It’s not just
Khloé Kardashian trying to figure out protein. So are all the food giants—including some brands consumers probably aren’t thinking of as protein-forward just yet.
Land O’Lakes, the Fortune 500 company best known for its butter, sees the protein craze as an opportunity to improve the fortunes of its dairy farmers, who have spent the past few years dealing with an intersecting web of crises across the American food system, as I reported
in an award-winning feature last fall. Protein is a bright spot in dairy—and Land O’Lakes’ 1,100 dairy farmer member-owners could be poised to turn their milk into a more lucrative product.
Last month, Land O’Lakes announced a strategic investment in its largest dairy processing facility, in California, to produce ultra-filtered milk, with production increasing as much as 30%. The plant will eventually produce milk protein as an ingredient that can be used in other products (and that farmers can sell for a higher price than other dairy products). Protein bars, muscle milk, protein-powered yogurt—Land O’Lakes wants in. “We’re really looking at—how can we be bringing new capacity into the market so that they can grow their generational operation?” says Heather Anfang, who leads the company’s dairy foods business. “Protein is really providing a great opportunity for us to do that.”
Anfang’s exec role is a critical one within the $16 billion-in-revenue company
led by CEO Beth Ford. Anfang, a 26-year vet of Land O’Lakes, is the one searching for ways to help farmers make more money and invest those earnings back into their farms. At the same time, she’s reminding consumers that they can get protein the old-fashioned way, via dairy products like cheese and yogurt.
Indeed, sales of other dairy products
have been way up in recent years even as milk consumption declined. In the protein era, Anfang is shouting the benefits of milk protein over whey protein. “It has a slower digestibility through your system, so it promotes longer satiety,” she explains.
The dairy expert doesn’t think that protein has peaked—good news for farmers and every emerging protein brand. “If we’re making an investment, we believe in this as being a long-term trend,” she says. “I don’t think we’re at the top yet.”
Emma Hinchliffeemma.hinchliffe@fortune.comThe Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’
s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
