For years food businesses have made protein the focus of health innovation and marketing but there are signs of a shift in focus towards a key, but under-consumed nutrient.
Spend a few minutes scanning the packaging in a supermarket or high street food outlet and there’s a fair chance you’ll see the word protein staring back at you.
Yoghurts, cheeses, drinks, puddings, cereal bars, ice creams, baked goods, even pasta (Tesco sells a “high protein penne”) – no single nutrition trend has done more over the past decade to shape the way food is marketed to us on shelf and at the point of service in out of home settings.
The protein trend is an example of what can happen when nutrition and marketing collide. Yet this is less a story about tackling under-nutrition and more about how brands have seized upon an opportunity to align with popular lifestyle trends – fitness, sport, endurance, satiety – to drive new revenue streams within mature product categories.
The truth is we eat more than enough protein already. “The UK does not have issues with protein deficiency at a population level,” noted The Food Foundation in its recent ‘Meat Facts’ report, citing data from the British Nutrition Foundation showing UK adults on average eat 50% more protein than is recommended by dietary guidelines.
If marketers can turn protein into a national obsession can they do the same for a nutrient that we really do need to eat more of – fibre?
The government’s latest update to the national diet and nutrition survey showed just 4% of adults and 4% of 11-18 year olds met the target to consume at least 30g and 25g per day respectively of fibre.
This statistic should worry us all. Not only is fibre good for digestion and gut health, it has also been linked with lower risk of serious health conditions like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.
Yet if you were to spend a few minutes scanning shelves for the word fibre you would understand why, for many of us, it is still mostly associated with a box of Shredded Wheat or a loaf of wholemeal bread. Fibre rarely features in product marketing, despite high-fibre foods being some of the heathiest and most sustainable you can put in your basket. Fruit and vegetables like apples, broccoli and sweet potato can be an excellent source of fibre. So too are pulses like beans, lentils and chickpeas.
‘Fibremaxxing’
There are promising signs that fibre is starting to get the protein treatment. Some social media influencers – a group that has been key to amplifying the protein trend – are now turning their attention to its underappreciated sibling. An emerging food trend on TikTok is for “fibremaxxing” where (wannabee) influencers demonstrate, in their characteristically restrained way, how to cram your meals full of fibre-rich ingredients.
This week, The Food Foundation announced it has joined forces with Veg Power and Kent University Students’ Union for a campaign that aims to double UK bean consumption by 2028. Funded by The National Lottery’s community fund, the project will see the organisations work across the food system – from retailers and manufacturers to restaurant chains and caterers – to get people eating more beans.
Brands are also starting to latch on to the value in talking up their fibre credentials. The Bold Bean Company, whose range of premium beans is now listed by retailers including Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado, frequently references the 35g serving of fibre in each 570g jar. “Let me introduce you to….THE BEANOTTO,” wrote founder Amelia Christie-Miller in a recent LinkedIn post. “It’s our most popular recipe style, where essentially you replace risotto rice for beans,” she explained, adding that it provides an opportunity for “upping your fibre intake by 600%”.
Celebrity chefs are getting in on the act too. “The average Brit is majorly deficient in fibre every day,” said Jamie Oliver in a recent interview with The Times in which he described the country’s protein obsession as “bonkers.”
Structural shift
Capturing the public’s attention is a good start, but for fibre consumption to increase significantly it will require structural change in how food is manufactured and sold. Here too there are signs of progress. The discount grocery retailer Lidl recently launched a new ‘Live Well’ bean logo that will signpost products that support a sustainable diet. The bean will be displayed on packaging to highlight food that meets strict nutrition and sustainability criteria, including that the product must be a source of fibre.
Some brands within the eating out of home sector are targeting fibre within their product innovation. Pret A Manger recently launched “Super Plates”, a premium salad range aimed at meeting growing demand for larger, nutrient-rich lunch options. These include a vegan butternut mezze plate with up to 18g of fibre.
New additions to Wagamama’s summer menu included konjac noodles, a high-fibre, low-calorie noodle alternative served with a choice of chicken thigh, flaky hoki fish or king oyster mushroom.
Contract caterers are arguably leading the charge to boost fibre by increasing the volume of vegetables and legumes on their menus. Compass Group UK & Ireland’s latest annual nutrition update showed it increased fibre by 648,223g across over 200,000 meals sold every year in its business and industry sector as part of a project to reformulate meals to reduce animal protein. The caterer says it considers fibre to be a key factor in its health and wellbeing approach. “We are continuing our focus on increasing the availability of fibre rich foods; this is collaborative work with our chefs and nutritionists,” says Nicky Martin, director of nutrition for Compass Group UK & Ireland.
Pasta regret
These are all positive signs, however we should be cautious before rushing to acclaim fibre as the new nutrient king. The protein trend is far from finished. Even Pret’s Super Plates range is built around core chicken and salmon variants boasting between 36g and 49g of protein (the recommended daily amount of protein for a healthy adult is 0.75g per kg of body weight).
Cast an eye over the pasta selection in supermarkets and you’ll see that white pasta still dominates the category, as it does rice and noodles. Speaking at the Groundswell Festival 2024, Henry Dimbleby said the thing he most regretted not putting in his food strategy was a recommendation for retailers to stock and promote 50/50 pasta (half wholegrain, half white), which is the norm in countries like Singapore. “Fibre is the biggest thing we’re all missing [from our diets],” he said.
Political and industry influencers like Dimbleby and Oliver will have a key role to play in pushing fibre to the top of the nutrient pecking order and ensuring it stays there. Speaking in a recent interview with the food systems discussion network, Table, Chris Mitchell, co-founder alongside Dimbleby of Bramble Partners, an impact investor and advisory firm for food systems, explained how the business is organised around four themes including ‘Food for Life’. “That is really about the protein transition, reformulation, advances in metabolic and biome science, and making foods that are full of fibre and micronutrients far more desirable,” said Mitchell.
“The problem is that we haven’t had the marketing, the branding and the sophistication for spinach and broccoli and beans and nuts and seeds. But we are starting to see it.”
That much is true. But as the government’s nutrition data starkly illustrates, fibre has a long way to go before it usurps protein as the nutritional trend du jour.
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For years food businesses have made protein the focus of health innovation and marketing but there are signs of a shift in focus towards a key, but under-consumed nutrient
