The increasing demand for protein is being reflected across the food supply chain, as food companies rush to meet it.
Consumers can now buy highly processed foods like Doritos, waffles and Pop Tarts with added protein, but the main beneficiaries are whole protein foods such as milk, meat and plant-based foods with high protein like tofu.
WHY IT MATTERS: Consumer trends create differentiation opportunities for market growth, but can be challenging to meet quickly, such as in the case of milk.
“It’s not just dairy products that are high in protein, it’s foods that are getting protein added to it,” said Graeme Crosbie, a senior economist with Farm Credit Canada at the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s 2026 annual meeting in Toronto.
The protein effect is showing up across the food supply chain, with massive growth for cottage cheese, and continued rising demand for chicken, and to a lesser extent pork and beef.
Canadian chicken farmers are struggling to increase supply enough to meet demand, and dairy farmers across the country are preparing to manage changes in milk prices, which encourage increased protein production.
There’s been a 14 per cent increase in the past year in Canadian consumers looking at packaging for protein, said Carman Allison, of NielsenIQ, a consumer trends research company. Allison talked about food trends at DFO’s meeting.
Products with protein have seen double digital growth.
“If your product has this, make the claim on the packaging, because this is going to count to the eyes of consumers,” he said.
Higher protein diets are popular, as there’s more public awareness of the need for protein and its ability to satiate hunger, as people try to cut out sugars and calories.
The arrival of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic has also driven up demand for protein, as people seek out nutrient-dense foods to consume when their desire to eat has been lessened by the drug.
Cottage cheese is the latest dairy product to have a resurgence, up 32 per cent in sales by volume year over year.
“It’s incredible how many times this conversation around cottage cheese comes up.”
Carman Allison
NielsenIQ
But the growth in cottage cheese makes some sense, he said. It’s a way to add protein to meals. It can be mixed with eggs to make them fluffier. It can be stirred and melted into pasta dishes to make them creamier and increase the protein. Add it to tomato soup and it’s a higher protein option that can be less expensive than buying meat.
Yogurt, eggnog and shakes, deli cheese and whipping cream all showed significant volume increases in 2025.
“In the short to medium term, there appears to be some real positive growth opportunities,” said Crosbie, questioning how long the trend will continue. He said the continued increased demand for butter and other high-fat dairy products over the past five years makes him optimistic.
Plant-based protein gets a bump too
Protein-dense, plant-based products that are familiar are also seeing increased sales, such as tofu. Plant-based beverages continue to decline as a competitor to milk.
Almond, oat, cashew and rice beverages all showed significant declines in the past year, although soy-based beverages are up, likely due to their higher protein levels.
Sales of soy-based cheeses have also declined, which Allison attributed to their inability to be used like cheese. They don’t melt well.
Plant-based replacements for animal products are highly processed, and that’s not popular.
“A lot of consumers are looking for natural, and that’s obviously one of the advantages you have in this category,” said Allison.
Tying many of the trends together is the rise in protein demand, which is being driven by a complex mix of perceptions, research and weight-loss drugs.
The GLP-1 drugs are being widely used. Allison said research in the United States pegged it at around 25 per cent of the population. NielsenIQ showed about 15 per cent of the population in Canada uses a GLP-1, but he also said that their research shows that many people go on and then go off the drug because of the side effects, or because they were losing weight for a specific reason or event.
GLP-1 drugs reduce body fat, but also muscle and that’s a concern, especially in older people. Increasing protein consumption is part of managing muscle loss. Allison says there could be overall decreases in demand for some foods if enough people are eating less due to the GLP-1 drugs.
Buying local and Canadian is holding
Allison said there’s some softening in the hard-core buy Canadian demographic, but the majority of Canadians continue to not just say, but choose more Canadian products in grocery stores.
Canadian retailers have responded by including more Canadian food on their shelves.
“Yes, we’ve seen a little bit of softness and sentiment, but consumers are still voting with their wallets,” he said.
Overall, Allison said dairy product sales are forecast to grow this year by one to two per cent. Growth in the past few years has been driven by population increases in Canada. However, recent caps on immigration resulted in a population decline in late 2025, which could negatively affect dairy product demand in the near future.
The post Cottage cheese, chicken lead charge in multi-billion-dollar protein boom appeared first on Farmtario.
