For a long time, the message has been simple: more protein.
Protein bars, protein desserts, protein beverages, enriched baked goods, ice creams, and high-protein snacks have gained increasingly larger spaces on the shelves.
In 2026, however, something is changing.
Protein remains the star, but it is no longer alone. Fibers, gut health, recognizable ingredients, and texture quality are entering the same formulation project.
And this brings an important consequence for those developing foods: it is no longer enough to simply add a functional ingredient to a recipe.
It needs to work.
From high-protein to more complete nutrition.
The high-protein trend is not disappearing. On the contrary, it continues to expand into categories where it would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago.
Today, we find added proteins not only in shakes and supplements but also in snacks, baked goods, desserts, beverages, ice creams, and everyday foods.
Alongside protein, however, attention towards dietary fibers is rapidly growing.
One of the most interesting signals observed in the food sector in 2026 is precisely the convergence of these two worlds.
The product of the future does not necessarily have to communicate a single benefit.
It can be protein-rich and a source of fiber.
It can focus on nutrition without sacrificing indulgence.
It can have a simpler label while maintaining a pleasant texture.
This is where formulation becomes interesting.
Why is everyone talking about fibers?
Fibers have gradually transitioned from a technical or nutritional ingredient to an increasingly visible element in product communication.
Interest arises from various factors: increasing attention to gut health, the search for more complete foods, and the demand for products capable of combining multiple nutritional characteristics in the same food.
But there is also a technological aspect.
“Fiber” does not identify a single behavior.
Different fibers can have very different properties in terms of:
- solubility;
- water-binding capacity;
- viscosity;
- structure;
- mouthfeel;
- effect on the product mass;
- interaction with other ingredients.
The choice of fiber therefore depends not only on the desired nutritional profile but also on the product you want to achieve.
A drink, ice cream, cream, sauce, or baked product requires completely different behaviors.
The problem arises when we change the recipe.
Let's assume we take a balanced recipe and simply increase the amount of protein.
On paper, it seems easy.
In practice, viscosity, structure, water absorption, sweetness perception, creaminess, and mouthfeel can change.
The same can happen when introducing fibers.
For this reason, a nutritionally interesting formulation is not automatically a good food formulation.
The consumer may be attracted by the claim on the packaging, but on the second experience, a much simpler question matters most:
is it good?
And right after:
is the consistency what I expected?
Texture returns to the center
Crunchy, creamy, elastic, velvety, light, melting, dense.
Texture is one of the characteristics through which we perceive the quality of what we eat.
And it becomes even more important when we deeply modify the traditional composition of a food.
Reducing sugars or fats, increasing proteins and fibers, or eliminating certain ingredients often means intervening on components that also had a structural function.
Removing an ingredient, therefore, does not simply mean eliminating it.
It means understanding what it did in the recipe and how to replace its function.
This is where ingredients like fibers, starches, hydrocolloids, thickeners, gelling agents, stabilizers, and emulsifiers come into play.
An ingredient can have more than one function
Modern formulation is becoming less a sum of ingredients and more a system.
Let’s think about water.
In many food products, controlling behavior is essential.
An ingredient capable of binding, retaining, or modifying mobility can simultaneously influence:
- consistency;
- stability;
- workability;
- syneresis;
- creaminess;
- preservation of structure.
The same reasoning applies to proteins, fibers, starches, and hydrocolloids.
It is often more interesting to ask:
“What function should this ingredient serve in my recipe?”
instead of:
“Which ingredient should I add?”
Fibers, starches, and hydrocolloids: different tools
Dietary fibers
They can contribute to fiber intake but also affect water management, body, and consistency of the preparation.
Behavior varies significantly depending on the origin and characteristics of the fiber used.
Starches
Starches allow for manipulation of viscosity, structure, and consistency.
Their functionality changes based on type, treatment, and processing conditions.
Temperature, available water, pH, and process can radically change the outcome.
Thickeners and hydrocolloids
Xanthan, guar, carrageenan, agar, pectins, and other hydrocolloids behave differently.
Some increase viscosity.
Others form gels.
Others work better in combination.
The correct question is therefore not:
“What is the best thickener?”
but:
“What structure do I want to achieve?”
Clean label does not simply mean removing ingredients
Another major theme of 2026 is the clean label.
The concept is often reduced to the idea of a label with fewer ingredients.
From a product development perspective, however, the issue is more complex.
Every eliminated ingredient could perform one or more technological functions.
Reducing the ingredient list while simultaneously maintaining stability, taste, texture, workability, and sustainable costs therefore requires a true reformulation.
It's not enough to just remove.
We need to redesign.
And this is probably one of the most interesting evolutions of the clean label concept: moving from simply reducing ingredients to seeking ingredients capable of performing multiple functions effectively.
Protein + fiber + texture: the true balance
The direction of the market seems quite clear.
We will not witness the disappearance of the protein trend.
We will likely see increasingly complex products, in which proteins, fibers, and other functional elements coexist within the same formulation.
The challenge will be to do this without creating foods that seem designed solely around nutritional values.
Because a product can have a technically impeccable formulation and an interesting label, but if taste and texture do not convince, it will hardly become a habit.
The formulation of the future will therefore need to find a balance between four elements:
nutrition, functionality, sensory experience, and simplicity.
Function first, then the ingredient
When developing or modifying a recipe, starting from the ingredient is often the most difficult path.
It is more useful to define the result first.
Do you want to increase the body?
Reduce water separation?
Achieve greater creaminess?
Create a gel?
Increase the fibers?
Modify the texture without weighing down the product?
Only after these questions can it become possible to choose the most suitable family of ingredients.
This is also why two seemingly similar products may require completely different solutions.
The laboratory of 2026 is made of balances
Proteins, fibers, and clean label will likely be words we continue to see more often.
But behind a package and a claim, there is always a formulation.
And that is precisely where the most interesting part happens.
Because innovating does not simply mean adding something extra.
It means achieving something better.
And often just a few grams of the right ingredient are enough to completely change the behavior of a recipe.
Are you working on a new formulation?
On SaporePuro you will find dietary fibers, starches, thickeners, gelling agents, stabilizers, and emulsifiers to experiment and develop new textures.
Before choosing a technical ingredient, always start from the result you want to achieve.
Don't know which solution might be best for your application? Contact us indicating product, process, and desired texture: we can help you navigate through the different alternatives.
Sources and insights
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