Keto and Paleo Consumers: High Protein/Low-Carb Diet Trends and Opportunities, 2nd Edition

Report Overview

Why has consumer interest risen in keto and paleo diets?

• Healthier

• Better for losing or maintaining weight

Keto and Paleo Consumers: High Protein/Low Carb Diet Trends and Opportunities is the go-to source for a complete understanding of U.S. consumer trends regarding keto, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, Whole30, and other low-carb diets. This report combines Packaged Facts’ extensive monitoring of the food and beverage market with proprietary surveys, and evaluates current trends and future directions for marketing and retailing, along with consumer patterns during the pandemic and inflation area and across the broader food and beverage market.

See our blog on Keto, Paleo and Low-Carb Lifestyles
In recent years, high protein and low-carb eating has been popular among people trying to lose weight or generally improve their health. Several specific eating programs, such as the ketogenic and paleo diets, also emphasize low carbohydrate consumption as a component of a larger nutritional or lifestyle regimen.

In general, eating too many calories from any type of food can cause weight gain because unused food energy is stored in the body. However, over the past several decades, consumer ire has shifted from high fat eating to excess consumption of sugars and carbohydrates as the main contributors to weight gain. Viewing sugars or carbs as “the enemy” has led many people to follow diets that reduce or eschew them, including the newer paleo and keto diets, as well as diets that were developed much earlier, such as the Atkins and South Beach diets. Many consumers think that these diets can help prevent weight gain because they are “better for you”.

As consumer interest in keto and paleo diets has risen, many new food and diet products have been released with keto and paleo label claims. Such products have a perception of being healthier/better for losing weight, and are therefore being sought out by consumers who are not following a specific diet but are instead seeking to increase protein intake and reduce sugar/carb consumption.

Opportunities exist in developing food and beverage product lines that specifically target keto and paleo dieters. However, potential gains for products that feature more general low-carb or high protein labeling are even greater: Packaged Facts survey results indicate that more than half of consumers view high protein designations as a high priority on food labels, while 30% place a high priority on low-carb food labels. This is much greater than the percentages of consumers who place a high priority on keto or paleo labeling.

With a focus on “what’s next” and current consumer trends, Keto and Paleo Consumers: High Protein/Low Carb Diet Trends and Opportunities is packed with insights about consumer trends, behavior, and motivations to help food producers, retailers, packaging companies, employers, and investors gauge consumer perspectives and find areas for growth in a competitive market.

Keto and Paleo Consumers: High Protein/Low Carb Diet Trends and Opportunities delivers actionable predictions and recommendations designed to guide producers, retailers, and investors in making business decisions by providing data and insights about consumer behavior and what consumers think about low-carb/high protein diets and foods marketed for these diets.

Scope

This Packaged Facts report examines the dynamics of the current landscape for consumer trends in the high protein/low carb and keto and paleo markets.

The keto (or ketogenic) diet mandates very low carbohydrate intake, high fat, and adequate protein content. The strictness of this diet is intended to bring the body into ketosis for faster weight loss. It forces the body to burn fat by making carbohydrates scarce. This diet tends to be the lowest in carbohydrate content compared to other low-carb diets.

The paleo (or Paleolithic) diet, also called the “caveman diet” or the “stone age diet”, consists of foods that may have (or could have) been eaten by our Paleolithic counterparts. There are different variants of the diet, with some being fully plant-based and some featuring animal products. The diet encourages adherents to avoid processed foods and opt instead for whole options like vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, eggs, meat, and seafood. Besides the broad category of “processed”, forbidden foods include dairy products, grains, added/refined sugars, legumes, salt, alcohol, and coffee.

Although the paleo diet is not specifically low-carb, in practice the allowed foods tend to provide fewer carbohydrates and more protein and fat content than standard American diets.

Low-carb diets including keto, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, Whole30, and general low-carb diets are analyzed. This report considers both packaged foods and beverages with paleo and keto claims, as well as whole foods that fit with these eating styles. Consumer demographics, perceptions, motivations, and attitudes on food, diet, and health are considered.<.p>

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers are also analyzed in a broad sense, as well as in the context of following a keto or paleo diet.

The reasons for and implications of shifts in consumer perception and behavior are analyzed in the context of present and future market opportunities.

Additionally, Keto and Paleo Consumers: High Protein/Low Carb Diet Trends and Opportunities has dozens of tables highlighting numerical survey data on household product usage and consumer demographics and psychographics as well as numerous marketing photographs. This report goes in-depth on COVID-19 and inflation trends that have affected the food and beverage market.

Report Methodology

The information contained in Keto and Paleo Consumers: High Protein/Low Carb Diet Trends and Opportunities was developed from primary and secondary research sources. Primary research includes interviews with food and beverage market experts; participation in and attendance at food industry events; and extensive internet canvassing.

Primary research also includes national online consumer polls of U.S. adult consumers (age 18+) conducted on an ongoing basis by Packaged Facts to analyze attitudes of consumers and their relevant food and beverage preferences.

Survey data from MRI-Simmons are used to analyze the demographics and psychographics of consumers following special diets including keto, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, and Whole30.

Supplementing Packaged Facts’ exclusive surveys are analysis of the 2022 and 2023 Food & Health Surveys conducted by the International Food Information Council, which analyze consumer food purchase decisions, diet and lifestyle choices, snacking activity, and perception of health benefits in foods.