Whether you are a voluntary member of the diet-conscious brigade or a gym bunny, chances are that you have “whey-d” your options for healthy snacks, given the growing buzz around protein-based savouries. The humble protein shake has mutated into all things edible — from protein water to bars and spreads. It should be no surprise then that American media personality Khloé Kardashian launched Khloud Protein Popcorn, and, closer home, Bollywood’s Ranveer Singh co-founded SuperYou which offers protein-packed wafers and chips.
According to Grand View Research, an India-and-US-based market research and consulting company, “The healthy snacks market in India is expected to reach a projected revenue of US $6,427.5 million by 2030. A compound annual growth rate of 7.6% is expected of India healthy snacks market from 2024 to 2030.”
We speak to a few homegrown brands that have galvanised the protein-rich-gourmet-snack cult in India, and how they continue to walk the tightrope between taste and health.
Wafers and chips: SuperYou
Hot on the heels of the success with the launch of Protein Wafers, SuperYou, co-founded by actor Ranveer Singh, launched Multigrain Chips with 10 grams of protein and protein powder last year. Nikunj Biyani, co-founder, SuperYou, says, “Our vision has always been to disrupt traditional snacking with healthier alternatives through purposeful innovations. We’ve focussed on delivering a better-for-you option that doesn’t compromise on flavour or quality.”
SuperYou protein wafer bars come in many flavours, including chocolate, choco peanut butter, strawberry crème, cheese and coffee
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The ingredients of chips include urad dal, rice flour, jowar, chickpea, soya protein isolate and tapioca starch. The Mumbai-based brand’s protein wafer bars too come in many flavours, including chocolate, choco peanut butter, strawberry crème, cheese, and they have recently launched coffee. They contain 10g protein per 40g wafer. “We use an innovative source of protein called fermented yeast, which is a revolutionary new technology that is scientifically advanced to give the best efficacy, all while being super gut friendly,” adds Nikunj. The brand has also introduced protein powder now.
Nutritional value of SuperYou protein wafers
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The chips start at ₹50, while the wafers are priced upwards of ₹60.
Water whey: Aquatein
Aquatein’s 10g and 21g protein water
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Co-founded by Ananth B Prabhala and Mitisha Mehta, Aquatein launched 10g and 21g protein water in May 2019, but was available marketwide in 2021. The duo was prompted to dabble in the protein space back in 2016-17, when there were not so many discussions about protein. “With Aquatein, our idea was to seamlessly inculcate protein into someone’s life without trying to replace meals or regular food. Aquatein protein water makes protein intake easier for all age groups, and functional hydration was the key idea,” says Ananth.
Nutritional value of Aquatein protein water
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About the kind of protein used, Mitisha says: “We use whey protein isolate. Whey is a dairy-based and globular protein. What makes Aquatein different is that our protein is lactose-free. Our whey protein is actually treated in such a way that it dissolves in water and stays stable. The general process is with whey water, which is spray-dried and converted into the powder format. So the first thing any food product, or anything that is spray-dried, does is try to get back to the natural form. For this reason, at Aquatein, we pre-hydrate the protein so that it does not absorb water from your intestinal lining immediately.” The brand has reintroduced Aquatein with no artificial flavours last year.
The Mumbai-based Aquatein prices its 10g protein water at ₹396 for a box of four, and 21g protein water at ₹600 for a box of four across flavours (mango, strawberry, mix berry, green apple and orange).
Spreads and bites: Twiddles by Yuvraj Singh
Twiddles offers chocolate spreads and snackable energy bites by using 60–70% real nuts
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Ace cricketer Yuvraj Singh is batting for protein too. Co-founded by him, Twiddles offers chocolate spreads and snackable energy bites by using 60–70% real nuts, cutting out palm oil and preservatives, and slashing sugar content by over 70%. Kumar Gaurav, co-founder, Twiddles, which is based in Gurugram, Haryana, says, “Most snacks on the shelf today are either loaded with sugar or overly processed in the name of health. With Twiddles, we wanted to strike the balance. The goal: to make protein-first, guilt-free indulgence the new norm in snacking.”
Twiddles products are powered by natural protein, primarily from nuts like almonds, walnuts & cashews, which make up 60–70% of the brand’s spreads and bites.
