Jack Hem, Account Manager Food at ACI Group, explains how smaller players are winning big
In the protein market jungle, both established titans and adaptable newcomers are finding their own paths to thrive. While global powerhouses bring scale and stability to the ecosystem, a new generation of agile food and drink brands proves that in today’s marketplace, evolutionary advantage often belongs to those who can pivot fastest.
The challenger’s advantage
What makes these challenger brands so effective? The answer lies not in their resources but in their mindset. As Eatbigfish founder Alan Morgan, who coined the term in 1999, notes: “Being a challenger brand is about having business ambitions that are bigger than your resources and being willing to do something bold to fill that gap“.
At ACI Group, we’ve seen this continually play out in the food and drink market. While larger companies bring valuable expertise, research capabilities and market access, the most successful challenger brands in the protein space add something unique by challenging fundamental aspects of the category itself. They’re questioning how consumers experience protein products, the culture surrounding protein consumption, and even broader cultural norms about nutrition and sustainability. This is an approach that the large multinationals, typically slower to react on account of many complex moving parts, just cannot match.
Values-driven innovation
Today’s protein market is increasingly values-driven, with consumers seeking out products that align with their ethical, environmental, and health priorities. While established brands invest significantly in sustainable initiatives and can leverage their scale for meaningful impact, smaller challengers dart nimbly through the market, often built from the ground up with these values at their core.
The rise in plant-based products high in protein is a great example, driven by the consumers’ desire to be healthier, reduce environmental impact, and behave ethically towards animals. These motivations have sparked a burst of new product development across categories, from dairy alternatives and high-protein snacks to meat substitutes and functional beverages.
What’s particularly impressive is how challenger brands have responded to these shifts with extraordinary speed. While larger food and drink corporations might spend years honing and perfecting a formulation, and that’s certainly an advantage, these nimble newcomers are able to iterate rapidly, learning from the market in real-time and adapting their offerings accordingly.
Responding to consumer demands
One thing that’s intriguing about today’s protein landscape is the sophisticated understanding challenger brands have of consumer needs. They recognise that consumers aren’t just looking for protein, they’re seeking ‘protein plus’. This means building specific added benefits on top, such as digestibility, allergen-free formulations, and versatile application in familiar formats.
As those of us that remember the sparse plant-based protein market of the 1980s will attest, high-protein plant-based products historically struggled to meet stringent taste demands, particularly around texture and mouthfeel. It’s not until more recent years that this has really turned around and while a small segment of consumers might compromise taste for health benefits, most will not. Challenger brands have recognised this reality and focused intensely on solving these formulation challenges rather than expecting consumers to compromise.
Meet the protein frontrunners
At ACI Group, we’ve helped innovative challengers access premium protein ingredients that enable them to stand out in a crowded and often noisy marketplace. Pea protein and soy protein are just two examples of how the right ingredient choices help brands outmanoeuvre larger competitors.
Pea protein has become a challenger brand favourite due to its non-allergenic profile and impressive versatility. The isolated pea protein we supply at ACI Group delivers 83% protein content, perfect for high-protein beverages, desserts, and baked goods. What makes pea protein particularly valuable to challenger brands is its chameleon-like adaptability – from fine powders for smooth-blending drinks to crunchy nuggets with 70% protein content for snack bars. Its sustainability credentials are equally impressive. Producing 100g of protein from peas emits just 0.4kg of CO2e, nearly 90 times less than equivalent beef protein. For brands differentiating themselves through sustainability initiatives, this makes pea protein extremely attractive.
Meanwhile, challenger brands are also finding creative ways to use the more established soy protein. Our isolated soy protein at 90% purity offers exceptional functionality – whether enhancing protein bar recipes, creating instantly dispersible protein for beverages, or boosting the nutritional profile of baked goods and snacks. Soy protein’s ability to form a gel after heating positively impacts texture and shape, binds fat and water, improves sensory properties, extends shelf life, and regulates viscosity. Some of the most exciting challenger brands leverage these properties to solve formulation challenges that larger brands often address with complex ingredient combinations.
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Media contact
Joseph Clarke
Editor, International Bakery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920
Email: editor@in-bakery.com
