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‘The next protein’: Fiber is shaping up to be the latest grocery obsession
Cases of Pepsi soda are displayed at a Costco Wholesale store on Nov. 13, 2025 in Simi Valley, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
One of this year’s top food trends is facing some tough competition.
Protein captivated consumers and food companies in 2025, but fiber is increasingly stealing the scene as people place an increasing emphasis on promoting gut health.
It’s taken hold on social media, where “fibermaxxing” — or the concept of increasing fiber intake through whole foods like fruits and legumes — has seen thousands of posts.
“Fiber is finally getting a spotlight, which is a great thing because it’s a nutrient that people need,” said Stephanie Mattucci, principal strategist at food research company Mintel.
Currently, 90% of women and 97% of men in the U.S. are not meeting their daily fiber requirements, Mattucci said. For most Americans, that recommended range usually falls somewhere between 25 grams and 38 grams of fiber per day, she added.
But more people are beginning to take notice of those gaps.
According to Mattucci, 22% of consumers in the U.S. said high fiber content was one of their top three important factors when shopping for food — up from just 17% in 2021.
Wall Street’s companies are taking note, too. On an earnings call with analysts in October, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said fiber was emerging at the forefront of the company’s product goals as it looked ahead to 2026.
“I think fiber will be the next protein,” Laguarta said. “Consumers are starting to understand that fiber is the benefit that they need. It’s actually an efficiency in U.S. consumers’ diets, and that will be elevated.”
In February, the company is going a step farther and plans to launch Smartfood Fiber Pop, featuring six grams of protein per serving, and SunChips Fiber, incorporating fiber variants like whole grains and black beans, Pepsi’s chief science officer, Tara Glasgow, told CNBC exclusively.
Smartfood Fiber Pop and Sun Chips Fiber snacks.
Source: Pepsico
And there’s a reason companies are broadening their offerings. Research firm Datassential found that fiber is on track to be the “next big health trend following on the heels of protein” in its 2026 trends report.
Of the consumers the firm surveyed, 54% said they are interested in foods and beverages that are high in fiber. That number is even higher — reaching 60% — among members of Generation Z, who are pioneering the “fibermaxxing” trend on social media.
And 42% of consumers said they believe the attribute of “high fiber” on a nutrition label of any food or beverage product is important to defining that product as “healthy,” according to Datassential.
It’s that momentum that landed fiber as one of Whole Foods Market’s top trends for 2026.
The gut health craze
Watching fiber intake isn’t new, experts note, but it’s often been associated with older people who require it for health reasons as they age.
“When I think of fiber, I immediately think of my grandfather. Every day, he had his little baggie of All-Bran, and he brought it everywhere he went, probably out of necessity,” Mintel’s Mattucci said, citing the slowing of digestive tracts as people age.
Still, something has shifted as consumers of all ages have started placing more emphasis on promoting gut health and digestive wellness — and fiber entered the spotlight.
The emphasis on diversity of fiber intake and finding it in everyday whole foods rather than through supplements or powders is part of what’s allowing it to find popularity and align with current culture, according to Angela Salas, a senior dietitian at the University of California, Davis.
The two types of fiber — soluble and insoluble — work together to keep people fuller for longer, improve digestion, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol, Salas said. In some ways, fiber could mimic the effects of weight-loss drugs because it takes longer to break down food and therefore sits in the stomach for longer, she said, which could be a factor for its recent popularity.
“These nutrients have always been around and always kind of shifts, I think, from the food industry saying, ‘What can we highlight? What do people want to be focusing on so that we can continue to sell the same product, just slightly altered?'” Salas said.
Still, Kate Pelletier, a registered dietitian nutritionist at the University of Michigan Health, said it’s important to note that fiber is not sufficient as an alternative to GLP-1 drugs, and a balanced plate is the best way to stay healthy.
Pelletier said fiber’s use as a “street sweeper” for the body is likely one of the reasons it’s been thrust back into the spotlight.
“There’s been a really big shift into more natural plants instead of popping a supplement or using a protein powder,” Pelletier said. “We can get the benefit of fiber from thinking about adding more wholesome foods into our diet, versus typical diet culture [which] focuses on taking out X, Y or Z.”
