High-protein everything: How SA’s weight-loss obsession is reshaping the snack aisle [Part 1]

There is a number on the front of almost every snack now, and it’s usually followed by a “g”. High-protein dairy pouches, protein-fortified drinks and clear “protein waters” have moved from gym-bag staples to supermarket fixtures.

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In South Africa, First Choice recently expanded its High Protein drinks range into Checkers, Dis-Chem, Pick n Pay, Spar, Takealot and Uber Eats, with a 250ml serving retailing at R24.99 for 21g of protein and R43.99 for 27g.

And that’s just one of many options that I now see on my usual grocery run.

Journalist Kaunda Selisho compares high-protein snacks in a Johannesburg supermarket. Picture: Kaunda Selisho

But why now? Three forces are pulling in the same direction: a weight-loss drug boom, a renewed cultural appetite for thinness, and a squeezed consumer looking for something that fills them up and keeps them fuller for longer without making them more rotund, as most filling South African favourites usually do.

The jab effect

Ozempic reached South Africa in 2021 as a diabetes treatment, though it was used off-label for weight management. Novo Nordisk launched Wegovy for weight management in 2025.

According to Spotlight’s reporting, Aspen Pharmacare’s Dr Stavros Nicolaou said that, according to IQVIA data, Mounjaro has become the best-selling medicine in South Africa. The regulator approved it for weight management in October 2025.

The demand is not only clinical. SAHPRA has said that social media, celebrity culture and the idea of a fast fix have fuelled demand. Because the jabs are expensive, a shadow market has followed.

SAHPRA has warned about the growing use of unregistered peptide products, including certain GLP-1 medicines, marketed unlawfully in South Africa. The Mail & Guardian found that a month’s supply of one unapproved product, labelled retatrutide, cost R3 000.

Ozempic vs Wegovy vs Mounjaro

GLP-1 weight-loss medications are transforming how midlife women manage their weight – but a growing number of experts warn they come with hidden risks for women in perimenopause and menopause. Picture: iStock

The connection of the above-mentioned trend to your snack aisle is muscle. GLP-1s blunt appetite, so people eat less of everything, including protein.

One 2025 study of GLP-1 users found protein intake was suboptimal for a calorie-restricted diet, at 17.5% of total calories. Cardiologist Dr Tara Narula has described the logic as follows: people lose weight very fast, can lose lean muscle along with it, and so there is a push to find more protein.

Thin is back in, and it has an audience

Anyone with a phone knows the aesthetic pendulum has swung. US experts speaking to Northeastern Global News said that once weight seems controllable, being thin starts to look like a matter of personal responsibility, and that “heroin chic” has returned as “Ozempic body”. Add the pressure of constant visibility, with personal brands, curated feeds and always-on cameras, and food becomes part of the performance.

Documented protein intake shared online is part of that performance. It becomes a status symbol for those who want to appear disciplined and gym-adjacent.

What the science actually says

Different sources of protein. Picture: iStock

The medical case for protein is real, but narrower than the marketing suggests.

The standard adult recommendation is 0.8g per kilogram of body weight a day.

A 2025 joint advisory from four US professional bodies (the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association and The Obesity Society) listed adequate protein intake and strength training to preserve lean mass among its eight nutritional priorities for people on GLP-1s.

Summaries of the advisory point to 1.2-1.6 g per kilogram a day during active weight loss. For a 70 kg person, that’s roughly 84-112 g daily.

Older research supports the broader idea. In a 2007 study in Obesity, women on a higher-protein diet (about 1.4 g/kg) preserved more lean body mass and reported better satiety while losing weight. But the evidence has limits. Shorter, tightly controlled trials consistently show benefits, while longer-term studies produced limited and conflicting findings.

Reviews describe the satiety effect as modest, with greater perceived fullness but no clear effect on what people eat at their next meal.

A high-protein snack in a Johannesburg supermarket. Picture: Kaunda Selisho

Essentially, protein alone isn’t enough.

Medical News Today notes that most weight lost on GLP-1s is fat, though some muscle loss can occur, and that pairing protein with resistance training is how you protect muscle.

There’s also a counter-current. Dietitians who spoke to Forbes and other sources warn that “high protein” has become a health halo, signalling that a product is better for you simply because it contains more protein. Another warns that you may end up eating more processed food than before.

– Read more in part 2.

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