You know how it goes. Push a formula past 20 grams of protein per serving, and something usually gives. Texture turns dense. Flavor needs heavy masking. Or suspension needs gums just to keep from separating on the shelf. Formulators have accepted this as the cost of doing business for years.
Now, consumers aren't accepting the trade-off anymore. They don't want to ensure their protein — they want to enjoy it.
Whey built the modern high-protein beverage category, and for a long time, it was the default answer whenever a brand needed to push protein higher. But, whey is getting harder to rely on. Standard whey powder prices have climbed roughly 50% since January 2026 alone, and U.S. whey protein inventories have fallen by about half since 2023. Some suppliers are already sold out for the rest of the year, and most analysts don't expect meaningful relief before late 2026 or 2027.
Standard plant protein isolates have their own ceiling. Add more protein, and viscosity climbs. Add gums to hold the suspension, and the label gets longer. Add flavor maskers to cover plant notes, and the ingredient list keeps growing — for a product that often still doesn't land with consumers. Up to 60% of consumers abandon protein products over poor flavor, chalky texture, or unpleasant aftertaste. That's a formulation problem, not a marketing problem.
Two consumer shifts are compounding the pressure on formulators at once. GLP-1 medication use has moved from a niche prescription to a mainstream behavior — an estimated 11% of U.S. adults currently take GLP-1 medications for weight loss, up from just 3% of adults in 2024. GLP-1 users eat less, more often, in smaller portions, which means every sip needs to work harder. A thick 20-gram shake doesn't fit that lifestyle, and neither does a crowded, gum-heavy label.
At the same time, ready-to-drink (RTD) and ready-to-mix (RTM) protein formats are among the fastest-growing segments in food and beverage, with the RTD protein beverage market projected to grow at a 7.7% CAGR through 2031. Pea protein specifically is outpacing the category, projected at an 8.74% CAGR within RTD beverages over the same period. Brands aren't just adding protein — they're specifically looking for a plant-based protein that can compete with whey on performance.
The market is changing — quickly, with little reaction time, and for the long haul.
So, when we say H2-IZO is the first of its kind, we mean it.
PURIS didn't set out to build another pea protein isolate. We set out to solve a formulation problem our customers kept bringing us: Every time they pushed protein content higher, they hit the same wall between 20 and 30 grams per serving, where the product stopped being something people wanted to finish.
Building on the foundation of PURIS® P2.0 Pea Protein, our team re-engineered the isolate at a structural level, targeting solubility, emulsification, and viscosity simultaneously, instead of solving each one with a separate additive. The result supports 32 to 40 grams of protein per serving while staying light and fluid, holds suspension with zero added gums, and is up to 93% more soluble than P870 and 50% more soluble than P2.0.
In a blind sensory trial testing RTM shakes with 20 grams of protein per serving, participants consistently chose H2-IZO™'s smooth, easy-drinking experience over a comparable whey protein drink. The best part is the product they were trialing didn't rely on added gums or heavy flavor systems that usually accompany high-concentration plant protein. It was just H2-IZO — and more H2-IZO. No maskers or gums needed.
Formulators are putting H2-IZO to work across multiple formats.
In RTD beverages, H2-IZO supports 32+ grams of protein per bottle in a segment that's especially exposed to whey's supply crunch.
In RTM powders, its solubility advantage over P2.0 and P870 means a cleaner mix with less settling in the tub and the shaker bottle.
In non-dairy applications, its emulsification advantage gives formulators more room to hit dairy-like texture without dairy.
And in high-protein coffee and creamer formats — where a gritty or sludgy mouthfeel is disqualifying — its low viscosity and minimal settling hold up without the heaviness typical of plant protein in that category.
Most ingredient decisions come down to choosing between comparable SKUs; H2-IZO was engineered to solve a formulation problem nothing else on the market was built to solve.
Getting taste and texture right doesn't just solve a formulation headache — it's a growth lever. Products that taste good and deliver on their protein promise earn repeat purchases and build the kind of habit that turns a single sale into a customer for years.
Want to see the full performance data — solubility, emulsification, viscosity, and stability benchmarks against P2.0 and P870?