Which protein brands are gaining and losing customers in India?
Among protein brands, Amul gains the most buyers through switching, with a switching balance of +63%, and yeast protein gains as a format (+100%). The Whole Truth (−79%) and MuscleBlaze (−62%) lose more buyers than they win, and Nakpro is roughly balanced (+5%) (NBW Brain, September 2026).
The finding in brief
- Amul gains mainly from buyers whose priorities shifted to price, helped by trust in the name.
- Yeast protein gains from buyers leaving whey, mostly over digestion and price.
- MuscleBlaze and The Whole Truth lose mainly on price; The Whole Truth also loses buyers who leave whey.
- Nakpro is chosen on price and dropped on digestion, so gains and losses roughly cancel out.
From the report
Switching balance: who gains and who loses customers
Amul
N=16 switching events
+63%
Yeast protein
N=10 switching events
+100%
Nakpro
N=21 switching events
+5%
MuscleBlaze
N=21 switching events
-62%
The Whole Truth
N=19 switching events
-79%
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Brand / format | Balance | Reading | Main reason for the flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amul | +63% | Net gainer | Priority shift to price, with trust |
| Yeast protein | +100% | Net gainer | Leaving the format (digestion and price) |
| SuperYou | — | net inflow | Like-for-like swap (taste, within plant protein) |
| Nakpro | +5% | Balanced | Mixed: chosen on price, dropped on digestion |
| Avvatar | — | balanced | Chosen on trust, dropped on price |
| MuscleBlaze | -62% | Net loser | Priority shift to price (price shock) |
| The Whole Truth | -79% | Net loser | Priority shift to price, plus leaving the format |
“Switched to Amul from MB n for me it's going good... I'm loving it tbh”
What it means for brands
Switching balance shows where a brand's buyers are going and why. A brand losing on price needs a value answer; a brand losing buyers to another format needs a product answer.
Questions
- What does a switching balance of +63% mean?
- Of all the switches involving the brand, gains outnumber losses by 63 percentage points of the total. +100% means every switch was a gain and −100% means every switch was a loss.
- Is this based on sales data?
- No. NBW Brain findings come from what Indian buyers say they did and why, in their own words, coded to a fixed codebook and checked against independent market research. They are not purchase data and not a representative survey, so shares describe the evidence, not the whole market.
How to read this: shares describe the evidence, with the base (n) shown. Findings come from what Indian buyers say they did and why, in their own words. Not purchase data and not a representative survey.