Promoting high-fiber products
Food and beverage companies are jumping on the momentum, too.
Earlier this year, Coca-Cola launched its prebiotic soda, Simply Pop, with six grams of prebiotic fiber in five flavors to encourage gut health. Nestlé unveiled a new protein shake in June with four grams of prebiotic fiber designed specifically to support the digestive health of adults on GLP-1 medications.
Other companies like Olipop have also entered the prebiotic soda market, boasting recipes that promote gut health, while smaller businesses, like Floura protein bars and Sola Bagels, have also begun selling fiber-rich products.
Olipop soda at a store in San Francisco, California, US, on Monday, March 17, 2025. Olipop Inc., the high-fiber, lower-sugar soda startup, raised $50 million in a Series C funding round at a valuation of $1.85 billion.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Pepsi’s Glasgow told CNBC the company is taking every opportunity to explore consumers’ newfound interest in fiber. Glasgow said the research and development team’s work starts in science and follows trends to keep up with their audience’s evolving tastes.
Pepsi already has products on the market that specifically boast high fiber content, like its prebiotic cola and Quaker oatmeal. As consumers start to explore the previously “sleepy little nutrient,” Glasgow said, Pepsi is innovating new products across its beverages and food brands.
“We hear it from consumers as well that they’re becoming more knowledgeable about nutrition and their nutrition needs,” Glasgow said. “And I think that’s where the excitement is coming from. I feel it growing.”
Glasgow said the company, which already launched successful protein-packed products this year, is moving toward products that incorporate multiple sources of gut-healthy ingredients.
“We saw protein grow in a big way in the last couple years,” Glasgow said. “I think [consumers] are then expanding their view, and they realize there’s not one ingredient alone that is the silver bullet. It’s about getting the right ingredients all together.”
For some, fiber isn’t just a trend.
Naomi Aganekwu, a 27-year-old content creator, said she started incorporating fiber more intentionally into her diet last year. Now, she makes sure each meal she eats has at least five to 10 grams of fiber through foods like beans, lentils and chia seed puddings.
Aganekwu said she’s seeing results from incorporating fiber into her diet, like being satiated after meals and seeing her hormonal acne reduce. And as she’s championing fiber, she’s seeing the people around her do the same, especially among her generation.
It’s become personal for Aganekwu, too, whose father died earlier this year of colon cancer. Some research has shown fiber could prevent colorectal cancer in addition to promoting overall health, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“You don’t want to wait until you’re 60 or 70 and you’re dealing with more diagnoses,” she said. “There’s a lot that you can do, even just in your everyday choices, down to what you’re putting on your plate, that can directly impact your chances or decrease your chances of developing critical diseases.”
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Budget 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman gives a strong push to manufacturing, infrastructure and job creation, while proposing a simpler tax and customs system.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2026-27.
Budget 2026 Takeaways: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday presented the Union Budget 2026-27, giving a strong push to manufacturing, infrastructure and job creation, proposing a simpler tax and customs regime, and hailing the government’s modernisation drive as a “reforms express”.
The Budget 2026 is anchored around three ‘kartavyas’ — driving growth by enhancing productivity and competitiveness, building people’s capacity, and ensuring inclusive development under the vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas.
In her ninth consecutive Budget in Parliament, Sitharaman laid out a multi-pronged strategy to sustain growth amid global uncertainty, including expanding domestic electronics and semiconductor capabilities, de-risking infrastructure projects, skilling India’s youth for emerging technologies, and easing compliance for taxpayers and importers.
Here are the key takeaways from Budget 2026 across manufacturing, infrastructure, skills, AI, taxation and customs duty.
Manufacturing Gets A Boost
Budget 2026 put a special emphasis on the manufacturing landscape in India. The outlay for electronics components manufacturing was raised sharply to Rs 40,000 crore, while new schemes for rare earth magnets, chemical parks, container manufacturing and capital goods seek to reduce import dependency, and strengthen domestic supply chains. Textiles got an integrated, employment-oriented package covering fibres, clusters, skilling and sustainability.
Infrastructure-Led Growth
Infrastructure got a boost with a higher capex allocation and initiatives like a risk guarantee fund to de-risk projects for private developers, new dedicated freight corridors and national waterways, dedicated REITs (real estate investment trusts) for recycling of significant real estate assets of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), and a seaplane VGF (viability gap funding) scheme.
