Price gets in the whey of Indians’ daily protein fix
International whey protein concentrate prices are decreasing, but Indian prices have not softened significantly. Demand for protein supplements is growing in India, driven by heightened consumer awareness. Retail prices for whey concentrate remain...
New Delhi: After an extraordinary rally running into multiple years, international whey protein concentrate (WPC80) prices have started falling. However, Indian prices have yet to soften, much to the disappointment of protein enthusiasts.
According to dairy market intelligence firm Vesper, European WPC80 prices have fallen to €16,000-17,000 per tonne, as producers release inventory, buyers postpone purchases and food manufacturers reconsider expensive formulations.
WPC80 refers to whey protein concentrate containing about 80% protein, which is widely used to make protein powders and other nutrition products.
The US market is also cooling. WPC80 in the US fell to about $20.30 per kg by October 21 from around $28.70 per kg at the summer peak, according to Vesper data. However, they remained considerably higher than the $12.60 per kg recorded a year earlier.
In India, meanwhile, whey concentrate prices, which were 700-800 per kg until 2024, remain high at 2,000-2,300 per kg, according to industry estimates.
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Retail prices of supplements have surged, with some domestic products now costing upwards of `4,500 per kg.
As more Indians add protein to the diet, demand is putting pressure on supplies. Combined with tight existing inventories, import contract commitments, freight charges, duties and currency fluctuations, retail prices stay elevated.
Despite producing nearly a quarter of the world’s milk, India imports up to 90% of its supplement-grade whey.
“India has abundant milk production, but greater investments in cheese manufacturing and whey processing infrastructure will be essential if we want to meet future demand through domestic value addition. As protein consumption grows, strengthening local capacity will become increasingly important,” he said.
“Post-pandemic, we have seen greater awareness and, more importantly, because of quick commerce, consumers can now get easy access to protein supplements,” said Vijayraghavan Venugopalan, cofounder and chief executive of Fast&UP. “Earlier, these products were niche and popular amongst bodybuilders. But now everyone knows the importance of proteins.”
For years, protein supplements were once mainly used by people who worked out at gyms and wanted to build muscles.
