Amarpreet Singh has been drinking protein shakes since he was 16. The 30-year-old, who lives in London and works in banking, started going to the gym at a time when he says protein supplements were mostly associated with bodybuilders. Fourteen years later, shakes are still part of his routine, but they have become considerably more expensive.
He says a 4.5kg bag of the whey protein he buys cost around £60 in 2020. By last year, the price had gone up to £120, though he managed to get one from eBay for £90. Among his gym friends, the rising prices have even been given a nickname – "proteinflation".
Over the years, protein powders and shakes have attracted a much broader customer base, while food manufacturers now offer high-protein versions of everything from bagels to water. Evie Lewis is a more recent buyer of protein powder. The 19-year-old University of Manchester student began using it a few months ago because she felt she wasn't getting enough protein in her diet.
"You hear a lot more about protein now on social media," she says. But at £32.99 for a 420g tub, she's feeling the high price and tries to make the product stretch. "I've been rationing it and using less than what's suggested," she admits.
Max Longman, 32, from Manchester, works in real estate and has been taking protein supplements for 10 years, originally to help him gain weight. He now drinks a protein shake every day and says his monthly spending on whey protein has risen from around £45 a year ago to £60 now. "Loads of foods have protein added to them now.
Up until a few years ago, I'd never heard of high-protein yoghurt, and now I eat it three or four times a week," he says. More recently, weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have added another source of demand. People taking these drugs typically eat less, and are often encouraged to make sure they get enough protein while losing weight to help preserve muscle.
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