With all that proteinmaxxing, younger Americans might seem like a generation that is obsessed with supplements, but new data complicates that picture. Adults under 30 are less likely than other age groups to take supplements for their health, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. 

However, one supplement breaks that pattern: protein. Thirty-seven percent of adults ages 18 to 29 take protein supplements such as powders, drinks, or bars, compared to 23% of Americans 65 and older. This divide raises a bigger question about what taking a “supplement” looks like when protein is also showing up in everyday foods and drinks.

Young Americans may not be abandoning wellness so much as changing how it fits into their everyday lives. 

“We’re seeing a meaningful shift in how younger consumers engage with wellness and functional ingredients,” Scott Dicker, senior director of market insights at consumer data firm SPINS, told Fortune. While older generations have tended to prefer traditional supplement formats such as capsules, tablets, and powders, he said younger consumers are more likely to seek similar benefits through foods and beverages.

“Rather than viewing supplements as a separate health regimen, younger consumers increasingly see function as something that can be incorporated into the products they’re already consuming throughout the day,” Dicker said.

That can blur the line between a supplement and a snack. A multivitamin clearly looks like a supplement, while a protein shake or bar can also fit into a meal or an afternoon snack.

And when it comes to a traditional vitamin cabinet—the age divide is especially stark. Just 48% of adults under 30 take vitamins or minerals, according to Pew, compared to 81% of those 65 and older. Overall supplement use follows a similar pattern: 67% of the youngest adults take at least one, compared with 85% of seniors.

Protein reverses that pattern. A 2025 SPINS study of younger shoppers found that more than half of Gen Z and millennial shoppers surveyed said they follow a high-protein diet. But their interest in these “protein-fortified” foods doesn’t mean they’re giving up powders, drinks, or bars. Dicker said those core protein products are still performing well, even as companies add protein to products such as cereal, pasta, and soda.

“You can’t walk in any aisle in the grocery store without seeing protein-enhanced products,” Dicker told Fortune. 

The protein products different generations want also differ. Older consumers tend to favor foods naturally high in protein, such as yogurt and cottage cheese, while younger consumers gravitate toward products with added protein in categories that traditionally had little of it, such as cereal, Dicker said.

Protein’s age paradox 

But the age divide around protein consumption is somewhat counterintuitive from a nutritional standpoint. While the youngest adults are more likely to consume protein supplements, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important as people get older.

Roger Clemens, a professor at USC’s Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences who has studied nutrition for decades, pointed to sarcopenia—the involuntary loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with age—as one reason protein becomes an important consideration for older adults.

“Protein is quite complicated,” Clemens told Fortune. He said the amount of a nutrient listed on a food or supplement label doesn’t tell consumers the full nutritional picture because how the body absorbs and uses it matters, too.

The Pew findings alone can’t tell us whether the divide is truly generational or partly a product of age. Today’s 22-year-old protein-shake drinker could eventually become tomorrow’s multivitamin buyer as their health needs and routines change. Dicker said protein itself is no longer just for young people trying to build muscle—older consumers are also seeking it to help preserve muscle as they age.

What is already changing is what companies put on shelves. Dicker said the shift is reshaping what supplement makers and food and beverage companies develop, as they increasingly build functional benefits into products consumers already buy.

“For brands, this means meeting consumers where they are,” Dicker said. “Rather than asking consumers to adopt new supplement routines, many companies are embedding functional benefits into products that already fit seamlessly into everyday consumption occasions.”