The prices of pretty much all raw materials have increased across the globe. There’s supply chain problems. There’s inflation. There’s droughts and weather problems causing issues for crops. Everything is going up, it’s not just protein powder, unfortunately. The only thing not going up is wages, cries.
I too had this question a few months ago — comes down to whey supply issue. Most whey is imported from Europe which is already expensive. But add in supply chain disruptions because of the pandemic - prices shot up even higher. And the demand for protein powder never really dipped - people were still Working out during the pandemic. But the disruptions to supply chain couldn’t keep up. I never found an answer though as to when things would get back to normal.
Numerous factors:
Viva inflation is more and more evident unfortunately. I switched to pea protein (naked brand) and it’s reasonably priced/nutritionally sound and is great in smoothies. Tastes a little bit bland but also with inflation protein powders are getting shittier with lower quality ingredients
Maybe civilization has peaked and you’re tasting the appetizer of the end of a golden age. Or just regular inflation. Possibly somewhere in between.
I think this is a question for economic subs not nutrition.
Inflation mate, don’t think there is any Da Vinci Code conspiracy here. Do you know the process of creating protein powders? Everywhere along the production chain has had its overheads increase causing the consumer to take on the additional costs
Basically everything has gone up in price over the last year. It makes sense that the more speciality (and usually high quality) items like protein powders would bare the brunt of that. My grocery bill has doubled in the last 8 months, even unhealthy $1 frozen meals are getting more expensive. It’s just more noticeable with something like whey powder since there’s a lot that goes into to making those.
I use an unflavored, non-fortified one comprised only of whey protein isolate and soy lecithin, and the price has not increased. Maybe it is not a whey issue.
It’s hard to find reliable and trustworthy information because most companies will point to “pandemic”, “supply chain issues”, etc. as an excuse for any inconvenience and for price-gouging. It could very well be the case (and is very believable/realistic), but it could also be BS scapegoating to take advantage of consumers.
We pushed hard for higher wages and with so many unfilled positions these days, companies have to pay even more just to keep enough people staffed to remain semi-operational (not exaggerating; many places have reduced hours and even have to close some days or cut certain services). Not saying higher pay for workers caused all this, but it kinda bites us in the ass if their employers do not adjust profit margins to remain reasonably consumer-friendly.
Every aspect of this is unfortunate and ultimately traces back to greed and expansionism.
Noticed this too (just got back in the habit of hitting the gym) and had the same question. The best bang for buck ive found is ON gold standard whey at walmart 22 servings for $25 and select flavors of Dymatize iso 100 at target 28 servings for $35 iirc. Things like creatine also skyrocketed so its all mainly supply chain related more than anything else. Demand is very high these days for supps
Might take a break here from shakes - been doing it so long - the price increase is the first time in a long time i’ve questioned whether it’s really worth it. Every breakfast i’ve had for the past few years is a protein and fruit smoothie - maybe i should just work harder to get protein naturally