As one of the newer protein compositions to enter the market, clear protein faces additional challenges when it comes to competing against the better-established protein categories.
And one of the ways we’re seeing clear protein products distinguish themselves from other protein powders is by using specific key word descriptors.
What's in a... flavour keyword?
To get a better understanding of how clear protein products are being positioned, we looked at what flavour keyword descriptors are being used across both the European and North American markets.
Refreshing
Within our clear dataset, ‘refreshing’ is the most common descriptor, used by 46.2% of clear whey and 30% of clear plant products. In comparison, and unsurprisingly, ‘refreshing’ is only used by 0.9% of WPI products and 0.1% of plant-based powders.
Fruity
Also leading the way in clear plant descriptors is the term 'fruity', used by another 30% of products tracked. In comparison, the term is only used by 15.4% of clear whey products.
Light
Used by 23.3% of clear plant and 18.5% of clear whey products, 'light' is another great descriptor that helps brands stand out from more traditional formulations. You won't be surprised to find that only 0.2% of WPI and 0.5% of single-source plant proteins use it, while none of the multi-source plant protein powders we track do.
Delicious
We hate to say it, but not all protein powders are created equally and some offer better functional benefits than they do taste sensations. But 16.7% of clear plant products are using the term 'delicious' and they might be onto something, given that only 8.5% of clear whey, 7.6% of multi-source plant powders, and a lowly 3.5% of WPI products are using it. Saying your protein powder is delicious - it might just make it stand out from the rest.
Differentiating... but not
While using terms like ‘refreshing’, ‘light’ and ‘fruity’ are great to immediately differentiate a clear powder from a traditional protein powder, as the market continues to grow there will come a time when clear products need to differentiate among themselves. And at the minute - 'delicious' clear plant proteins aside - we aren't seeing a whole lot of that.
It will be interesting to see how they do this as the category matures.
Watch this space, we’ll be here to let you know.
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