High Fiber Plant Proteins: The Key to Addressing America’s Nutritional Gap
Consumer Demand for Fiber is Creating New Formulation Opportunities
The food & beverage industry is rapidly evolving. Consumers now acknowledge fiber’s critical role in health and wellness. Once considered niche positioning, fiber fortification is now recognized as a mainstream consumer priority. Datassential’s 2026 trends report noted that 54% of consumers show interest in high-fiber food sources.
A crucial gap remains between actual fiber intake and consumer interest. The average American consumes about 15 grams of fiber per day. Meanwhile, 90% of women and 97% of men fail to meet daily requirements.
This nutritional shortfall sparks the latest ‘fibermaxxing’ movement. Approximately 60% of Gen-Z consumers embrace this trend. The goal of ‘fibermaxxing’ is to meet (or exceed) the recommended 25-38 grams of fiber per day.
This movement represents a clear market opportunity for brands. Consumers increasingly acknowledge fiber’s role in blood sugar management, digestive health, satiety, and cardiovascular wellness.
In response, major CPG brands including Nestlé, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have recently launched fiber-enriched products. These range from reformulated snacks to prebiotic sodas.
Emerging brands like Olipop have demonstrated premium pricing potential, achieving a $1.85 billion valuation mainly due to their fiber-centric positioning.
This demonstrates general consumer willingness to pay premium prices for functional high-fiber products that deliver proven nutritional benefits.
Dietary Types: Soluble vs. Insoluble
Dietary fiber exists in two primary forms—soluble and insoluble—each offering distinct health benefits.
Soluble Fiber easily dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance. This type of fiber aids in slowing digestion and regulating blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber also acts as a prebiotic. It feeds beneficial gut bacteria and supports digestive health. Common sources of soluble fiber include legumes, oats (beta-glucan), and some fruits.
Insoluble Fiber does not dissolve in water, and supports digestive health by adding bulk to stool. This helps food move through the digestive system efficiently by promoting regular bowel movements. Insoluble fiber may also reduce the risk of digestive disorders. Sources include nuts, whole grains, wheat bran, and vegetable skins.
While both types of fiber provide important nutritional benefits, most benefit from consuming both types on a regular basis. Many foods include both soluble and insoluble fiber. Examples are single-ingredient chia flour, sunflower seed protein powder, oat protein powder, and apples (with skin).
Understanding the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber helps formulators make strategic selections. Each type offers unique nutritional benefits.
Dietary Fiber Forms: Intact Fiber vs. Isolated Fiber
Beyond fiber type, fiber’s form—based on processing method—varies greatly. Both soluble and insoluble fibers offer health benefits. However, research suggests that intact fibers offer distinct advantages compared to isolated fiber.
Intact fiber includes whole food sources where fiber remains within the natural plant matrix. Examples include single-ingredient chia flour, oat protein and sunflower seed protein. This type of fiber is accompanied by protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and phytochemicals. Its natural structural preservation provides a complete fiber profile. It may also offer advantages in prebiotics, fermentation patterns, and overall gut health compared to isolated fiber.
Formulating with intact fiber allows formulators to combine with protein with protein. Other naturally present beneficial compounds also remain intact. Complementary nutrients are often present in intact fibers. These include vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, polyphenols and lignans.
Isolated fiber is extracted from its original food source using enzymatic or chemical processing. The fiber is then added to food and beverages during production. While isolated fiber does increase overall fiber content on nutrition labels, research suggests they may not offer the same full range of health benefits compared to fiber consumed within whole foods. Common sources of isolated fiber include psyllium husk powder, inulin extracted from chicory root, and cellulose from plant sources.
The Whole Food Advantage: Ingredients such as Organic Chia Flour, Organic Flax Flour, Non-GMO Oat Protein, and Organic Heliaflor® 55 Sunflower Seed Protein naturally contain both soluble and insoluble fiber within their intact plant matrix. These ingredients deliver complete fiber profiles that offer comprehensive digestive health benefits from just one single ingredient.
On the other hand, different isolated fiber sources would need to be combined in order to achieve similar nutritional outcomes.
Organic & Non-GMO High Fiber Plant Proteins: Strategic Solutions for Formulators
Austrade offers five Certified Organic and Non-GMO plant proteins that provide significant fiber content as well as functional protein. These high-fiber plant proteins maintain clean label integrity while meeting consumer demand for fiber-rich food and beverage formulations.
Organic Chia Flour: Exceptional Fiber Density
Organic Chia Flour delivers approximately 50% fiber content, including both soluble and insoluble fiber fractions. The exceptional fiber density positions organic chia flour as one of the best protein sources for high fiber marketing claims. Organic chia flour is a complete plant protein with essential amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids (ALA), calcium, and magnesium—enabling multiple product label claims.
Chia flour’s hydrophilic properties make it an excellent choice for various nutrition bars and baked good applications. Beverages will benefit from the incorporation of organic chia flour at typical usage levels of 5-15%. The fine particle size and neutral flavor facilitate a wide variety of food and beverage applications, offering formulators an excellent fiber fortification solution.
Organic Golden Flax Flour: Mineral-Rich Fiber with Omega-3 Benefits
Organic Golden Flax Flour serves as an excellent nutrient-dense ingredient for functional food formulations, offering a fiber content of approximately 48%, and a minimum protein content of 30%.
