India’s per-capita protein consumption could triple by 2070, opening a pulse-protein opportunity
A report by Asia Research & Engagement and FICCI projects per-capita protein consumption rising from 9.5kg in 2025 to 30kg by 2070. It flags pulses, domestic plant-protein processing and food innovation as key opportunities as India remains heavily reliant on imported processed isolates.
What happened
India Protein Market · ARE and FICCI project India’s per-capita protein consumption will more than triple by 2070, with pulses becoming the second-largest
Key facts
- Per-capita protein consumption projected to rise to 30kg by 2070 from 9.5kg in 2025
- Pulse-derived protein consumption projected at 9.3 million tonnes by 2070, from 3.5 million tonnes in 2025
- India imports almost 90% of processed plant protein isolates
- Business-as-usual annual protein emissions projected at 1.92 GtCO2e by 2070
- Integrated pathway could reduce annual emissions to 0.30 GtCO2e by 2070
- India and Southeast Asia projected to represent 31% of global agricultural and fisheries consumption by 2033
Why this matters
Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in pulse aggregation, fractionation and plant-protein formulation to establish an integrated local supply chain before the category scales.
What to watch
- Government incentives, procurement programs or production-linked support for pulse processing and food ingredients.
- Growth in domestic protein concentrate and isolate capacity, especially for chickpea, pea, mung and lentil inputs.
- Retail price spreads between imported isolates and locally processed pulse proteins.
- Changes in pulse crop yields, acreage, buffer stocks and import policy that affect ingredient availability.
- Acceleration in protein claims across atta, breakfast, snack, beverage and convenience-food launches.
- Consumer repeat rates for protein-enriched traditional foods versus plant-based meat analogues.
- Food-safety and labeling rules governing protein quality, amino-acid claims and fortified foods.
- Map pulse-protein exposure across private label, packaged foods, sports nutrition, ready-to-eat and fortified-staple suppliers.
- Prioritize products using familiar formats and price points rather than relying on premium meat-alternative demand.
- Secure multi-year sourcing partnerships with domestic pulse processors and evaluate co-investment in cleaning, fractionation and concentrate capacity.
- Build protein-led category navigation around affordability, taste, digestion and regional cuisines, not only vegan or fitness claims.
- Track regulatory requirements for protein claims, front-of-pack labeling and novel food formulations before expanding assortments.
- Use demand data to identify high-potential urban and tier-2 clusters for protein snacks, beverages and fortified staples.