D2C x Fiber

Hey readers,

Welcome to the twenty-fifth edition of D2C Cents!

This edition? We talk about:

How protein became popular in India. Now, fiber is following the same path. Demand is growing, and the market is still open for early movers.

Let's dive right into it.

Not long ago, protein in India was a gym-bro thing you bought in a supplement store. Today, the shaker bottle is a status object people carry to the office.

A nutrient that lived on the fringes walked all the way into everyday food and the kirana shelf.

Today, the protein powder market in India is sitting at ₹2,800 crore and growing at 18% year on year. What started as a niche became a mass market in less than a decade.

With more than 70% of urban Indians estimated to be protein-deficient, brands had a real gap to sell against, and they filled it by pushing protein into breads, batters, and everyday snacks rather than asking anyone to change how they eat.

It's about to repeat. Just with a different nutrient.

PepsiCo's CEO said it on an earnings call last year. Fiber will be the next protein. The interesting part is how often the two now sit on the same pack.

In the US, 51% of consumers say they are eating more fiber, almost the same as the 52% who say they are eating more protein.

Look at what is already on shelves, and you see the two nutrients sharing a label, not fighting over it.

Nearly every protein SKU now has a fiber twin coming. People are starting to treat fiber the way they treated protein. They count grams, aim for a daily target, and choose products based on the number on the pack. The only difference is that the focus has shifted from protein to fiber.

This is well past influencer chatter. Big and small players are shipping fiber-forward products and putting the number on the front of the pack.

Whole Foods named fiber one of its top trends for 2026. 

Young Indians are turning label reading into a habit. A 2024 survey found that 73% of Indians read ingredient lists and nutrition labels before buying snacks, and 93% of those label readers want healthier options.

Why fiber, why now

A few forces are pushing this at once, which is usually how a nutrient goes mainstream.

• The gut-health wave: Years of "good bacteria" talk gave people a reason to care about digestion, and fiber is the input that feeds it.

• The Ozempic effect: Fiber slows digestion and nudges the body's own GLP-1 hormone, so it rides the same satiety and blood-sugar story driving the weight-loss-drug era. Some people are calling it nature's Ozempic.

• A real gap to fill: Most people fall well short of their daily fiber, so the message lands as fixing a deficiency rather than chasing a fad.

• Fibermaxxing: Gen Z turned it into a tracked habit on Instagram and TikTok, the same way protein took over feeds a few years ago.

Now look at home. 

The conversation has already reached Indian feeds. Desi fibermaxxing content talks about dal, bhindi, idli, and millets instead of imported powders, and creators like Rohan Sehgal post glucose-monitor tests showing fiber flattens a sugar spike.

A few brands are already building for it:

Even the biggest investments point in the same direction.

Marico's majority stake in Cosmix may look like a protein or wellness play, and that's true. But there's a bigger story behind it.

People may come to Cosmix for its protein products, but the brand also sells gut health and fiber products. By acquiring Cosmix, Marico isn't just buying protein. It's buying the entire wellness basket.

Nobody is dropping protein. They are making room for fiber beside it.

Past these names, the shelf is mostly empty, and the runway is long. 

India's fortified and functional food and drink market was already worth about ₹44,000 crore (around $5.3 billion) in 2022, and it is on track to cross ₹65,000 crore by 2026, growing close to 10% a year. 

And we have an edge that the West does not. We don't need exotic ingredients to play. The fiber is already sitting in atta, dal, poha, bhindi, millets, and a dozen everyday foods. The job is to package it, put a number on it, and say it simply.

Not every fiber product will work

One honest note before anyone rushes a SKU out.

• Diversity beats dose: The trend is already maturing from "more fiber" to "better, more varied fiber," so a lone psyllium powder with a health sticker won't carry a brand far.

• You have to teach the buyer: Unlike protein, people don't reach for fiber on instinct yet. Even the soda giants admit they have to explain why it matters.

• Respect the gut: Going from low fiber to a lot overnight causes bloating, so honest dosing and a "start slow" line build trust instead of one-star reviews.

The products that win will be food-first, use a mix of fiber sources, and stay straight about how much they actually deliver.

The D2C Opening, and the Clock

Now for the timing. 

A new food product usually takes three to four months to move from idea to shelf. 

Three to four months from today drops you into the festive stretch, which is when people start hunting for ways to reset their gut after weeks of mithai and fried food. 

A brief signed this month can land in one of the highest-intent buying windows of the year.

If you are building, a few moves make it easier:

And if you would rather not build, the other route is proven. ITC bought Yoga Bar. Marico bought Cosmix. You can build the category or buy the brand that builds it.

Protein changed how Indians shop for food. Now, fiber is becoming the next number people check on the label. Unlike vague gut health claims, fiber is easy to understand and measure. 

Brands that keep the message simple and bring fiber into everyday Indian foods can win while the category is still taking shape.

See you next edition - same time, deeper insights.

Until then, keep building strategically.
Abhishek