The Fun of Choosing Protein Drinks... Fierce Competition to Dominate the Market

330 Billion KRW Protein Food Market
Half Occupied by 'Drinking Beverages'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Food companies have entered a competition to dominate the 100 billion KRW protein beverage market. While the market was initially formed mainly around animal-based proteins, recently, products containing plant-based proteins targeting the vegan market have emerged, heating up the competition.

Drinking Beverages More Conveniently

According to the food industry on the 2nd, the domestic protein food market grew from 89 billion KRW in 2018 to 250 billion KRW last year. Among them, the protein beverage market accounted for 100 billion KRW, making up 40% of the total. The protein food market is expected to reach 330 billion KRW this year. Of this, the beverage market, which allows for easy consumption, is expected to expand to more than 50% of the total market share.

Essential amino acids contained in protein help strengthen the immune system. The World Health Organization recommends consuming about 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. Excess protein that is not used is not stored in the body but excreted. Therefore, it is best to replenish protein appropriately every day. Professor Park Hee-jung of the Department of Food and Nutrition at Kookmin University emphasized, "Men aged 50 to 64 should consume 60g of protein daily, and women aged 50 to 64 should consume more than 50g daily to enhance immunity and prevent sarcopenia."

Animal-based VS Plant-based

Protein beverages released on the market are divided into two types: animal-based and plant-based. Orion’s ‘Dr. You Drink Protein Cafe Latte,’ launched last month, uses ‘milk protein,’ which has excellent nutritional content, and contains 12g of protein with 18 types of amino acids. This amount is equivalent to two eggs. Following chocolate and banana flavors, it plans to expand the protein beverage market by offering the most popular ‘coffee’ flavor among adults.

Binggrae’s protein specialty brand ‘The:Protein Drink’ also uses ‘milk protein’ as its raw material. ‘The:Protein Drink Chocolate’ is made with ‘100% milk protein’ and is a ‘100% complete protein.’ It contains 20g of protein manufactured in Switzerland, equivalent to 3.6 eggs, meeting 36% of the daily nutritional intake for adults. It contains less than 1g of sugar and only 0.5g of fat, making it easy to consume without burden. Through over a year of product testing, the heaviness and bitter fishy taste of protein were minimized.

A representative company using plant-based protein is hy (Korea Yakult). hy’s protein specialty brand ‘Protein Code’ uses only plant-based ingredients. Its first product, ‘Protein Code Drink,’ contains 18g of 100% plant-based protein (equivalent to half a cup of soy protein). It uses five types of 100% domestically produced rice as the main ingredient and soy, oats, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and almonds as sub-ingredients.

Mixed Animal and Plant-based Beverages Are the Trend

Animal-based protein helps muscle synthesis, and plant-based protein is easier to digest and absorb, so beverages mixing both are the trend. Maeil Dairies’ Selex Corroprotein beverage appropriately blends animal and plant proteins with different digestion speeds after intake. The total 8g of animal and plant protein is equivalent to twice the protein amount in the same volume of milk. It is also suitable for middle-aged and older adults who have difficulty consuming milk due to digestive issues to supplement their protein deficiency. It also contains 1000mg of essential amino acids, which play an important role in muscle synthesis but are not synthesized in the body and must be obtained externally. Selex, launched in 2018, has surpassed cumulative sales of 90 billion KRW.

Daesang Lifescience’s protein specialty brand ‘MyMeal’ focuses on balanced intake of animal and plant proteins and various nutrients with its New Protein products. The New Protein lineup includes ‘MyMeal Drinking New Protein,’ which allows easy intake of high-content balanced protein, and a low-sugar product more suitable for customers on diets or dietary control. MyMeal Drinking New Protein contains animal and plant proteins in a 5:5 ratio. It contains 9g of protein and 1000mg of essential amino acids (BCAA). Launched in August 2019, MyMeal has surpassed cumulative sales of 26 billion KRW. The sales target for this year is 35 billion KRW.

A Daesang Lifescience official explained, "Animal-based protein supplements contain all essential amino acids, so they are indeed more helpful for muscle synthesis, but plant-based protein supplements do not contain lactose, so they can be consumed even by those with lactose intolerance." He added, "There is also a difference in digestion and absorption speed, so the effect is greatest when consuming products mixed with both animal and plant proteins."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.