Soft Food Volumes Meet Surging Protein Demand

Research evidence excerpt

Soft Food Volumes Meet Surging Protein Demand

USA | Food EquityJuneResearch6, 2026

Soft Food Volumes Meet Surging Protein *NEW* On Monday, Jun 8th at 1pm ET,

Demand we will be joining Jefferies' Paper & Packaging analyst Phil Ng for a fireside

Tracked U.S. food sales have been pressured as volumes soften and pricing chat, along with Beverages & HPC analyst,

Kaumil Gajrawala, to discuss the latest

moderates, weighed down by higher gas prices and reduced SNAP benefits. Yet read on demand as consumers navigate

demand for protein-fortified products continues to surge, with WPC inventories the current macro backdrop, promotional

tight, spot availability limited, and some suppliers sold out through 2026. activity, and ongoing pack mix shift

The contrast points to a bifurcated landscape where broad volume softness dynamics. Register here.

coexists with surging demand for functional ingredients.

Food sales pressured as retailer pricing pushback intensifies. Tracked U.S. Food channel sales

have inflected negative since February as volumes have worsened and price realization has

moderated, with higher gas prices and reduced SNAP benefits adding incremental pressure on

consumer grocery budgets. KR mgmt has noted that it will be strongly pushing back against CPG

price increases tied to fuel, freight, and commodity inflation, employing a "carrot and stick" approach

with suppliers as it invests aggressively in narrowing price gaps versus competitors. Separately,

our JEF Commodity Index is pointing to +2.8% y/y input cost inflation in 2026 and +0.8% in 2027,

suggesting that manufacturers may face a difficult environment where rising costs are met with

growing retailer resistance to pricing.

Whey protein shortage intensifies as demand surges and supply tightens. The whey protein