Which Protein Brands Put Prices Up in 2026, and Which Did Not
Sixty-one UK protein products changed price by more than 3% this year on our own tracking. Forty rose, twenty-one fell, and two of the biggest brands moved in one direction only. The measured version, with both observation dates on every figure.
Kevin, founder of WheyWise
Quick answer
WheyWise recorded 61 UK protein products changing price by more than 3% between observations across 2026, from 7 April to 21 August. Forty went up and twenty-one went down, so rises outnumbered falls by nearly two to one, and the average rise of 18.4% was slightly larger than the average fall of 16.4%. The direction was not evenly spread: every one of the four MyProtein products that moved went up, and so did all seven Bulk products. Applied Nutrition was the outlier that held, averaging -0.8% across the products of its that moved. This is our own shelf data rather than a market estimate.
Which protein brands put their prices up?
Between 7 April and 21 August 2026, WheyWise recorded 61 UK protein products changing price by more than 3% between observations. Forty of those moves were upward and twenty-one downward.
The interesting part is not the aggregate, it is how unevenly the direction was distributed. Two of the largest UK brands did not have a single meaningful price cut in the window.
| Brand | Products that moved | Up | Down | Average move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyProtein | 4 | 4 | 0 | +18.4% |
| Protein Works | 8 | 5 | 3 | +12.3% |
| Bulk | 7 | 7 | 0 | +10.9% |
| Myvegan | 3 | 2 | 1 | +3.9% |
| Applied Nutrition | 3 | 2 | 1 | -0.8% |
| DY Nutrition | 3 | 1 | 2 | -4.4% |
WheyWise price observations, earliest 7 April 2026 and latest 21 August 2026. Protein categories only. Moves under 3% excluded. Brands with fewer than three moving products excluded as too thin to report.
What we measured across 2026
Across all protein categories, 40 of the 61 moves were upward, which is close to two rises for every fall. The average rise was 18.4% and the average fall 16.4%, so increases were both more common and marginally larger than decreases.
That asymmetry is the finding. A market where prices move up and down in roughly equal measure is a market where sales cycles dominate. A market where rises outnumber falls two to one, and are larger when they happen, is a market repricing upward with promotional noise on top.
It also lines up with what happened to the ingredient. European whey protein concentrate rose about 120% between October 2025 and July 2026, which is covered in what actually drives UK protein powder prices. What this dataset adds is confirmation that the wholesale move reached UK shelves rather than being absorbed by brands.
The brands that only moved one way
MyProtein. Four products moved by more than 3%. All four moved up, averaging 18.4%. We did not record a single fall over 3% on a MyProtein protein product in this window.
Bulk. Seven products moved. All seven moved up, averaging 10.9%.
It is worth being careful about what that does and does not show. Both brands run frequent discount codes, and a code does not change the listed price we record, so this measures shelf price rather than what a buyer with a code actually pays. What it does show is that the underlying price these two brands are anchoring to went in one direction across the period, which is the number that a discount is calculated from.
Protein Works was genuinely mixed, with five products up and three down and an average of +12.3%, which fits a brand actively repricing parts of its range in both directions rather than lifting everything.
The brand that held
Applied Nutrition Critical Whey
825g bag
The one brand in this dataset whose prices did not net rise across 2026, at -0.8% average across three moving products. It did that while reporting 57% first-half revenue growth, which suggests holding price was a choice rather than a constraint.
Buy Critical Whey →See the price on AmazonThe brand that held
Applied Nutrition Critical Whey
825g bagPros
- + Applied Nutrition averaged -0.8% across the products that moved, the only major brand in this dataset that did not net rise
- + About 78p per 25g of protein, cheaper than MyProtein Impact Whey at 91p and Optimum Nutrition at £1.10
- + 72g of protein per 100g, matching Bulk Basic Whey exactly
Cons
- – Only three of its products moved enough to measure, so the flat average rests on a small sample
- – Still about 28p a serving more than Bulk Basic Whey despite holding price
●Nutrition per scoop · 23.8g protein in 33g▼
Protein makes up 72%
of this 33g scoop · 128 kcal total
Still the value benchmark
Bulk Basic Whey Protein
1.25kg bag
Still the benchmark despite the direction of travel. About 50p per 25g of protein, checked 21 August 2026, in a range where every product we measured moved upward this year.
