Price of Whey to increase

gymsoldier

Has anyone else heard this rumour. Coca Cola in the states have apparently bought up huge quanties of Whey Protein leading to a possible rise in Whey prices in the next few weeks. Hear-say has it that their going to start manufacturing ready-to-drink protein shakes. Just heard about this the other day in the gym.

grimloch

There was a bit of a fuss made about this last year.

Coca Cola and Gatorade (A pepsi division) were buying up sizeable enough quantities of whey about 9-12 months ago both with the intention of launching whey based recovery/post workout drinks. Not just whey from the USA though, large amounts from Asia/Australia too I think.

Reading any US sites, protein prices have risen somewhat but I haven't really encountered a dramatic hike over here.

Unless I'm wrong and things have changed dramatically over the last couple of months the products weren't particularly successful during their initial phase.

This is all going from memory so I could be totally incorrect.

gymsoldier

Ah so heard some what the right story The price of whey in the shops hasnt changed at all as far I can see, thank god says me.

grimloch

The big worry was that whey is sort of a limited resource in a way, it's the by product of cheese production so you just won't get the cheese manufacturers producing surplus quantities just because the fitness community is a bit short on protein.

discus

Ah don't worry lads, this will all fall on it's arse. Big corporations just can't get products like this right. They'll aim to sell to everyone, not realising that they should be aiming them at a particular group.

drdeadlift

Glanbia putting up the price for no reason what so ever.

gavney1

discus wrote: »

Ah don't worry lads, this will all fall on it's arse. Big corporations just can't get products like this right. They'll aim to sell to everyone, not realising that they should be aiming them at a particular group.

I'm not so sure. I bet if there was a company that tried to market Whey with a little bit less "muscle-marketing" it would do well. I think pictures of bodybuilders on the front of cans/ in shops etc... can be off-putting for lots of people for many reasons

1. It's a bit embarrassing to buy. I was really embarrassed walking into that place near trinity with all the bodybuilding posters outside. I'd be much less embarrassed walking into Holland & Barrett

2. Lots of people associate Whey (& creatine) with steroids. And hence, lots of (uninformed) people think that they'll turn into a bodybuilder or get fat or die suddenly if they start taking whey.

3. Lots of skinny guys think they look silly drinking Whey after a Gym session.

Lots of people are afraid of Whey.

Holland & Barrett seem to have done well by marketing Whey as more of a sports supplement (esp Rugby) than as a body-building/ strength training supplement.

Having said that, that could just be an Irish thing. Maybe the Bodybuilding marketing isn't off-putting to people in other countries e.g. Americans

Pace2008

gavney1 wrote: »

I'm not so sure. I bet if there was a company that tried to market Whey with a little bit less "muscle-marketing" it would do well. I think pictures of bodybuilders on the front of cans/ in shops etc... can be off-putting for lots of people for many reasons

I wouldn't say embarrassing (for me), but I think the aesthetics and general marketing strategy surrounding the weightlifting/bodybuilding supplements business in the most appalling in any industry, and appears completely ridiculous to anyone with a shred of irony.

mdc5065

discus wrote: »

Ah don't worry lads, this will all fall on it's arse. Big corporations just can't get products like this right. They'll aim to sell to everyone, not realising that they should be aiming them at a particular group.

Uh... Gatorade is one of the most well-known products in American culture. Everyone who's ever played a sport over in the States knows and trusts their products. Their new line of products did astoundingly over here when it premiered (then again I live in a college town) and is now available for reasonable prices everywhere. Factor in that the bulk of their formulas and business go to private sports teams and collegiate athletics, and you'll see they're definitely getting these products right.

gavney1 wrote: »

Maybe the Bodybuilding marketing isn't off-putting to people in other countries e.g. Americans

Put the word mass or anabolic or hell even the letter T in the title of a sports supplement, we'll buy at least 1. Put a picture of a guy that looks like a tick about to pop next to it, we'll buy at least 10. When I got to Ireland and started talking to people in the gym and on the forums, it was a major culture shock. I found out I couldn't get half my regular supplements because they're considered illegal and the other half made people look at me funny yet every American I know that's into lifting (even my ~60 year old personal training clients) takes at least whey.

Back to the original question though (sorry for the derail)...
The price has gone up here mostly due to inflation and competition. Some people think a 66 dollar tub of whey is somehow better than the 15 dollar tub of the same size and content I get at Walmart. As grimloch said, whey is the byproduct of cheese production. It's dirt cheap and we have plenty of it. We have a strange agriculture industry here where people sometimes get compensated for underproduction (don't ask me for the details, learned it from a documentary) so farmers are loving selling off what used to be considered waste for profit. It's also better for the environment because we had just dumped it all before. We'll all always have enough whey protein. Also, prices in the US have gone up because big player companies have started including more casein content in their powders because new studies have shown its benefits. Casein costs more than whey because it's not considered a waste product.

jasonf9ace

myprotein who i bought my whey protein said this a couple of months ago and already hiked up there prices at around december.Was about and extra 2 euro as far as i remember for a 5kg bag

MACT1RE

gavney1 wrote: »

Lots of people are afraid of Whey.

I know what you mean, when I was in school I used to get beaten up by Whey everyday, until I started hangin round with Creatine.

gavney1

MACT1RE wrote: »

I know what you mean, when I was in school I used to get beaten up by Whey everyday, until I started hangin round with Creatine.

The Guvnor

Whey has risen steadily over the last two years and availability has not risen in line with demand. It is not just whey a lot of 'food ingredients' are under price pressure with upward rises.

CO's are working with less margin that a few years ago and I think in Ireland the shops are also being more competitive due to online prices and proximity to the UK.

I think more rises are likely but we are also far away from panic buying.

nice_guy80

no wonder so many companies are buying into this area

you can just hike up prices and people will still pay it to get their favourite product.

most Agri products have shot up in price due to worldwide demand - wheat, milk, beef