For years, protein has dominated the nutrition spotlight for years, appearing on everything from breakfast cereals to beverages. Mintel’s GNPD reveals that the percentage of global food and drink products with a high or added protein claim has doubled in the past ten years (client-access only), whereas high or added fiber claims have remained relatively flat.
While protein consumption gets plenty of encouragement from brands and health experts alike, fiber intake remains disappointingly low across most populations. Fiber plays a crucial role in our health, but protein’s super status often overshadows it.
Yet, when looking at a healthy diet, it is not a question of protein vs fiber. In reality, a healthy diet includes a balance of protein and fiber. It is not one superfood vs another; think of them more as a dynamic duo, like Superman and Clark Kent.
Fiber vs. Protein: The Bran and the Brawn explained
Protein is like Superman — powerful, action-oriented, and always ready to build and repair. Just as Superman swoops in to save the day, protein steps in to build muscles, repair tissues, and support your immune system. Protein is the hero your body calls on when strength and recovery are needed.
Fiber, on the other hand, is like Clark Kent — quiet, mild-mannered, almost unassuming, but absolutely essential. Clark Kent keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes, just like fiber supports digestion, regulates blood sugar, and keeps your gut healthy. Fiber is the less flashy persona; you might not notice it but if it is missing, you feel its impact.
Fiber and Clark Kent both play important but overlooked roles. Clark Kent gives Superman much needed balance. Just as it is not safe to be Superman all the time, it is not safe to eat only protein. Consumers, like superheroes, need to balance to be healthy. We need both the bran and brawn.
Why Protein Became the Superhero Nutrient
Protein’s clear, versatile, and trendy positioning—combined with tangible benefits and appealing product formats—makes it an easier sell than fiber, which struggles with perception and education. Protein represents power and vitality whereas fiber represents order and dependability, ensuring balance and regularity.
Protein earned its reputation by delivering clear, measurable benefits that consumers could understand and experience. Its core advantages—muscle building, satiety, and recovery support—translated easily into marketing messages that resonated with health-conscious shoppers. The protein trend succeeded because it addressed visible concerns like weight management and fitness goals. Brands capitalized on this by adding protein to unexpected categories, from snacks to beverages, creating a multi-billion dollar market around this single nutrient.
This protein-first mindset has led to missed opportunities for fiber, despite a significant global fiber gap and its well-established health benefits. Many consumers are not actively seeking fiber, sometimes due to perceptions of taste or digestive discomfort, even though certain fibers can be both palatable and easy to digest.
Fiber-Focused Future: What Are the Challenges
Fiber faces several marketing hurdles that explain its slow adoption:
- Less Tangible Benefits: While fiber is linked to digestive health and satiety, these benefits are less immediate or visible than those of protein. Fiber’s effects are often long-term and less “felt” by consumers, making the benefits harder to market compellingly.
- Perception Issues: Fiber is sometimes associated with bland or unappetizing foods, and some consumers worry about digestive discomfort. These perceptions can make fiber-rich products less appealing.
- Knowledge Gap: There is a significant consumer knowledge gap about the different types of fiber and their health benefits. This makes it harder for brands to communicate fiber’s value in a way that resonates broadly.
As the protein trend continues to expand, the next phase has space for fiber to join in. A shift toward more holistic health-conscious model, balanced nutrition creates new opportunities for fiber to tap into the wellness movement by emphasizing its complementary benefits. Brands will increasingly highlight fiber’s role in satiety, digestive health, and blood sugar control, especially as consumers become more aware of the benefits of fibers.
Fiber: A Mild-Mannered Hero
Most people consume far less than the recommended 25-30 grams of dietary fiber per day, creating a genuine nutritional gap that needs addressing. Unlike protein, which many consumers already get adequate amounts of, fiber deficiency represents a legitimate health concern with real consequences.
Will “Fibermaxxing” finally make fiber trendy?
The TikTok trend “Fibermaxxing” is a health-focused movement that encourages people to increase their daily fiber intake intentionally, often in creative and visually appealing ways. TikTokers are sharing recipes, meal preps, and fiber hacks to help others hit their fiber goals, some of them aiming for 30-40g of fiber per day. To increase fiber intakes, consumers are adding more fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seeds, and nuts to meals while also focusing on plant diversity, color, and texture.
A high fiber diet does have health benefits, especially for gut health, blood sugar control and weight management, but increasing fiber intake too quickly can lead to negative side effects. Rapidly increasing fiber can cause bloating, gas, cramping, and constipation—especially if water intake is low. Excessive fiber may interfere with the absorption of key nutrients like iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, especially if fiber displaces other nutrient-rich foods.
Encourage a healthy relationship with fiber
As consumers learn more about fiber, they’ll need help and advice on how to Help consumers gradually increase their fiber intake over time, such as increasing 5g of fiber per week and encourage healthy hydration to help move fiber through the digestive system. Many US consumers are actively focusing on hydration, with 39% reporting that they are concentrating more on hydration compared to last year.
As consumers learn more about fiber in general, they will need more help understanding the different types of fiber and their benefits. Soluble fiber helps regulate blood sugar and lower cholesterol whereas insoluble fiber promotes regular bowel movements and supports colon health. Some fibers also have a prebiotic effect, which means beneficial gut bacteria can ferment it.
The Future of Fiber in Food Products
Expect to see fiber follow protein’s path as the next “must-have” nutrient in better-for-you products. Fiber addresses broader health concerns that protein cannot. It supports digestive health, helps manage blood sugar, feeds beneficial gut bacteria, and contributes to cardiovascular health. Perhaps most importantly, it fills a genuine nutritional gap that exists in most modern diets.
For fiber to achieve mainstream success, brands must:
- Promote relevant benefits: Move beyond digestive regularity to highlight satiety and gut health. What’s next? Benefits related to healthy aging, blood sugar management and reducing chronic inflammation.
- Choose appropriate categories: Breakfast foods and snacks offer the most logical starting points for more fiber. But brands must address consumers’ taste concerns by clearly communicating positive flavor and other sensory attributes as this is a key area holding high fiber products back.
- Select suitable ingredients: Connect fiber sources to their plant origins to strengthen appeal and transparency. Further support consumers with a variety of fibers as a thriving gut microbiome depends on diverse fiber sources.
Prepare for the Future of Fiber with Mintel
Understanding how a single nutrient like fiber can shape an entire market is just the beginning. Our market research and Mintel Consulting services dive deep into the trends that are reshaping consumer behavior and the food industry. We can help you identify emerging opportunities, refine your messaging, and develop a winning strategy to connect with your target audience.
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