“Proteinification”: Why all (even a Kardashian popcorn) has protein now?
Cereal, ice cream, buzzed gas, snickers, donuts, brownies and even sweets.
What seems to be the kind of children’s party table is actually a list of snacks that are now stuffed with protein.
Next week, Khloé Kardashian, reality shows and businesswoman, will add his “Khloud Protein Popcorn” to the list. The popcorn will be launched in three different flavors: white cheddar, olive oil with sea and sweet salt. Each portion will contain 7 grams of protein, derived from the “Khloud Dust” – a mixture of milk proteins and spices, according to a statement from Kardashian company, Khloud Foods.
I want my wallet
“I’ve always been a person who loves and I’m constantly looking for options that are convenient, healthy and really taste,” Kardashian said in a statement sent by email. With Khloud, she added, wanted to create a snack that met these criteria and was “something I would feel good to share with my family and friends.”
The launch of Khloud Popcorn, announced by Kardashian on social networks this week, is aligned with a broader food trend. Experts call this the “proteinification” of snacks, desserts or basically “from everything,” said Jonathan Deutsch, a Drexel University Professor and Specialty Food Association University and Trend Observer, a National Food and Beverage Business Organization. Brands hope to profit from the growing demand of consumers by protein, driven mainly by social networks.
A Cargill trend report, a company that provides and processes ingredients for food manufacturers, showed that 61% of consumers surveyed said they expected to increase their protein intake by 2024, an increase over the 48% they said in 2019. In addition, 63% of consumers reported that they were looking for protein in their snacks by 2024.
The trend is also related to increased use of GLP-1-based weight loss drugs such as Ozepic and Mounjaro, Lisa Young, Nutrition Consultant and Assistant Nutrition Professor at New York University. Users of these medications report not only loss of appetite, but also muscle mass loss, which leads them to try to consume as much protein as possible in small amounts of foods they eat.
However, Young pointed out that even people who use GLP-1 drugs only need a more protein fraction than the recommended amount for an adult, which is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram body weight per day. For those who use these medicines or perform intense training, such as bodybuilding, the ideal is to consume between 1.2 and 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
She also warned that protein -enriched snacks can fit the category of ultra -processed foods whose consumption can aggravate intestinal problems.
From a marketing point of view, Deutsch explained that there are only three macronutrients that the food industry can try to highlight in its new product lines: fat, carbohydrates and protein.
“They won’t launch a ‘popcorn with fat’ and not even an extra carbohydrate popcorn,” he said. “It only leaves a macronutrient, right?”
According to Deutsch, an apple or popcorn “as God did”, or even a glass of water, could be seen as the ideal snacks for most people, as “when you walk around in civil society, do not stumble into people with protein disabilities.”
