Mumbai/Chennai: At McDonald’s outlets in South India, a 30-cent burger topping has been selling out quickly. Unlike extra cheese or fancy salsa, the item is a vegetarian protein slice co-developed with Indian government food scientists, marking McDonald’s first such offering globally.
McDonald’s has joined forces with India’s largest dairy, Amul, several startups, and a company backed by Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh to launch an aggressive marketing campaign. Celebrity chefs and cricketers are promoting protein as a daily nutritional necessity for people of all ages, not just a gym trend.
Ordering kiosks at McDonald’s do not display calories but highlight high protein content in burgers, tapping into a growing craze in a country with the world’s largest vegetarian population and low meat consumption.
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The protein initiative extends beyond supplements, with protein infused into cottage cheese, ice cream, water, chips, and 60-cent blueberry milkshake bottles, with Indian flatbreads next in line.
While other countries have seen protein booms, India’s surge is driven by its cereal-heavy diet. Nearly 30 percent of India’s 1.4 billion people are vegetarian, and the government estimates 73 percent of the population is protein-deficient.
Religious sensitivities mean beef is banned in most states; while chicken is popular, it is expensive for many low-income households. Per capita meat consumption in India is just 6.6 kg annually, among the lowest globally, compared with 123 kg in the US and 70.5 kg in China, according to 2022 UN data.
In July, McDonald’s sold 32,000 pieces of its soy- and pea-protein slice within 24 hours. Most of its 400 plus stores ran out of stock quickly, with replenishment a month later, according to Westlife Foodworld, McDonald’s sole franchisee in south and west India.
India’s high-protein dairy market grew 9.4 percent to $1.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to rise another 12 percent this year, Euromonitor estimates. Google Trends shows search interest for ‘protein chips’ and ‘protein bars’ at five-year highs in June and August, particularly in New Delhi.
Rural India struggles with low protein consumption. A February survey of 785 households in semi-arid regions found 80 percent consumed less protein than required, despite access to protein-rich foods.
Aashitosh Inamdar, chief scientist at the government’s Central Food Technological Research Institute, said that it took six months to refine McDonald’s protein slice after earlier prototypes were ‘too chewy’ and ‘powdery’ for Indian tastes.
The government lab previously partnered with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance to develop protein-enriched cookies and is working on sweets and spices to increase protein consumption, though these products remain largely urban-focused. “To save our population, we need to put it (protein) into something which is more edible,” Inamdar added.
Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and co-founder Nikunj Biyani’s startup, SuperYou, has sold over 10 million protein wafers since November, with July hitting record monthly sales.
Singh, who has 47 million Instagram followers, promotes the brand himself. In one reel, he highlighted that SuperYou baked chips contain 10 grams of protein, while mocking regular ‘guilty potato’ chips. SuperYou’s products are pricey; a 100-gram pack costs 100 rupees ($1.14), more than double PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips. SuperYou plans to launch biscuits and cereals, targeting smaller towns, with Biyani calling protein a “knight in shining armour.”
Cricketers are also promoting protein. In April, Amul sponsored several teams in the IPL, using the opportunity to create Instagram reels featuring Indian and international cricketers dancing to promote its protein products, some generating millions of views.
Amul, India’s largest milk and cheese producer, is expanding the protein category by utilising its three million litres of daily whey byproduct. Managing Director Jayen Mehta said that the company is offering high-protein variants of traditional products such as buttermilk, ice cream, and flatbreads. “It’s a very huge market opportunity,” Mehta added.
Together, McDonald’s, Amul, startups, and celebrities are spearheading a nationwide push to make protein a mainstream part of Indian diets, addressing deficiencies and creating a new urban-focused protein trend.
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