Protein products keep rolling

UK supermarket shelves are filling with protein products again, from plant-based powders and vegan steak to granola and chilled meat snacks. (foodmanufacture.co.uk) Plenish, owned by Carlsberg Britvic, is moving beyond nut milks and shots with two pea-protein powders: Madagascan Vanilla and Cocoa & Sea Salt. The powders have 20 grams of protein per serving, use seven ingredients, launch on Plenish’s website on April 20 and on Amazon on April 27 at £45 for 30 servings. (carlsbergbritvic.co.uk) THIS is pushing protein deeper into the meat-free aisle with a plant-based fillet steak that delivers 31 grams of protein per fillet. Tesco began stocking it on April 13, Asda follows on April 22, and Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are due to add it in early May at £7 a pack. (grocerygazette.co.uk) Quaker has expanded its protein breakfast line with a new granola range and a Chocolate Brownie protein porridge. The granola is on sale in Tesco and Morrisons, started rolling into Sainsbury’s on April 9, and is priced at £3.75 for 400 grams, while the new porridge launched on April 6 across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda. (foodbev.com) Hungry Boar has taken its Sticklers meat snacks into Tesco’s chilled aisle with two new five-pack multipacks from April 13. Tesco lists the packs at £4 after the brand’s single sticks were first trialled in the retailer’s crisps and snacks aisles. (kamcity.com) The common pitch is not bodybuilding. Plenish is selling “clean label” pantry protein, Quaker is framing protein as breakfast convenience, THIS is pairing higher protein with a premium meat-free format, and Hungry Boar is turning protein into an everyday snack. (foodmanufacture.co.uk) That push has been building for months in the United Kingdom food industry. Food Manufacture’s trends coverage this month said the European plant-based market reached €16.3 billion, while other industry reporting earlier this year described protein as one of 2026’s biggest food launch themes. (foodmanufacture.co.uk, grocerygazette.co.uk) Retailers are also giving these launches mainstream placement instead of treating them as niche sports nutrition products. Tesco is carrying both Quaker’s new granola and THIS’s new fillet steak, while Plenish is starting online and Amazon before any wider grocery rollout. (tesco.com, grocerygazette.co.uk, foodandbeverage.business) The latest wave shows how broad the protein race has become in UK retail: oats, powders, plant-based centre-of-plate products and meat snacks are all chasing the same shelf-space trend. (foodmanufacture.co.uk)