A boring food just got interesting 👀

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Read time today: 2:46 min

Hi friend,

It’s Friday morning. You are reading VITAMIN C 🍋.

The internet produced 5M+ posts about food business and food innovation this week.

Here are the 5 thoughts worth your time.

One small update: based on your feedback, I've simplified the newsletter structure.

From now on every edition runs 1 science/report, 3 food business insights, 1 inspiration or fun.

So: 1–3–1. Easy to remember.

Here we go:

Google searches for "protein" hit an all-time global high in the last months.

But wanting more protein doesn't mean wanting protein in everything.

The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital surveyed 3,000 US consumers and mapped 18 food and beverage categories across two axes: how natural does protein feel here, and how interested are you in trying it?

The results are clear in the extremes.

↳ Snack bars, milk, pasta, cereal: natural fit, high interest.

↳ Beer, RTD cocktails: feels unnatural, low interest. Not a market.

The real challenge is the middle, chocolate, chips, coffee, water. They are not rejected, but also not embraced. And protein water and coffee aren't even lukewarm: They're polarizing. Equal numbers love and hate the idea.

That's where brand-building actually matters. Taste, texture, pricing, communication.

Check out the full consumer trends survey here.

In January this year Danone launched their meal replacement drink, Alpro Meal To Go.

But still, they just paid €1Bn for the meal replacement company Huel.

Why?

Huel spent a decade building a community of people who identify with the brand. And they've built direct-to-consumer excellence.

The strategic implication is clear:

↳ Large food companies can formulate anything in six months

↳ They cannot replicate a decade of community building and brand trust

Curious to see which nutrition categories will see the next big acquisitions. My guess: Longevity and Gut health.

Check out the full story here.

In New York, cafes are serving bone broth like coffee. Warm cup, daily ritual.

Last time I was in the US, there was mushroom coffee everywhere. Now it seems to be bone broth.

The category still has only few established players so far, like Brodo Broth Co.

Their communication right now is still focuses on the keto crowd, the biohackers, the very online wellness obsessives.

That's where I see potential.

The mass consumer doesn't want a product that sounds clinical. They want something that fits their life, looks good on a counter, and doesn't come with an ingredient list that reads like a chemistry exam.

Bone broth with modern branding, clean positioning, and a protein story feels like a wide-open space right now. Ideally with vegan alternatives as well.

As a kid, I hated cottage cheese. White, grainy, somehow sad.

Today, young adults can't get enough of it.

On social media it's going into pasta sauce, pizza crusts, brownies, and pancakes.

Why?

They stopped asking if it tastes good. They started asking how much protein it has. The answer: 14 grams per half cup, low fat and low sugar.

Private equity firm L Catterton just paid $500M+ for a majority stake in Good Culture, a high-protein, probiotic cottage cheese brand. That's not a niche bet.

The numbers back it up: 20% revenue growth in 2025 (Circana) and a global market potential of $149B by 2030 (DataM Intelligence).

↳ Takeaway for food professionals: The product didn't change. The narrative did.

The world's most listened-to health podcaster Andrew Huberman was a writer for a skateboarding magazine.

So if you're sitting on a food idea thinking you're not qualified enough, you know what to do.

Stay awesome,
Lia

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