{"id":906288,"date":"2026-05-16T09:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/from-coffee-to-soda-how-protein-is-making-waves-in-beverage-innovation\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T09:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:26:19","slug":"from-coffee-to-soda-how-protein-is-making-waves-in-beverage-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/from-coffee-to-soda-how-protein-is-making-waves-in-beverage-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"From coffee to soda: How protein is making waves in beverage innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you\u2019re looking for beverage trends, you look to Starbucks. And this year, there\u2019s no doubt: protein has hit the beverage category. <\/p>\n

Last month, the coffee giant launched RTD Starbucks Coffee & Protein in retail: blending Starbucks coffee with 22g of complete protein, 5g of prebiotic fibre, five vitamins, and minerals.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s growing demand for drinks that do more: and protein is a top priority for many American consumers (80% say they prioritise the nutrient in their diet daily). <\/p>\n

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\"Starbucks\"<\/picture><\/div>
Starbucks coffee packs a protein punch (Image: Starbucks)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But it\u2019s not just coffee. Protein is now expanding across the beverage aisle, in many different ways.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s meal replacement drinks, which pack a protein punch. There\u2019s dairy drinks which lean into their protein credentials.<\/p>\n

But the brands gaining the biggest traction in the space are ones that are reinventing how we think of protein. <\/p>\n

Protein: into everyday products<\/h2>\n

Protein is no longer about thick nutritional smoothies for fitness freaks. Innovation is taking protein and putting it into everyday categories where it can reach everyday consumers.<\/p>\n

Protein coffee, for example, takes protein and puts it into a drink millions of people consume every morning. It\u2019s the same for coffee creamers: where protein is increasingly showing up in the functional evolution of the category.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Protein soda<\/a>, for example, is distancing itself from the performance-focused, hard-core gym culture traditionally associated with protein shakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarebells and Koia are great examples,\u201d Betty Kaufman, strategy director at US food and beverage agency, The Culinary Edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth built credibility in protein bars and RTD protein beverages, respectively, and are now extending into soda as a SKU, bringing their trusted brand equity to a new format for alternative protein occasions.\u201d <\/p>\n

Now GLP-1 drugs are adding a new dimension: as consumers\u2019 appetites fade, so does their protein intake. <\/p>\n

That means they\u2019re all the more conscious of where they can get protein: and again, lighter soda choices are far more favourable than heavy dairy drinks.<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo move into protein<\/h2>\n

The big players have been quietly building up their protein portfolios for some time.<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola started backing ultra-filtered milk Fairlife in 2014<\/a>: seeing the potential of the high protein brand. That also included Core Power, a high-protein nutrition shake.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Coca-Cola fully acquired Fairlife for close to $1bn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now ultra-filtered milk<\/a> has become a huge market, not just for Coca-Cola but for a host of other brands in the space. Coca-Cola is investing $650m to expand Fairlife production as the brand sees \u2018significant growth\u2019.<\/p>\n

PepsiCo, meanwhile, has Muscle Milk. And last year, it announced a new push into protein: with the Starbucks coffee protein drinks, a reformulated line of Muscle Milk protein shakes, and new Propel flavoured waters with protein, fiber and electrolytes (not to mention the company\u2019s move into protein snacks with Doritos Protein<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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\"Two<\/picture><\/div>
Doritos Protein (PepsiCo Foods U.S.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Protein is now a huge playground for both big brands and beverage entrepreneurs. <\/p>\n

Big brands like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are helping the category become mass market: while entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries of what protein soda, protein waters or protein coffee can be, and where protein can show up.<\/p>\n

And this two-pronged attack is moving protein firmly into the mainstream aisle.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtein is a phenomenon,\u201d says Danny Stepper, CEO of L.A. Libations and owner of The Beverage Forum<\/a>, where protein will be a key theme of this month\u2019s event. <\/p>\n

\u201cProtein sodas are on the march in the US, and they\u2019re not being positioned in the protein section. They\u2019re right next to Olipop and Poppi in the Modern Soda section<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expect protein to keep popping up in new and surprising categories: and to continue revolutionizing the beverage category.<\/p>\n

Rachel Arthur
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking for beverage trends, you look to Starbucks. And this year, there\u2019s no doubt: protein has hit the beverage category. Last month, the coffee giant launched RTD Starbucks Coffee & Protein in retail: blending Starbucks coffee with 22g of complete protein, 5g of prebiotic fibre, five vitamins, and minerals. There\u2019s growing demand for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":906289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2890,25669],"tags":[8999,9749],"class_list":{"0":"post-906288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-coffee","8":"category-protein","9":"tag-coffee","10":"tag-protein"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}