or compare all UK prices →Still the value benchmark
Bulk Basic Whey Protein
1.25kg bagPros
- + About 50p per 25g of protein even after Bulk's range rose across the board
- + 72g of protein per 100g, ahead of the brand's dearer Pure Whey at 71g
- + The cheapest whey from a recognised UK brand in our tracking
Cons
- – All seven Bulk products we recorded moving went up, averaging 10.9%, so the trend is against you
- – Today's price is a weaker guide to next quarter's than it used to be
●Nutrition per scoop · 21.6g protein in 30g▼
Protein makes up 72%
of this 30g scoop · 112 kcal total
Who held their prices
Applied Nutrition is the answer, and it is a more interesting one than it first looks. Across its three products that moved, two rose and one fell for a net average of -0.8%, which is flat within any reasonable margin.
That happened in the same period the company reported first-half FY26 revenue up 57% to £74.5m and upgraded full-year guidance twice. So this was not a struggling brand discounting to hold volume. It was a growing brand choosing not to pass through the ingredient move, at least on the products we track.
DY Nutrition also netted downward at -4.4% across three products, though from a much smaller base of coverage.
How we measured this, and what it cannot tell you
We compare each product's most recent recorded price against an earlier observation at least 30 days older, and report only moves larger than 3%.
The important caveat is the gap between those two observations. Our catalogue scrapers do not run daily, so the interval varies from product to product. Across this dataset it averaged 47 days, with the earliest observation on 7 April 2026 and the latest on 21 August 2026. That is why every figure here carries a window rather than a neat "up 18% in 30 days", which would be wrong for most rows.
Three other honest limits. This measures listed prices, not what someone pays after a discount code. It covers the products we track rather than every SKU a brand sells, so a brand with four moving products is not a brand with four products. And a product that held its price exactly does not appear at all, since we only record moves above 3%, which means the table shows the shape of movement rather than the share of a range that moved.
What it does give you that a market estimate cannot is dated, product-level observations from actual UK retail listings, with both endpoints visible.
What it means for what you buy
Three practical conclusions.
Brand loyalty is costing more than it used to. If you have bought the same MyProtein or Bulk product for three years, the price you are anchored to is out of date, and in this dataset it only moved one way. Re-check against the current market rather than against your memory.
The spread between brands now matters more than the trend within one. An 18% rise on a product is unwelcome, but the gap between the cheapest credible whey at about 32p per 25g of protein and the best-known brands at about £1.10 is far larger than any single year's movement.
Check before every repeat purchase, not every year. With observations averaging 47 days apart and moves averaging 18% when they happen, a price you checked two months ago is genuinely stale.
You can see what is moving right now on the protein price tracker, rank the whole market on the cheapest protein comparison, or check any product against the bands in how much protein powder should cost. For which brands are worth buying beyond price alone, see UK protein brands worth buying, and to compare two products directly use the protein comparison tool.
Frequently asked questions
Which protein brands raised prices in 2026?
On WheyWise tracking between 7 April and 21 August 2026, every MyProtein product that moved went up, an average of 18.4% across four products, and every Bulk product that moved went up, an average of 10.9% across seven. Protein Works was mixed with five up and three down. Applied Nutrition was roughly flat at -0.8% across three products.
Did protein prices go up or down in 2026?
Mostly up. Of 61 UK protein products we recorded moving more than 3% between observations across 2026, 40 rose and 21 fell. The average rise was 18.4% and the average fall 16.4%, so rises were both more frequent and slightly larger. Observations averaged 47 days apart.
Did MyProtein put its prices up?
On our tracking, yes, and consistently. All four MyProtein protein products that moved by more than 3% between observations moved upward, averaging 18.4%. We did not record a single fall of more than 3% on a MyProtein protein product in this window. That is measured shelf data on the products we track, not a statement about the brand's entire catalogue.
Which protein brand held its prices in 2026?
Applied Nutrition, of the brands with enough movement to be worth reporting. Across the three products that moved, two rose and one fell, averaging -0.8%, which is effectively flat. That coincides with the period in which the company reported first-half FY26 revenue growth of 57%, so holding price does not appear to have cost it commercially.
How do you measure protein price changes?
We compare the most recent recorded price for a product against an earlier observation at least 30 days older, and report only moves larger than 3%. Because our catalogue scrapers do not run daily, the gap between the two observations varies: across this dataset it averaged 47 days. That is why every figure here carries both dates rather than a single time period.
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