Kiwi dairy industry rides the Wegovy wave as whey protein booms

New Zealand dairy companies are cashing in on a surge in global demand for bioactive proteins found in cow's milk, like whey, off the back of the surge in weightloss drugs.

Boosting immune health or developing muscles for elderly or appetite suppressant patients were believed to be driving a recent upsurge in demand for dairy-based proteins.

Fresh cow's milk consisted mostly of water, with small fractions of lactose, fat and protein.

After dairy processors removed fat and separated the casein protein, the leftover liquid was whey, a protein-rich by-product valued for amino acids and minerals that supported human health.

This year, prices for whey powder in key market the United States were soaring.

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Rabobank said in a recent agribusiness report, whey powder prices were up 76 percent in June, compared to the same time last year, with spot prices up 60 percent from the start of 2026.

The bank's senior analyst in animal proteins, Jen Corkran said high-protein yoghurt and dairy drinks containing whey were now in high demand globally.

"We've got these Gen-Zs and even your millennials in the gym, but also just everyday prioritizing protein," she said.

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"We've seen this really big protein demand, and milk protein in particular benefits from this," said Corkran.

"We're seeing a lot of protein labelling, your yogurts, protein powders, and this is really adding to that demand story."

Wegovy wave

South Island dairy company Westland Milk was expanding its lactoferrin production facility in Hokitika to meet demand, advertising a number of jobs online at the West Coast facility.

Its owner, Yili Oceania's chief executive, Alex Turnbull said body builders drove early bioactive protein demand, but it was now much more mainstream, especially with the rise of [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/580606/ozempic-type-drugs-backed-by-who-for-treating-obesity

GLP-1 medication] use.

"Particularly with these aging populations in Western and Eastern culture," Turnbull said.

"And then, what's happened is with this crazy trend in the world for these weight loss drugs known as GLP-1, which is an appetite suppressant.

"Whatever you eat needs to be very, very nutritiously dense, because you lose a lot of muscle mass when you lose weight so quickly. And those are the casein proteins and the whey proteins."

In the United States, the use of appetite-suppressant GLP-1 medications for diabetes and weight loss had become much more widespread in recent years, with the development of brands Ozempic or Wegovy.

Turnbull said there was good demand for whey in the US, Europe and Asia.

He said people better understood the important role of proteins in the body thesedays.

"You're seeing customers putting protein into anything.

"And that's been the second catalyst to drive such enormous demand for dairy proteins, indeed throughout the world, but particularly the epicentre being in the United States of America."

The whey to boost immune health

Selling the health benefits of a whey protein complex was the name of the game for Quantec, a small but longstanding company in Waikato.

It sourced milk from companies in one of the country's key dairy regions, then contract manufacturers extracted a natural mix of bioactive proteins including lactoferrin to create an ingredient that promoted immune health.

Chief executive, John Dawson said half the team were scientists who had spent years testing and working to prove the product's health benefits, like reducing the frequency of colds in children.

"We are focused on a very, very small subset of the bioactive proteins in milk. This really has carved out a unique niche for us in the dairy space," he said.

"We've been able to create a branded ingredient we call IDP, immune defense proteins, and that branded ingredient is used as an active ingredient in dietary supplements, health supplements, mainly in China, but also in other parts of the world."

Dawson said China was its top export market, that Taiwan and Japan were going well, and it was sending a little bit into Europe, with hopes to grow the US market.

"That's where the value is for us, is in building that brand supported by the science and the clinical studies. So that's a pretty narrow focus, but that's going to keep us busy for the foreseeable future."

Dawson said a focus on immune health was huge during the Covid-19 years, but had since dropped off a bit.

In addition to immune defence, he said it was exploring whey's other functional traits like anti-inflammatory or antimicrobial, as well as benefits for pets, riding on the back of the trend of owners humanising their pets.

It hoped to publish two clinical health studies, one in China and one in the United States.