Whey protein has doubled in a year and is now coming off its peak. Most suppliers keep that to themselves and send a number. We publish the market, show how our price is built from the raw-material price, what changes with the quantity you buy, and what a finished product costs beyond the powder.
European WPC80 rose from about €12,000 per tonne in autumn 2025 to a record of about €26,000 in May 2026, and in October 2026 is falling but still roughly 80% above a year earlier. Isolates (WPI90, clear whey) are holding firmer than concentrate. The free public index, sweet whey powder, has fallen 11% in the same year, so it says nothing about what protein costs. Our quote is built in the open: a dated raw-material reference, a fixed handling margin per grade and the logistics, each on its own line. The margin does not change when the market spikes. The price depends on the quantity: 300 kg, a pallet of 800 kg and a contract volume are three different prices from the same reference. And a finished product is more than its powder: packaging, other ingredients, manufacturing, release and development add roughly 40% on top of the raw material.
European WPC80 in euro per tonne, EXW, against the EU average for sweet whey powder. Each point is a published figure; sources are in the table below the chart.
| Date | Grade | Level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 2025 | EU WPC80 / EU WPI | €12,150/t / €19,500/t | Vesper |
| 3 Dec 2025 | EU WPC80 instant / WPI instant | €13,000/t / €21,500/t | Vesper |
| Feb 2026 | EU WPC80 instant | €16,500/t | Vesper |
| 25 Mar 2026 | EU WPC80 | above €20,000/t for Q2–Q4; most EU makers sold out | Vesper |
| 8 Apr 2026 | WPC80 benchmark | €20,250/t | DCA via Dairy Industries |
| 28 May 2026 | WPC80 benchmark | €26,450/t, record | DCA Market Intelligence |
| 15 Aug 2026 | EU WPC80 | not expected below €25,000/t before Q4 | Vesper |
| 7 Oct 2026 | EU WPC80 | −18.5% on the month, +81.8% on the year | Vesper |
| 5–9 Oct 2026 | US WPC80 / US WPI | mid-$9s to low-$10s per lb / “firmly in the $14s” | USDA Dairy Market News |
| Aug 2026 | Sweet whey powder, EU average | €1,440/t, −11% on the year | EU Milk Market Observatory |
Whey protein is not quoted on an exchange. Its price is made in quarterly contract rounds between a handful of European dairies and their buyers, and these are the forces behind it.
Dairies make whey when they make cheese. When cheese output falls or milk is short, less whey exists, whatever the protein demand. Europe's milk supply in 2026 is high, which is why the powder price is weak, but protein capacity is the bottleneck, not milk.
Weight-loss medicines and a tripling of German protein-powder retail have pulled on the same WPC80 and WPI. The market tracker Vesper has named GLP-1 use the main driver since December 2025. Our GLP-1 and protein report has the numbers.
In October 2026 WPC80 is falling while WPI and milk protein concentrate hold or rise. A quote for one grade tells you little about another.
Most volume is fixed in the Q4 contracting round for the next year. Prices often move most in the weeks before and after it.
At €25,000 brands started blending in MPC85, MPI90 and caseinate. That took demand out of WPC80 and is part of why it is easing.
The only free public series, the EU average for sweet whey powder, fell 11% while WPC80 rose 82%. Anyone who promises you a price linked to that index is either guessing or not telling you the whole formula.
We earn our margin on the service, not on the swing. So the price is built where you can see it.
The dated price at which we buy the grade from the dairy that week, EXW the dairy. It is the same reference we use for our own calculation, and it is named on the quote with its date.
One figure per grade for qualification, documents, quality release and the first-pallet service. It is the same figure in a rising and a falling market and it is written on the quote.
Pallet, bags, transport and insurance to your door, as a separate line, so you can compare EXW and delivered.
The quote carries the validity date. A deposit fixes the price; a reservation without a deposit holds the volume, and the price is set at dispatch.
When the market falls, your next quote falls with the reference. We do not hold old prices.
When the market rises, the margin stays where it was. Only the reference moves.
Second grade in every specification, so a spike in one grade does not stop your production.
Volume first, price second. In a sold-out year the scarce thing is allocation. Reserve the volume, then fix the price.
The index price in the chart is what a dairy charges for a full truck under an annual contract. A pallet is a different price, and 300 kg is a different price again. We quote three tiers, each built from the same reference.