The Centre’s capital expenditure (capex) target has been increased to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27, up from Rs 11.2 lakh crore earmarked for the current financial year. Moreover, maintaining the fiscal discipline, Sitharaman said the government expects the fiscal deficit to be at 4.3 per cent of the GDP in 2026-27, lower than 4.4 per cent projected for the current financial year.
Tier-II and Tier-III cities were placed at the centre of urban growth via City Economic Regions, backed by reform-linked funding.
“We shall continue to focus on developing infrastructure in cities with over 5 lakh population (Tier II and Tier III), which have expanded to become growth centres,” Sitharaman said in her Budget Speech.
Greater Emphasis On Skilling
The Budget placed renewed emphasis on the services economy as a jobs engine. A high-powered Education-to-Employment and Enterprise Committee will realign skilling with market needs, including the impact of emerging technologies.
Content creation and creative industries get a boost through AVGC labs in schools and colleges, support for animation, gaming and comics, and new institutional capacity for design and hospitality. Tourism-linked skilling, from guides to digital heritage documentation, signals a clear intent to convert culture and content into employment and exports.
“I propose to support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges,” FM Sitharaman said. AVGC stands for animation, visual effects, gaming and comics.
AI & Semiconductors Push
Artificial intelligence (AI) was positioned as a cross-sector force multiplier rather than a standalone theme. The Budget provided a push to artificial intelligence (AI) by promoting adoption with governance, agriculture, education and skilling, including proposals for AI-enabled advisory tools for farmers and AI integration in education curricula.
On hardware, the semiconductor strategy expanded decisively under ISM 2.0 (India Semiconductor Mission 2.0), with focus on domestic equipment manufacturing, materials, research centres and workforce development, signalling a long-term commitment to building a resilient chip ecosystem in India.
Taxation, ITR, TDS, TCS
A major structural reform comes with the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026, containing simpler rules and redesigned forms.
Budget 2026 provided compliance relief for individuals, including extended timelines for revising returns to March 31 from December 31 earlier, staggered ITR due dates, and easier filing of Form 15G/15H through depositories.
Individuals with ITR-1 and ITR-2 returns will continue to file till July 31, and non-audit business cases or trusts are proposed to be allowed time till August 31, according to the Budget Speech 2026-27.
“I propose to extend time available for revising returns from 31st December to up to 31st March with the payment of a nominal fee. I also propose to stagger the timeline for filing of tax returns. Individuals with ITR 1 and ITR 2 returns will continue to file till 31st July and non-audit business cases or trusts are proposed to be allowed time till 31st August,” Sitharaman said.
TDS (Tax deducted at source) rules were clarified for manpower services, while a rule-based system for lower or nil TDS certificates is proposed. TCS rates were cut to 2% for overseas tour packages, education and medical expenses under liberalised remittance scheme (LRS). Litigation is targeted through integrated assessment and penalty orders, lower pre-deposit requirements, and wider immunity provisions.
TDS on the sale of immovable property by a non-resident will be deducted and deposited through resident buyer’s PAN (Permanent Account Number)-based challan instead of requiring TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number), Sitharaman said.
Customs Duty Tweaks
Customs duty rationalisation continued with a clear focus on domestic manufacturing, energy transition and ease of living. Exemptions have been extended or introduced for capital goods used in lithium-ion batteries, critical minerals processing, nuclear power projects and aircraft manufacturing.
Personal imports will become cheaper with a reduction in duty on goods for personal use from 20% to 10%. Seventeen cancer drugs and additional rare-disease treatments were exempted from customs duty. Process reforms aimed at trust-based, tech-driven clearances, faster cargo movement and lower compliance costs, especially for exporters and MSMEs (micro, small, medium and enterprises).
STT On F&O Hiked
The Budget increased securities transaction tax (STT) on futures trading from 0.02% to 0.05% and on options trading from 0.10% to 0.15%, a move that upset the capital markets with the BSE Sensex crashing more than 2,300 points from the day’s high and the NSE Nifty dropping to 24,571.75.
Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is a direct tax imposed on the buying and selling of securities in India.
