ANDREW P. CROFTS
FMCG Gurus, London, United Kingdom

Abstract

Protein has always been seen as a significant part of a healthy diet, but with advances in nutritional science, our perception of it has changed. As this has happened, product marketing has also influenced public understanding of the impact it can have on our health and wellbeing, which in turn has led to changes in consumer attitudes and purchasing habits. Understanding these attitudes – and examining the beliefs that underpin them – is key to positioning products to capitalise on these new desires.

Protein has long been seen as a vital building block of people’s diet, essential for muscle growth and beloved of gym-goers and athletes. Despite this, there are changing attitudes to protein: as nutritional science and awareness improves, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the effect that diet can have on their health and well-being, and this includes the role of protein as an integral factor for healthy living. Not only is awareness of the effect of protein increasing, but also the ways in which people consume it is changing, with consumers increasingly influenced by the idea of meat free or flexitarian – reduced meat – diets. Changing consumer attitudes to protein could significantly affect purchasing habits, and it is important to understand this going forward.

As consumers have become more aware of the links between nutrition and health, purchasing and consumption habits have changed. Increasingly, consumers are moving away from certain ingredients and towards others. In particular, consumers are switching to high-protein options, as can be seen in recent research from FMCG Gurus. Looking at insights into active nutrition (1) it can be ...