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Twiddles products are powered by natural protein, primarily from nuts like almonds, walnuts & cashews, which make up 60–70% of the brand’s spreads and bites. “Our spreads are made with a high percentage of real nuts (like almonds and walnuts), along with seeds, cocoa, and millets, delivering a rich taste with no palm oil or preservatives. Our bites include the same core ingredients, with the addition of dates for natural sweetness and binding. Across all products, we’ve cut refined sugar to a minimum and avoided artificial additives entirely.”
Nutritional value of Twiddles spread
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The products by Twiddles start at ₹220
Cookies and granola: Wild Date
Wild Date offers a wide range of healthy snacks
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From hunger busters to vegan protein bars, Wild Date offers a wide range of healthy snacks. The ones that intrigue us are the protein-based cookies and granola. CS Siddharth, founder of Wild Date, says that his journey as an endurance athlete taught him that what we put into our bodies matters just as much as how we move them. “During training for Ironman races, I struggled to find clean, performance-supporting snacks that were both functional and genuinely tasty. That gap inspired me to create more products for Wild Date, a brand born from lived experience, clean eating and also blending athletic discipline with real-food nutrition. However, I wanted to create something that supported not just athletes, but anyone navigating busy, active lives,” he says.
Key ingredients: The brand’s granola comes in two variants — Hazelnut Chocolate Granola and Peanut Butter Granola; the former has protein content of 5.2g in 40g and the latter has 7.6g in 40g. They contain hazelnut chocolate 48% (hazelnut butter, peanut butter, cocoa, unprocessed cane sugar, salt), rolled oats, wild-honey, coconut flakes, natural vanilla extract, peanut butter 40% and cinnamon powder. The cookies too come in two flavours — Chocolate Cookie (3.6g protein in 40g) with Almond Bits and Caramel Chocolate Cookie (3.10g protein in 40g). The cookies contain rolled oats flour 21%, water chestnut flour 14%, unsalted milk butter, coconut sugar, table salt, chocolate 36% (coconut sugar, cocoa butter and cocoa powder), almond bits 9% and caramel powder 13%.
The 250g granola and 40g of five-cookie box start at ₹300
Doc talk
Yes, protein is very important for body building and muscle repair, but excess of it is of no use, says Dr Nancy Sahni, chief dietician and head, Department of Dietetics at PGIMER, Chandigarh. “In case, there is high protein intake but low carbohydrate intake, the body will utilise the protein as an energy source rather than a protein source. So balance is the key. All macro and micro nutrients play a pivotal role in maintaining our metabolism and homeostasis, so we can’t go bonkers over just one nutrient,” she adds. She lists a few points to keep in mind while purchasing any diet supplement in bar/chips/powder form:
1. Check the portion size you will consume and the amount of nutrients you will ingest. May be it is high in fat too or has saturated fats beyond the recommended limit. It can be that it’s high in sodium and if one is prone to hypertension and is salt sensitive, then one needs to take care.
3. Check the number codes. For example, INS 995 refers to artificial sweeteners; although these are given a green signal to be used but the quantity matters. Mostly the amount of artificial sweetener used is not mentioned, which is a matter of concern.
4. Usually ingredients are listed in descending order of the quantity used, meaning that first ingredient listed will be used in maximum quantity in that product. For example, if it’s written whole wheat atta biscuits and the first ingredient listed is maida, then one needs to be careful.
5. Check for any ‘masked ingredients’. For example, use of maltodextrin in sugar-free items. Although it’s not sugar, but it’s a refined carbohydrate that has high glycemic index similar to sugar and can spike blood glucose level.
6. Check if ‘natural food’ is indeed natural. For example, dairy crème ice-crem versus frozen desert ice-cream. The latest is analogue paneer versus dairy paneer.
Homemade alternatives
A 25 grams of dairy cottage cheese provides five grams of protein. A glass of milk/a cup of curd (200g)/one egg provides more than six grams protein. Nuts/oil seeds can be enjoyed in their natural form rather than laced with butter. 100 grams of these provide 21 grams of protein. Lentils/pulses/soya are excellent protein sources and become complete protein when mixed with cereals like wheat and rice. The ingredients in processed foods may be positive but if they have undergone ultra processing to be made into chips/bar form, then they can turn into negative nutrients, informs Dr. Nancy.