The world wants more high-protein products, but there's not enough whey to go around

Global consumers want more protein in every bite, but the dairy industry is struggling to give it to them.

Athletes and older adults have long used smoothies and shakes blended with whey protein concentrate – a powdered byproduct of cheese-making – to build or maintain muscle. More recently, food companies have sprinkled it into everything from breakfast cereals, Pop-Tarts and potato chips to bagels, tortillas and Starbucks drinks to meet growing consumer demand.

The average U.S. supermarket now has 38,708 products advertising their protein content, according to NielsenIQ, a market research company. But the eagerness to appeal to ingredient-focused shoppers is causing shortages of food-grade whey protein and pushing prices to new records.

“Demand is very firm and seemingly outpacing supply for right now,” said Kathleen Wolfley, vice president of Ever.Ag Insights, a data provider and consulting company for the agriculture industry.

Wholesale prices for whey protein began rising in 2024, and the pace accelerated last year and so far this year, Wolfley said.

Whey protein concentrate with 80% protein – the type often used by food makers and supplement companies as a booster – is trading on the dairy commodities market at more than $13 per pound in the U.S., up 250% from a year ago, according to Ever.Ag. Whey protein isolate, a more refined vesion that contains at least 90% protein, is 150% more expensive than last year, the company said.

That's raising prices for consumers. U.S. prices for whey protein concentrate powder have increased by around 15% over the past year, while more premium whey isolate powder has seen steeper gains, according to Datasembly, a price-tracking company.

It’s a similar story in Europe. In late May, 80% whey protein concentrate hit a new record average of 26,450 euros ($30,518) per metric ton, a price more than double from less than a year earlier, according to DCA Market Intelligence, a Netherlands-based commodity pricing firm.

Here’s what’s happening with whey protein and when strained supplies might be alleviated.

Milk contains two proteins: casein and whey. During the cheese-making process, the casein – which forms solid curds – is separated from the liquid whey, which is dried to form a powder. Every pound of cheese yields nine pounds of whey, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. milk consumption has fallen for decades as Americans shifted to beverages like sodas. But the appetite for cheese remained strong, Wolfley said. A nation of cheese-eaters generated a lot of whey protein, and some of the excess used to be exported to China and other countries.

The domestic hunger for high-protein snacks and meals is now keeping more whey protein in the U.S. for use as a food additive or a nutritional supplement. U.S. exports of 80% whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate to China fell 47% from January through April compared to the same four-month period a year ago, according to Vesper, an Amsterdam-based company that tracks commodity prices.

“There simply isn’t enough product for the U.S. customer, and exports have therefore been paused as much as possible,” said Jasper Endlich, a Vesper dairy analyst.

China is seeking more whey protein from Europe, which also is seeing shortages thanks to reduced U.S. exports, Endlich said.

Use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is one of the factors that has supercharged demand for whey protein concentrate, Wolfley said.

Obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound are designed to suppress the appetites of people taking them. The foods they do eat need to be nutritionally dense, experts say. GLP-1 users often are advised to consume enough protein to help them feel full for longer and to retain muscle mass as they lose weight.

Around 6% of obese and diabetic patients in the U.S. and 2% of obese and diabetic patients worldwide were using GLP-1 drugs last year, according to an estimate by the investment bank Morgan Stanley. Some estimates have put GLP-1 use as high as 12% of the U.S. adult population, since not everyone on GLP-1 drugs is obese or diabetic.

Food and nutrition companies are creating added-protein products to attract those consumers as well as people who think drinking protein shakes to replace meals will help them lose weight.

Tight supplies and higher costs have caused some manufacturers to increase the prices consumers pay for protein powder or protein-enriched products.

Now Foods, an Illinois-based maker of health foods and nutritional supplements, said tubs of whey protein powder are consistently the biggest seller in its sports nutrition category. But after two years of paying more for raw ingredients, the company raised the price of its own whey protein products earlier this year.

