Whey Protein Prices Nearly Double as Cheese Output Limits Supply

Whey protein prices have nearly doubled since late 2024, rising from $7 per pound to $12 per pound for the ingredient used in David Protein bars. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows the cost of high-protein whey concentrate jumped 40 percent over the past few months, and some suppliers have sold out of the product.

Peter Rahal, founder and CEO of David Protein, attributed the increase to sustained consumer demand for higher protein intake. “I don’t see it slowing down necessarily because people are trying to get more protein to look better,” Rahal said.

U.S. Population has taken a GLP-1 drug, and the Department of Health and Human Services revised its Dietary Guidelines for Americans to emphasize protein-heavy foods such as red meat and full-fat dairy. Ag Insights, said demand has grown substantially in recent years and is driven in part by wellness trends.

HelloAmino, a Canadian company that sells gluten-free cake and beverage mixes, lost its previous whey supplier after receiving a five-week backorder and then being cut off entirely.

The company spent months reformulating recipes and discontinued some inventory. HelloAmino raised prices about 10 percent while absorbing part of the cost increase. Swift noted that Starbucks’s launch of protein beverages late last year produced back orders the company had never seen before.

“All of a sudden, we had back orders we’ve never seen before,” she said. Because whey is a byproduct of cheese production, increasing output requires higher cheese demand, which is expected to slow. “Just producing more whey without producing more cheese, and that would destroy the cheese industry,” Swift said.

“It’s really unlike any shortage that you normally see in the food sector, in my opinion, because of that fact. ” David Protein has chosen to maintain its current formulation and absorb the higher costs rather than switch ingredients. Rahal said the company’s strategy is “just, like, survive versus changing anything” and that altering the product risks harming its appeal.