Commenting on the Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The Union Budget reflects the aspirations of 140 crore Indians. It strengthens the reform journey and charts a clear roadmap for Viksit Bharat.”
February 01, 2026, 14:43 IST
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Piyush Goyal termed the Budget “economically and fundamentally very strong”, and stated that it “reflects the aspirations of the youth of the country”.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. (File photo)
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday termed Budget 2026 “futuristic and holistic”, and stated that it “reflects the aspirations of the youth of the country and is forward-looking”.
Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18 on Budget 2026, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Goyal said, “This is a fabulous budget and it is very futuristic. The Budget 2026 has covered all sectors including technology, infrastructure, etc.”
“The technology sector has been given a thrust. The budget focuses on infrastructure. It is a holistic and forward-looking budget refecting future ready Bharat,” he said, adding, “The budget meets the aspirations of the youth and new India.”
Stating that the Budget is economically and fundamentally very strong, the Union Minister said, “Farmers, animal husbandry and labour-intensive sectors get a major push as this Budget focuses on investment, value addition and jobs.”
#Exclusive | “The Budget is economically and fundamentally very strong,”Preparing India for Viksit Bharat. Farmers, animal husbandry and labour-intensive sectors get a major push as the Budget focuses on investment, value addition and jobs.@Parikshitl in an exclusive… pic.twitter.com/tJr2SItcaW
— News18 (@CNNnews18) February 1, 2026
‘Budget 2026 Is Human-Centric’: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the Union Budget 2026 is “human-centric and strengthens India’s foundation with path-breaking reforms.” The Prime Minister also described it as historic and a catalyst for accelerating the country’s reform trajectory and long-term growth.
Following the presentation of the Budget in Parliament, PM Modi said the proposals would energise the economy, empower citizens and give India’s youth fresh opportunities to scale new heights.
“This budget brings the dreams of the present to life and strengthens the foundation of India’s bright future. This budget is a strong foundation for our high-flying aspirations of a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Calling the government’s reform agenda a “Reform Express”, the Prime Minister added, “The reform express that India is riding today will gain new energy and new momentum from this budget.”
February 01, 2026, 19:01 IST
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Interest rates are widely expected to remain at 3.75% as Bank of England policymakers prioritise curbing above-target inflation while also monitoring economic growth, according to expert analysis.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is anticipated to leave borrowing costs unchanged when it announces its latest decision on Thursday, marking its first interest rate setting meeting of the year.
This follows a rate cut delivered before Christmas, which was the fourth such reduction.
At the time, Governor Andrew Bailey noted that the UK had “passed the recent peak in inflation and it has continued to fall”, enabling the MPC to ease borrowing costs. However, he cautioned that any further cuts would be a “closer call”.
Since that decision, official data has revealed that inflation unexpectedly rebounded in December, rising for the first time in five months.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate reached 3.4% for the month, an increase from 3.2% in November, with factors such as tobacco duties and airfares contributing to the upward pressure on prices.
Economists suggest this inflation uptick is likely to reinforce the MPC’s inclination to keep rates steady this month.
Philip Shaw, an analyst for Investec, stated: “The principal reason to hold off from easing again is that at 3.4% in December, inflation remains well above the 2% target.”
He added: “But with the stance of policy less restrictive than previously, there are greater risks that further easing is unwarranted.”
Shaw also highlighted other data points the MPC would consider, including gross domestic product (GDP), which saw a return to growth of 0.3% in November – a potentially encouraging sign for policymakers.
Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, affirmed: “Keeping bank rate unchanged at 3.75% at next week’s meeting looks a near-certainty.”
He noted that while some MPC members who favoured a cut in December still have concerns about persistent wage growth and inflation, recent data has not been compelling enough to prompt back-to-back reductions.
Edward Allenby, senior economic advisor at Oxford Economics, forecasts the next rate cut to occur in April.
He explained: “The MPC will continue to face a delicate balancing act between supporting growth and preventing inflation from becoming entrenched, with forthcoming data on pay settlements likely to play a decisive role in shaping the next policy move.”
The Bank’s policymakers have consistently voiced concerns regarding the pace of wage increases in the UK, which can fuel overall inflation.
From Manufacturing To Infra And AI: Capex Boost Flags Off Budget 2026 ‘Reforms Express’
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