Health-conscious Gen Z consumers and Ozempic users looking to maintain muscle mass are expanding past protein powders, pushing the packaged-food industry to pack every food with protein—and the trend is just getting started.
With the fortified-protein market set to hit more than $100 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research, Big Food is diving into a category previously defined by more specialized brands. The global market size for protein-fortified food products was about $67 billion in 2023. Its latest entrant: Pop-Tarts, the toaster-ready icing-covered pastries produced by Kellogg’s since 1964 (and now owned by spinoff Kellanova).
The company is releasing Pop-Tarts Protein starting in early November, Bloomberg reported, with the goal of catering to consumers who want to consume more protein without giving up their favorite snacks. But the company is not stopping there, K.T. Mccann, vice president of research and development and innovation for Kellanova North America, told Bloomberg.
“There’s probably more to come around protein, and not just from us, but across the board,” she said. “It’s going to keep coming.”
The new Pop-Tarts will have 10 grams of protein per serving in different flavors such as brown sugar cinnamon, strawberry, and blueberry. The filling, as well as the sprinkles and the frosting, will remain the same. The difference lies with the dough, which may have “a bit of a toasty flavor,” Mccann told Bloomberg. Pop-Tarts Protein will cost slightly more than their counterparts at $3.99, compared with $3.49 for the regular version.
“A Pop-Tart is a bit of a treat,” Mcann said. “The opportunity for us was to bring a little bit of protein to something they already love.”
The company already offers protein-enhanced Eggo waffles, which it launched in May 2024. The potential market for its new Pop-Tarts Protein could be large. Kellanova sold just under 3 billion Pop-Tarts in 2023, Bloomberg reported. Kellanova’s snack category, which includes Pop-Tarts, is its largest moneymaker—accounting for about $8 billion of its total $13.1 billion in net sales for 2023.
Kellanova’s foray into protein-reinforced snacks comes as the category has exploded in recent years as consumer preferences have shifted. Food giant PepsiCo also teased protein-packed Doritos earlier this month. Other recent protein product drops include new lattes from Starbucks and protein-rich French toast sticks from Kroger.
While Mccann noted smaller companies can be “nimble and fast,” Kellanova is moving quickly to adapt, she said. It may be moving just in time: The nonprofit International Food Information Council found in July that 70% of Americans said they are trying to consume more protein, compared with 59% in 2022.
“The demand for protein in everyday foods continues to grow, and we have significant expertise in this area. With Pop-Tarts Protein, we tapped into over 60 years of brand recipe expertise and our growing knowledge of protein innovation across our network to create something that delivers on taste,” said Mccann in a statement to Fortune. “The future of snacking is exciting and evolving, and as snacks show up in more moments throughout the day, we see huge potential to bring functional ingredients like protein and fiber into new formats people already love.”
