Webinar preview: Lactalis Ingredients targets protein bar hardening as GLP-1 reshapes demand 

Dairy protein supplier Lactalis Ingredients says the market for protein bars is growing rapidly across North America, Europe, and Asia. However, the company notes that bar formats with very high protein loads still tend to leave a hard and crumbly texture before the end of its shelf life. The ingredient producer says the answer to this challenge lies in the choice of protein and singles out casein as the ingredient that keeps a high-protein bar soft on the shelf. 

Ahead of Lactalis Ingredients’ upcoming webinar, “Texture challenges in high protein bars: Understanding the benefits of casein,” on September 22, 2026 (3:00 PM CEST), Nutrition Insight speaks with the company’s Coralie Pallet, product manager, and Stephie Ursinus, application engineer, to discuss the science and trends behind the latest high-protein bar innovations. 

Pallet says that she sees GLP-1 medications changing what goes into a protein bar more than how many are sold. She adds that consumers on the medications eat less but look for food that is more nutritious and that increases satiety. She also notes that bars already meet these demands through their convenience and nutrient density. 

“As a result, we are seeing growing demand for bars with higher protein and fiber content, lower sugar levels, and, in some cases, formats better suited to smaller portions,” says Pallet. “More broadly, GLP-1 is accelerating existing trends such as satiety, weight management, and functional nutrition.” 

The task, Pallet adds, is keeping products aligned with those shifting expectations.Coralie Pallet says GLP-1 medications are reshaping high-protein bar specifications.

Why bars harden 

Ursinus points to bar hardening and firming as key challenges and highlights two mechanisms as the cause: water migration and protein aggregation. According to Ursinus, water migration is the trigger. Moving water between the protein and syrup phases rearranges the structure, though it does not harden the bar on its own. 

Hardening comes from protein aggregation, which she says is promoted by that water movement and other changes during storage. 

“Formulators can reduce water migration by selecting proteins and syrups with similar water activities, thereby minimizing the water activity gradient between the two phases,” says Ursinus. “The larger the gradient, the greater the water migration and the resulting structural rearrangements.” 

She highlights that aggregation can be limited on two fronts. It can be done indirectly, by slowing that water movement, and directly, by choosing proteins less inclined to clump and form strong networks. Ursinus reveals that caseins fit that description, as they have a low tendency to aggregate. 

Casein stays softest 

In its protein bar model, Lactalis Ingredients lined caseins up against whey, caseinate, and plant proteins, Ursinus reports. She says that casein runs softer than the rest. 

“In our protein bar model, casein-based systems consistently remained softer throughout storage than whey-based systems,” Ursinus explains. “In fact, our caseins produced the softest bars of all the proteins evaluated and were the only ones showing minimal texture evolution over time.” 

At the same time, she points out that, according to Lactalis Ingredients’ own testing, whey did the opposite. 

“Whey-based systems showed the greatest increase in hardness during storage,” she attests. “This is not surprising, as whey proteins are naturally gel-forming proteins and tend to rapidly build strong, structured networks.” 

“In our study, they produced the hardest bars and the largest texture changes during storage.”Stephie Ursinus traces bar hardening to water migration and protein aggregation during storage. 

She also notes that blends landed in between, depending on the ratio. The push for more protein runs into a practical ceiling, and it shows up on the production line before it shows up in the mouth. 

“At very high protein levels, the first challenge is often processability,” she reveals. “The dough can become very firm, difficult to process and, in some cases, even brittle if there is not enough syrup or if the syrup system is not able to adequately hold the matrix.” 

“As a result, formulators may face bars that are excessively hard, difficult to handle during manufacturing, or prone to crumbling.” 

Ursinus says Lactalis Ingredients can help by matching the protein system to the formulation and tuning the blend for a balance of processability, texture, and stability, with guidance on syrup selection. 

Beyond dairy proteins 

Plant proteins are the category’s other shift, and Ursinus stresses that Lactalis Ingredients has tested the main ones used in bars. She underscores that the proteins delivered acceptable textures, alone or in blends, and says they hardened less during storage than whey and caseinate systems but more than casein-based bars.

“In our experience, the main challenges with plant proteins are not necessarily texture-related,” says Ursinus. 

“They are more often linked to their nutritional quality, which is generally less favorable than that of dairy proteins, their distinctive flavor profile, and, for some sources, their tendency to produce darker, brownish colors that may or may not be appreciated depending on consumers,” she concludes.