Bryan Morin, the sports brand manager at Now, said the company doesn't anticipate further price increases on whey protein powder this year. It's trying to absorb some of its increased costs by cutting back on discounts. It's also considering expanding its portfolio to include products made with milk protein concentrate, a powder that contains less whey and is cheaper.

“From our perspective, broader market dynamics continue to indicate a tight and evolving protein landscape,” Morin said.

Wolfley, at Ever.Ag, said manufacturers are investing in whey protein production, which should eventually improve supplies. But the relief won't be immediate.

Glanbia, an Irish nutrition company, said in November that it planned to increase its whey protein isolate production in New Mexico, but the additional capacity won't be in place until 2027. In February, Canadian dairy company Agropur said it intended to increase whey protein manufacturing at plants in Quebec, Nova Scotia, South Dakota and Wisconsin by 2029.

In the meantime, higher prices could cause some consumers to stop buying whey protein powders, especially at a time when groceries are getting more expensive overall, Wolfley said. Reduced retail demand might reduce shortages at the wholesale level.

“The supply-demand dynamics could start to improve, but I don’t know if that’s a tomorrow dynamic or within a year. Some of these things are going to take time,” Wolfley said.

Protein products sit for sale at a grocery store, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Protein products sit for sale at a grocery store, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Whey protein sits for sale at a grocery store, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Protein products sit for sale at a grocery store, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump marked his 80th birthday on Sunday by hailing an initial agreement to end the war in Iran and staging a once unfathomable cage-fighting show on the storied South Lawn of the White House.

Trump had been touting the emerging deal for weeks, and last-minute strikes in the conflict had threatened to overshadow the ostentatious UFC mixed martial arts extravaganza — where combatants sealed inside a wire-mesh octagon try to punch, kick, chop and pummel each other into submission.

Hours ahead of the fight starting, however, the president said an agreement to end the conflict “is now complete." He declared that the U.S. will end its blockade of Iran, and that Strait of Hormuz would reopen, potentially easing high oil prices and skittish global markets. But the crucial details are still to be negotiated.

Word of the deal was a prefight present for Trump but his focus quickly shifted to UFC. Top administration officials and Republican leaders attended, including FBI Director Kash Patel and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Polish President Karol Nawrocki was spotted heading into the White House for it, too.

Trump and White walked together from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to survey the Octagon and stood for the National Anthem as fighter jets thundered overhead. The crowd chanted “USA! USA!”

More than 4,000 spectators were invited to a temporary arena under “ The Claw,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lighting, sound equipment and large screens. Thousands more watched on big screens from the nearby Ellipse.

“This event is a one of one event, incredible event. I love it,” said UFC chief Dana White, a close friend of the president, during a Friday night hype session at the Lincoln Memorial where pairs of fighters shoved and scuffled for the cameras under the stoic gaze of Honest Abe’s marble likeness.

The president has sought to tie Sunday’s event to larger, months-long celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But it is much more geared toward feting himself, so much so that the G7 summit for leaders of industrialized nations pushed back their get-together so that the president could attend his cage-match party and then fly straight to France for the meetings.

The weekend hasn’t been all smiles for the president, meanwhile. Crews spent part of the weekend prying the president’s name off the Kennedy Center about a mile from Trump’s birthday bash after a judge ruled naming it after Trump had gone too far.

And, before the fight began, UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland — an outspoken critic of Israel — was escorted out of the Ellipse by a crowd of law enforcement officers, for reasons that weren't immediately clear.

Once a vocal Trump supporter, Strickland recently said on social media that he was not invited to participate in Sunday’s event because of his views on Israel — something UFC denied.

Forecasts also predicted a strong chance of thunderstorms and high winds, which delayed the event's start briefly.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing about the weather,” White declared on Friday, before conceding that he'll prefer to hold future UFC events inside arenas only.

When Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, turned 80 in November 2022, he celebrated with a private family brunch at the White House, laying bare just how much and how quickly things have changed.

Asked about the contrast, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster said that the fight “will be one of the most entertaining nights in American history" and said that the timing was appropriate.

“Having this spectacle take place at the people’s house on Flag Day during our nations’ semiquincentennial anniversary is a fitting tribute,” Schuster said in a statement.

When he turned 80, Biden was the oldest president in U.S. history, and was months away from launching a reelection bid that he would ultimately abandon after a disastrous debate against Trump and mutiny among Democrats concerned he was too old to handle a second term.

Trump has now supplanted Biden as the oldest person to be elected U.S. president. He’s constitutionally barred from running again, yet constantly toys with the notion publicly. That’s despite polls showing rising public skepticism about Trump’s mental and physical health — recalling concerns Biden faced as he turned 80.

A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.

The White House countered with a lengthy statement from Trump's former White House physician, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, saying Trump's “stamina, focus, and strength are exceptional and on display every day. Claims to the contrary are pure fiction.” Jackson added that polling concerns were “being propagated by the same biased, liberal, Trump-hating press that completely ignored the absolute cognitive and physical disaster that was President Biden.”

The UFC is an apt metaphor for Trump's pugilistic political style. He is as big a fan of cage-match-style politics as he is of cage-fighting itself.

But Trump has also long been a master of political misdirection, purposely presenting people with something other than his presidency to focus on when things aren’t going well.

With the war in Iran grinding on before Sunday's announcement — even during weeks of assurances from Trump that its end is nigh — gas prices skyrocketed. Renewed concerns about inflation and plummeting job approval ratings for Trump helped ensure that a White House birthday party unlike anything America has ever seen is definitely a diversion.

“This is all distraction,” said Mike Fontaine, a classics professor at Cornell University, who likened it to the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome, when combatants brutalized each other for public entertainment meant to bolster rulers’ popularity and quell potential unrest.

“This is a classic strategy," Fontaine said. “In ancient Rome, the phrase would be, ‘bread and circuses.’”

Trump says the UFC is paying for the event and while its full costs haven't been divulged, the National Park Service said in a court filing that $60-plus million and tens of thousands of hours of labor went into it, while seven government agencies have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”

UFC also announced that it was adding as an official partner for the event World Liberty Financial to create a special $250,000 athlete bonus pool for Sunday night’s winners. The cryptocurrency company is co-owned by the Trump family, founded with the president’s special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff and run by his son, Zach.

The arrangement further blurs lines between the Trump family's financial interests and the events and construction projects the president has prioritized and used government resources to pull off.

Still, Fontaine said that when it comes to a personal flair for pageantry, the president’s second-term tendency to lean into “hardcore masculinity and brute fighting” is marrying the UFC's blood sport with Trump's trademark humor and enduring sense of showmanship.

“President Trump has a once-in-a-generation talent for this stuff,” he said.

Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.

The arena is seen on the South Lawn of the White House from the Washington Monument ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump and Dana White, UFC president and CEO, arrive for UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Light shine at the UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People are seen on the roof of the White House prior to the UFC Freedom 250 fights taking place on the South Lawn in Washington, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Army soldiers hold a grappling demonstration during the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest on The Ellipse ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool Photo via AP)

The arena is seen on the South Lawn of the White House from the Washington Monument ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

Diego Lopes participates in the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump is pictured during an event where he signs a proclamation about the fishing industry, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Security at the White House looks through a pair of binoculars during the UFC Fan Fest on the White House Ellipse ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

UFC fighter Alex Pereira attends a UFC news conference at the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Kai Trump, left, and UFC President and CEO Dana White looks on before a Motorsports athlete and stunt performer does a motorcycle jump ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Motorsports athletes and stunt performers do a motorcycle jump ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

A motor sports athlete and stunt performer does a motorcycle jump ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House is photographed Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)