Market Conditions - December 24th, 2025
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Greetings!
Here we go again! Just when inflation seems to have abated and consumers have adjusted to the elevated prices in grocery stores and on your menu boards, the Protein world has gone bonkers!
Due these factors as outlined below, costs for Q1 are projected to jump 20-27%! Don’t kill the messenger! That said, don’t jump off the ledge just yet, as always, we are working on solutions to soften the blow.
Key Drivers
Several factors are contributing to the sustained high prices and tight market conditions:
- Surging Demand: Global and domestic demand for sports nutrition products, functional foods, and high-protein diets has grown significantly. The rise of health-conscious consumers and the use of GLP-1 medications (which necessitate muscle-preserving diets) are also driving this trend.
- Supply Constraints: Although new cheese processing plants (which produce whey as a byproduct) are expected to come online between late 2024 and mid-2025, it takes time for these facilities to reach full operational capacity and pass stringent quality checks for specialized products like WPI. Until then, supply remains tight.
- Inventory Shortages: End-users and traders stocked up in late 2023 but have been working through that inventory during 2024 and 2025, resulting in low current stock levels.
- General Inflation and Costs: The overall cost of production has increased due to higher feed and fertilizer costs for dairy farmers, energy-intensive processing, transportation expenses, and general inflation.
- Heifer Shortages: A projected critical shortage of dairy replacement heifers through 2027 is expected to constrain future milk supply, which could keep prices firm in the long term.
Solutions
We’ve always refrained from adding Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) to our Whey Protein formulas because of the additional lactose and fat that is inherently in MPC, MPC is less money because it doesn’t go through the cheese making process.
Many companies add MPC because it’s inexpensive and tastes good, but digestive issues could be the result. We will continue to add digestive enzymes to hopefully negate those effects.
We are presently working on a formula right now that may include as much as 25% MPC. This should help to lessen the blow. Your rep will be in touch with pricing and samples.