Anywhey You Want It
Protein is something humans reap naturally from food. From hunter-gatherer times, until the 1950’s, people seemed to survive, grow and function just fine without additives and supplements, so what happened? In the early 1900’s, a man named Bob Hoffman was one of the first people to suggest nutrition influenced the health and strength of a “man” (24, Hall and Fair).
Bob Hoffman greatly protested the early protein powders. He believed everything humans needed for an ideal physique could be provided by a balanced diet. His focus on nutrition’s bodily effect prompted people to pursue a perfected form—a way to maximize protein consumption, for a better physical outcome.
Thus, protein powder was born. One of the first was “by Patton’s dietetic of Los Angeles and Schenectady and contained such ingredients as soy beans, deep sea kelp, and whole wheat germ” (24, Hall and Fair). This sparked the beginning of body building that Americans, today, may be more familiar with. Protein became a revolutionary way to bulk muscle, without eating massive amounts of food.
So if protein powder was born among the body building community in Los Angeles, how did it end up in the hands of the average consumer? Re-appropriation of protein supplements to target specific demographics like professional athletes, body builders, or people looking to lose weight, has driven the market in multiple directions. Protein powder was born from a culture obsessed with physical appearance. Now that protein products are becoming more ubiquitous in grocery stores, questions of who has access to such an excessive product and why are they buying it come to mind. Could protein powder be an indicator of larger cultural beauty standards?
Ulterior to the relationship between protein powder, working out and beauty standards, the expansive availability of vegan protein powders may be in response to increased popularity of veganism and vegetarianism. Agriculture and animal production are two of the largest contributors of green-house gases and climate change. In response, research has suggested Americans should reduce meat consumption to discourage animal production (Joyce, et al, 2012).
Being the meat centered culture that America is, concerns of protein deficiency are large. Protein powder then becomes a viable option to help make up any nutritional gaps created by the omission of animal products. This study cannot speak for all American’s, however, so from her on I will be talking about protein powder consumers.
Funny enough, modern vegan powders are not totally unlike the original made back in 1950, soy is still a fairly common additive. The major difference between then and now though, is that people want more than just protein, they want a full serving of vegetables, antioxidant fruits, super food blends, biotin, collagen, vitamins, probiotics—things that would not be in your average hamburger.
My point is, protein powder has become a lot more than just protein, it’s become more of a cultural product in America, and for this study D.C. It is still used by athletes and body builders, but now D.C. residents outside these categories are hoppin’ on the Whey Train, hoping these magical protein powders will transform them as well. A self-awareness of environmental impact, in hand with influences from cultural beauty and fitness paradigms, creates an imaginary necessity for protein powder.
Understanding protein powder is not vital for survival, I would like to reconfigure it as a dietary accessory. Using ethnographic data collected from GNC, Safeway, Whole Foods and CVS, I use the position of protein powder in the store, as well as the availability of natural/conventional powders to generate an idea of the kind of customer these stores are targeting.
So what is my protein powder consumer profile? It seems the person stores are marketing to is affluent, health oriented and body conscious. Quick disclaimer: I only witnessed protein powder being purchased once during my time in the field, so all of my conclusions as to who protein consumers really are, are drawn from observations of the greater environment of each store.
Out in the real world D.C. residents do purchase protein powder. The fact that specialty stores, like GNC, exist shows there is demand in D.C.; however, I think demand for vegan or ‘natural’ protein powder is growing.
GNC has a limited selection of “healthy” powders, as the majority of their brands contain long lists of unknown (and unpronounceable) substances. The lack of business when I visited the store seems to suggest a decline in the popularity of their products, though I would also posit online markets may reflect a very different reality. These observations from GNC, combined with high prices ranging from $19.99 to $64.99, tells me protein buyers must be of higher economic status. Being located in a business area of D.C., I also suggest GNC’s protein customer is educated and health conscious (because they are buying protein powder).
Whole Foods has a growing supply of natural protein powders. The average Whole Foods customer fits the archetype of my consumer—affluent and health conscious with the added bonus of environmental awareness. Whole Foods itself has a reputation for being fairly elite, as suggested by its nickname, “Whole Paycheck.” The high prices, starting at $25.99, of natural protein powder works to limit those who have access to the additive, repositioning protein as a status symbol (and supporting my hypothesized affluency of a protein powder consumer).
Safeway tries to recreate the Whole Foods upper class ambiance by placing protein powder in the ‘natural’ aisle, which stands apart from the rest of the store because of its ‘natural’ wood flooring and organic labels. The aesthetic shift accentuates the segregation of ‘natural’ foods from the rest of the store. Protein powders can only be found in this aisle, and their selection is limited to natural and vegan brands.
Prices did start a little lower, at $16.99, however the large aisles, carts and adjacency to neighborhoods, suggested it is more of family grocery store. Therefore, these prices may still be considered high if two or more people are using the protein product.
The aesthetic separation of the natural aisle works to further emphasize protein powder as a status symbol by mimicking “whole paycheck.” Consumers of natural protein powder are physically and economically separate from the average Safeway shopper.
CVS bridges the gap between Whole Foods and Safeway as it has both natural and conventional protein powders, despite its limited selection. Once more, I would like to bring attention to the placement of the conventional powder behind a support beam. This suggests CVS prioritizes the visibility of the natural protein powders. Maybe this means they expect customers who are looking for protein powder to be looking for natural brands. The natural products are consistently more expensive, starting at $23.99, than those that are not, which start at $20.79. The customer who purchases the natural product is likely someone with the resources to do so. Yes, there are the conventional options, but it seems clear that protein powders have taken a turn for the natural and expensive.
Discussion Looking across the four stores, protein powder is clearly a dietary accessory. Where powders once served a specific purpose for body builders, protein markets have expanded their appeal by incorporating other nutritional additives. High prices limit the accessibility of protein powder, something even greater affected by the even higher prices of natural products. The concept of ‘natural’ seems to be a marketing tool used by stores (with the exception of GNC because they have a more specific weight lifting demographic). “Natural” and “organic” tend to have upper class connotations or affiliations due to price trends (and whole paycheck). Protein powder’s affiliation with body builders may appeal to consumers’ desire to improve their musculature, but I argue this association is too limited now.
The socioeconomic affiliation with “natural” pricing and superadditives advertised on protein powder labels began to appeal to a broader audience. The cosmetic origins of protein continue on today as they aid in achieving cultural ‘fit’ beauty standards. This leads me to believe my Whey Train people are of a middle to upper socioeconomic class who seem to favor plant-based proteins in the interest of improving their health and physique.
Adele Queener
Hall, Daniel and Fair, John. (2004). The Pioneers of Protein. Iron Game History. 8(3), 23-34.
Joyce, A., Dixon, A., Comfort, J. & Hallett, J. (2012). Reducing the Environmental Impact of Dietary Choice: Perspectives from a Behavioral and Social Change Approach. Journal of Environmental and Public Health. Doi:10.1155/2012/978672.
