss journey and ~10% of Americans on a GLP-1 medication. Silk Protein is a great example of how we’re meeting consumer demand for nutrient-dense products to help fill gaps in their daily nutrition intake.”
PepsiCo: “Protein is driving a lot of growth”
Beverage and snacking major PepsiCo is set to include more protein, fiber and whole grains across its product categories to bolster the competitiveness and financial performance of its North American arm.
Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO at PepsiCo, Inc., told investors during the group’s Q3 FY25 investor call that the company will do so via three brands: Muscle Milk, Propel and Starbucks.
Muscle Milk is getting a new formulation with cleaner ingredients and updated packaging, with two variants, a 26g Base and a 42g Pro drinks set to land on shelves in the new year.
Starbucks Coffee + Protein – formulated with 100% Arabica coffee and 22g of protein, 5g fiber, minerals, vitamins and 2g of sugar – is positioned into the health and wellness segment; and Propel Clear Protein, a whey powder mix with fiber and electrolytes, targets the functional hydration and GLP-1-friendly space at the same time.
“We always try to leverage as much as we can our existing platforms – it’s cheaper and is a better business decision,” Laguarta said.
“Muscle Milk is a great brand that as we improve the product, will be a great tasting, high levels of protein, good mouth feel and no artificials. It will clearly serve a lot of consumers that are looking for protein drinkable solutions to replace meals or snacks throughout the day It’s a brand that has potential.”
Turning to Propel, the CEO said: “Propel is a great platform: it has a high penetration in female, and it’s been growing at a double-digit CAGR for the last five, six years. It has a lot of credibility in hydration, but I think it can expand into more. This is why we think that we can take it into more of a functional hydration-plus platform with Propel – focused on females, but not only, both in powders and in liquids.
“That will have a multi-year innovation opportunity for us as we see consumers looking for more functional solutions in drinks that are not even available right now in the market.”
General Mills: Focus on pricing and protein
It may have shed its North American yogurt portfolio in one of dairy’s biggest 2025 deals, but General Mills remains interested in driving growth through protein-rich offerings.
The company’s group president of North America Retail and North American PET, Dana McNabb, told investors the company has been reacting to ongoing inflationary pressures impacting consumers: a strategy it will stick to in 2026. “With consumers under significant economic pressure, we’re investing to narrow price gaps on some of our biggest product lines or get under key price cliffs with the goal of addressing price value on about two-thirds of our NAR portfolio,” McNabb said.
And in the firm’s Q2 FY26 update in December 2025, CEO Jeffrey Harmening said strong performance from the likes of protein-fortified cereal and other categories will help the group meet its sales objectives.
“Our first half innovation and renovation news delivered the right combination of product benefits; great taste, convenience and affordability that resonate with consumers and drive results ahead of our expectations, including strong performance from Cheerios Protein, Pillsbury’s Bakes Up Bigger news, Mott’s snack bars and Annie’s Super! Mac. With early success on our lineup of bigger and better new product launches we remain on track to deliver a 25% increase in sales from new products in FY26.”
In the second half of the fiscal year, General Mills will focus on launches in the fastest-growing consumer trends in food, he added, including protein.
“On protein, we’re highlighting 50% more chocolate news and our new line of Nature Valley creamy protein snack bars. We’re introducing new indulgent flavors of our fast-growing Nature Valley protein granola line, which generated Nielsen-measured pound growth of nearly 20% in Q2. We’re expanding availability of our Ghost protein cereal line, and we’ll start to scale up a line of Ghost performance nutrition bars that deliver 20 grams of protein, only 2 grams of sugar.”
And so, the protein bubble keeps on growing – and CPG majors continue to make the most of it.
