A decade ago, “health food” in India meant sugar-free biscuits and low-fat milk. Today it means protein namkeen, collagen water, and probiotic makhana. Clearly, India is moving towards newer varieties of healthier options, but the big question is: are they willing to pay for it?
The early evidence says yes, in specific ways and for specific reasons.
The number that matters
A publicly reported 2026 Farmley Healthy Snacking Report, based on responses from more than 6,000 people across cities and age groups, found 86% of Indians now consider protein an important factor when choosing snacks. That is a shift in mindset, not just diet. Protein has moved from a gym-bag concern to a grocery-list priority.
The premium follows the mindset, though more cautiously. Around 32% of respondents in the same report said they are willing to pay a premium specifically for protein-rich products. That is not a majority. But it is a third of the country’s snacking population choosing function over price, in a market historically built on value-for-money.
The willingness runs deeper for children. Nearly 60% of parents surveyed said they would pay more for healthier snack alternatives for their kids, a sign that premiumization is arriving fastest at the family table. Parents will economize on their own diets before they economize on their children’s.
The scale backing this shift is real. India’s protein market is estimated at around $1.6 billion in 2026, projected to reach roughly $2.2 billion by 2031. Quick-commerce purchases of protein products have grown more than 150% over the past two years, which says as much about convenience as it does about conviction. People are not walking to specialty stores for this. They are adding it to a cart that already has their groceries in it.
Everyday food is where premiumization actually happens
The more interesting story is not sports nutrition. It is what’s happening to ordinary food. Innova Market Insights reports that 69% of Indian consumers are now actively including more protein in their diet, with protein positioning increasingly tied to broader wellness claims across everyday formats such as chai and coffee. Namkeen, frozen desserts, and even flatbreads are being quietly rebuilt around a protein count.
This is where premiumization becomes durable rather than a fad. For instance, a whey protein asks a consumer to change their routine. A fortified malt drink, taken the same way it always has been, asks for nothing but a slightly higher price. Horlicks Protein sits in this second category — a familiar evening habit, reformulated rather than replaced, which is precisely the kind of premiumization Indian households seem readiest to accept.
What this means for the market
Three things follow from the data. First, willingness to pay is real but narrow. Roughly a third of consumers will pay more, not all. Brands courting the rest will need to compete on price parity with a functional claim attached, not premium pricing alone.
Second, the household, not the individual, is often the buying unit. Decisions on children’s snacking are pulling adult categories along with them.
Third, distribution now matters as much as formulation. Quick commerce has become the shelf where this category is won or lost.
For brands built on legacy trust, the opportunity is specific. Consumers are not necessarily looking for a new product. They are looking for an old one, upgraded. A brand like Horlicks Protein, already present in the evening ritual of millions of Indian households, has a natural head start over challengers building the habit from scratch.
So, are Indians willing to pay more for health? Selectively, yes. Not for wellness as an abstract idea, but for a specific nutrient, in a familiar format, at a price that still respects the household budget.
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