Part-pallet from our European warehouse, in 15 or 20 kg bags, for sampling runs and first batches. The highest price per kilogram: splitting a pallet, storing it and preparing the documents costs the same for 300 kg as for 800.
A full pallet, 40 bags of 20 kg, from stock or within two to four weeks from the dairy. A clearly lower price per kilogram; a deposit fixes it for the stated delivery window.
Quarterly or annual volumes with reserved allocation. The price is fixed in tranches, or index-linked to a named WPC80 benchmark with a floor and a cap. Closest to the reference, because the dairy ships it as one lot.
Between the chart and your pallet sit handling, splitting, storage, insurance and documents. That gap is what the tiers show, and it is written on every quote.
Brands sometimes take the raw-material price, add a tub and expect the result. A finished product carries six more cost lines. This is how the cost of a 1 kg tub of flavoured whey protein typically splits at a first run of 500 units. We do not publish white-label prices: every product is quoted on its own specification.
| Cost line | What is in it | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Whey protein | About 850 g WPC80 at the October reference, pallet tier | ~60% |
| 2 · Other ingredients | Flavour, sweetener, thickener, lecithin, vitamins or creatine if specified | ~5% |
| 3 · Packaging | Tub, lid, induction seal, scoop, label, shipper carton | ~7% |
| 4 · Manufacturing | Blending, filling, sealing, labelling, packing; line set-up spread over 500 units | ~9% |
| 5 · Quality and release | Raw-material CoA check, batch analysis, release, retained samples, traceability | ~4% |
| 6 · Development and compliance | Recipe, samples, label check against EU rules, stability plan; spread over the first run | ~10% |
| 7 · Logistics | Pallet, transport to your warehouse, insurance | ~5% |
Why we show this. When the raw material moves 20%, the finished product moves about 12%. Knowing the shares lets you plan a price list that survives the next spike.
What the shelf price adds. VAT, trade margin, marketing, payment fees and returns sit on top of the ex-works cost. A retail price is usually a multiple of it, which is why a tub of protein does not cost what the powder costs.
Want a number for your product? Send the format, the protein grade and the volume. You get a written quotation within 24 hours, with every line item. Request a quote.
On the first working day of each month: what whey, isolate and milk protein did, why, what the dairies say about the next quarter, and which grades we can ship from stock. One page, with sources, no sales pitch.
European WPC80 was reported 18.5% lower than in September but still about 82% above October 2025, after a record of about €26,450 per tonne in May. Isolates are holding firmer. For your grade and quantity, a written quote follows within 24 hours.
Nobody can promise that. Concentrate is easing because brands reformulated at the peak and milk supply is high; isolate demand is still growing. Our approach is to reserve 2027 volume first and fix the price in tranches, with a second grade in the specification.
To our own dated raw-material reference, which is named on the quote, not to the free whey-powder index, which does not track protein. For larger annual contracts we offer index-linked pricing against a named WPC80 benchmark with a floor and a cap.
300 kg from our European warehouse in 15 or 20 kg bags. One pallet of 800 kg is the standard order and carries a clearly lower price per kilogram; from five pallets we quote contract terms with reserved allocation.
Because the protein is only about 60% of the ex-works cost. Other ingredients, packaging, manufacturing, quality release, development and logistics make up the rest, and at a first run of 500 units the set-up and development are spread over few units. See the cost build-up above.
Because the price depends on grade, instant or standard, quantity, packing and destination, and it changes with the weekly reference. A published number would be wrong within days. The quote gives the three lines for your case, dated and valid for 7 to 10 days.
Yes. Every new quote starts from the current reference. A price you fixed with a deposit stays fixed in both directions; a reservation without a deposit is priced at dispatch.
A deposit on a written quote fixes the price for the stated volume and delivery window. First orders are paid in advance; terms for repeat orders are agreed case by case.
From leading European dairies, with the country of production on every document and a Certificate of Analysis per batch. We do not name the dairies publicly; we do name them in the contract. See whey protein grades.
Send a few lines about your product: format, market, rough volume. Minimum orders: 500 units per SKU for sports nutrition, 60,000 capsules or 300,000 stick sachets for probiotics, bulk probiotic cultures from 50 kg. You get an answer within 24 hours.
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