This is the whey: Relief for gym goers as sky-high protein powder prices now on a downward trend

• Whey protein prices are starting to come down after they shot up in 2020 and 2021.
• A "perfect storm" of factors resulted in the price of whey protein doubling.
• While prices are coming down, they are unlikely to return to the level they were at a few years ago.
• For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.

This is according to Craig Fairweather, the commercial director at Dis-Chem pharmacies, which stocks sports supplement products including whey protein powder.

Fairweather said that it is difficult to measure exactly how much prices increased over the period, as it differed depending on the company. He said it would be fair to say prices increased by at least 50%.

Heinrich Hurter, a sports nutrition and training specialist at USN, a market-leading sports nutrition brand, also said it is difficult to measure, but estimated that the price of whey protein roughly doubled in the span of six to 12 months after lockdown restrictions came into effect.

Protein powder is often used by people who work out as a high protein intake is important for building more muscle. Whey protein powder has an extremely high protein-to-calorie ratio. 

Soaring prices

A variety of factors contributed to the dramatic increase in the price of protein powder over a short period of time.

When the pandemic hit, some whey protein powder manufacturers closed down entirely owing to the lockdown restrictions that were put in place. Other manufacturers prioritised the production of other products owing to a forecasted decrease in demand with many people remaining at home, explained Hurter.

However, the opposite happened and demand for whey protein powder surged as people exercised at home, said Hurter. Prices soared as demand and supply were mismatched.

Whey was also at a natural high point in prices when the pandemic hit. Fairweather said that the price of whey is generally cyclical, where it fluctuates up and down on an 18- to 36-month cycle. 

This cycle is driven by changes in demand and supply, which is dramatically impacted by the demand for baby formula, which “spiked significantly”, during the period.

He said prices were at a high point in that natural cycle as the pandemic hit. 

In addition to this, Fairweather pointed to the supply-chain issues caused by the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war as a factor that pushed the price of the product up.

Furthermore, a significant proportion of whey protein powder in South Africa is imported from the United States, meaning that the weaker rand contributed to making it more expensive to import the product. Fairweather argued that a portion of the increased prices were passed on to consumers in the form of price increases.

Respite

There has been some respite for prices in recent months, said Fairweather and Hurter.

Hurter said that a 2kg container of USN pure whey protein has come down from a high of around R1 200 at most retailers to around R1 000.

“There has been a change, but nothing significant as of yet,” said Hurter. He said USN is expecting another similar decrease in prices in the next six months. 

A Dis-Chem blog post attributed the price drop to a reduction in demand due to the high prices, the cost-of-living crisis, and the rise in the popularity of alternative protein powders such as plant-based proteins.

USN released a protein powder blend that has a combination of whey protein and plant protein, as a way to reduce prices while still selling a quality whey product, said Hurter.

Fairweather said that it is unlikely prices will return to the level they were at a few years ago.

“While it is decreasing, it’s not going back to the point where it was two or three years ago,” said Fairweather, as some of the issues are still persisting and there has been a high rate of food inflation."