The partially defatted flour contains up to 13% beneficial fats, including omega-3 ALA fatty acids, which are widely known for supporting cardiovascular health claims. This light yellowish powder maintains a neutral flavor profile that complements both sweet and savory applications, and its water-binding properties support moisture retention and texture development in finished products.
Organic golden flax flour’s mineral profile includes calcium, potassium, magnesium, and 600mg of phosphorus per 100g—distinguishing it from other plant-based fiber sources.
The micronutrient density makes golden flax flour particularly valuable for sports nutrition, meal replacements, GLP-1 formulations, and applications where multiple nutritional benefits are desired.
Organic golden flax flour delivers a fine particle size, integrating seamlessly into baked goods, protein bars, and various beverage applications (at typical inclusion rates of 5-15%).
Non-GMO Oat Protein: Valuable Nutrition with Heart Health Benefits
Non-GMO Oat Protein contains more than 20% fiber content while delivering at least 60% protein. This dual-functional ingredient addresses both fiber enrichment and protein fortification with a single component.
The fiber fraction of organic oat protein includes beta-glucan, a prebiotic soluble fiber with FDA-approved heart health claims. This regulatory advantage serves as a compelling marketing differentiator in an increasingly health-conscious (and competitive) landscape.
Widely valued for supporting structure, texture, and moisture retention in plant-based products, oat protein offers a mild, slightly sweet flavor that complements both sweet and savory applications. Its neutral taste profile makes it particularly versatile, eliminating the need for masking agents that are often required with some plant proteins. This ingredient is used in sports nutrition, meal replacements, functional snack foods and across baked good applications at 5-20% inclusion rates.
Organic Heliaflor® 45 & 55 Sunflower Protein: High-Fiber, Allergen-Free Solutions
Organic Heliaflor® 45 Sunflower Protein is Certified Organic and delivers a minimum protein content of 45%, alongside an impressive maximum fiber content of 23%. The high fiber content supports digestive health while contributing to the recommended daily fiber intake that many Americans fall short of. Its strong water and fat-binding abilities enhances texture and moisture retention in finished products, allowing formulators to boost nutritional value without compromising quality. Heliaflor® 45 is ideal for spreads, sauces, dips, dressings, marinades, and various baked goods.
Organic Heliaflor® 55 Sunflower Protein is a Certified Organic, CO2-extracted sunflower protein concentrate that has a fiber content of approximately 21%, and a minimum protein content of 55%. Heliaflor® 55’s exceptional water and fat-binding abilities (1:4 ratio) enable effective fiber incorporation without compromising mouthfeel. The absence of major allergens makes this plant protein valuable for allergen-free formulations and those targeting certain dietary restrictions. This allergen-free plant-based protein functions well in protein powders, ready-to-drink beverages, nutrition bars, and plant-based alternatives at 5-15% usage levels. Its light color and neutral taste facilitate incorporation while supporting emulsification, water-binding, and texture development in finished products.
Fiber-Rich Positioning & Application Opportunities
Products formulated with high-fiber, single-ingredient plant proteins offer a multifaceted value proposition for brands:
- Dietary fiber for digestive health
- Plant protein for increased protein intake and sustainability
- Organic certification for clean agriculture and a verified supply chain
- Allergen-free formulations for inclusive nutrition
Key Application Opportunities:
Beverages: Ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, Ready-to-mix (RTM) beverage powders, and functional smoothies can deliver 5-10 grams of fiber per serving while maintaining viscosity.
Nutrition Bars: High-fiber nutrition and protein bars can provide approximately 25-40% of the recommended daily value of fiber per serving, supporting strong packaging claims that appeal to ‘fibermaxxing’ consumers.
Snacks & Baked Goods: Fiber-enriched cookies, muffins, crackers and bread products leverage technical functionality for improved nutrition that meets clean label requirements.
Dairy & Meat Alternatives: Dairy and meat alternatives gain improved nutritional profiles when dietary fiber content increases—addressing a key nutritional gap in plant-based offerings.
Strategic Fiber Ingredients for Meeting Essential Nutritional Needs
Consumer recognition of fiber’s essential role in health and wellness continues to grow, with trends like ‘fibermaxxing’ garnering widespread attention to this critical nutrient.
With the majority of Americans failing to meet basic fiber requirements, the competitive landscape demands formulation approaches that deliver genuine nutritional benefits without compromising sensory satisfaction.
Austrade’s Organic Chia Flour, Organic Golden Flax Flour, Non-GMO Oat Protein, and Organic Heliaflor® 45 and 55 Sunflower Proteins serve as excellent single-ingredient, high-fiber plant protein sources for R&D teams seeking to meet specific nutritional fortification goals.
Unlike isolated fiber ingredients, these whole plant proteins retain dietary fiber within the original food matrix—enabling brands to address America’s nutritional gap through formulations that combine multiple nutritional benefits.
Expert Support for Your Formulation Challenges
From industry recognition to customer success stories, Austrade Inc. is more than just a supplier—we’re a leader in clean label innovation.
Whether your brand is launching a new innovation, improving an existing one, or reformulating for a cleaner label, our team is ready to support your next project.
Austrade Inc. offers a wide range of Certified Organic & Non-GMO ingredients that deliver on quality, functionality and full traceability.
Contact our team to learn more about how we can best support your formulation goals.