Plant protein approaches standard whey in UK range breadth

Plant protein is a substantial part of the UK protein powder assortment in Ontaris's supplied August 2026 catalogue summary: 101 product families, compared with 114 for standard whey.

That is a gap of 13 lines across a catalogue of 452 families from 132 brands. For a team reviewing a protein range, it is a reason to examine plant as a developed comparison set with different propositions inside it.

What the comparison measures

A family is an umbrella product line, not each flavour or pack size. These numbers describe the breadth of the recorded assortment. They do not establish sales, market share or consumer preference.

Source: Ontaris's UK protein powder landscape, snapshot 15 August 2026. Selected formats from the 452-family catalogue. Classification is based on recorded family names.

The wording standard whey matters. Whey isolate is counted separately, and clear protein includes both dairy and plant lines. The comparison therefore does not mean plant has caught up with all whey or all dairy protein.

It also cannot show growth. Establishing that plant is gaining ground would require another comparable snapshot with the same definitions.

Plant spans three positioning tiers

The 101 plant families divide into 30 value, 42 mainstream and 29 premium. Mainstream is the largest group.

These are assessed positions, not measured price bands. Even with that limitation, the spread is useful: “plant protein” is too broad a label to define a product's competition on its own.

A brand reviewing an existing plant powder should narrow the comparison to the format and proposition buyers are likely to weigh against it. A clear plant line may require a different comparison set from a conventional plant blend. A simple ingredient proposition may raise different questions from a flavour-focused one. Those comparisons need full product labels and customer evidence.

How to use this in a range review

Start with one existing product and one decision. If the goal is clearer positioning, inspect how comparable families describe their benefit and how that description carries through to the full pack. If the goal is a formulation change, compare actual ingredient lists and nutrition panels before deciding what to improve.

Then test the proposed difference with the intended buyer. A large number of plant lines does not establish demand for another one; it tells you there is a meaningful range of existing offers to understand.

The companion article, Where premium positioning sits in UK protein powder, looks at how format and assessed positioning intersect.

Get the broader comparison

Get the free UK protein powder landscape report for all format counts, leading brand ranges, origin and positioning tables, and research directions with their evidence limits.

The findings here are an editorial synthesis of the supplied catalogue summary, not an independent listing audit. The full report explains the source, classification and exclusions.