In India, brands such as Only What’s Needed, have put explainers on their website, tracking the rocketing cost of whey (from ₹ 1,475 in July 2025 to ₹ 3,700 in June 2026), and its impact on whey powder prices. Like pistachios at the peak of the Dubai Chocolate craze, demand for protein additives is so high, it’s making global markets jittery. In the US, some manufacturers have already sold their supplies for the full year.
The central development
None of it is backed by science, no matter what gym-bro influencers say. It varies with body size, age, physical activity, health, pregnancy, calorie intake, and your health goals. That’s barely 48g to 50g for a 60kg adult. Old folks, who are losing muscle mass, need just a little more. His suggestion: Look at the protein-to-calorie ratio and avoid anything that is calorie-dense. Protein chips, murukku, energy bars… The label is doing more heavy lifting than the protein. The protein boom imagines India as a nation collectively wasting away for want of whey. Unless you’ve been on a restrictive diet, have low appetite, are hospitalised, underweight or battling chronic disease, it’s unlikely that you need an extra protein boost.
Every Reel and post has some magic mantra: Hit 100 grams every day. Eat 2% of your body weight in protein. Eat 30 grams per meal… A healthy, relatively sedentary adult needs a minimum daily requirement of 0.8g to 0.83g per kg of body weight, he says. Even if you’re strength-training, you don’t need more than 1.2g to 1.6g per kilo of your body weight.
“Protein requirement is not a universal fixed number,” says Dr Anshuman Kaushal, director at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram. “In many cases, it’s a marketing gimmick,” says Revant Himatsingka, aka @FoodPharmer. “It’s all still junk,” he says. “Claims suggesting that almost everyone is protein deficient are exaggerated and are often used to sell powders, bars and supplements,” says Dr Kaushal.
