Iconic Protein Completes Shift to Zero Added Sugar Formulation

For Iconic Protein, 2020 is the year it leaves sugar behind.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based protein drink and powder brand, founded in 2011, is set to complete its shift to exclusively offering no sugar added products by the end of this year, as the company has shared details of its reformulated flagship line.

Removing added sugars from its core line is the next step in the evolution of Iconic’s brand platform: having built the concept around grass-fed dairy-based whey protein, the company expanded to include functional coffees and kids beverages, both of which contain no added sugar, earlier this year. The core six-SKU line of RTD shakes, which are available in 11.5 oz. bottles at national retailers like Whole Foods and Target, are the last to make the switch, swapping out sugar and agave syrup — representing three grams of added sugar — in favor of stevia and monkfruit.

“It’s basically a brand strategy and reflects what we stand for as a company,” said Mariah Faulhaber, COO of Iconic. “All of the newer flavors or any line extension will be zero sugar, and that is in line with what we stand for as a brand.”

Along with addressing sugar content and responding to consumers asking for reduced sweetness, Faulhaber said Iconic used the reformulation process to make further ingredient changes, including removing glycerine, updating its salt blend used as a stabilizer and moving to an organic version of locust bean gum. Taking out sugar may be the biggest headline, particularly as it relates to the brand’s ability to make callouts on the package itself, but presenting new and existing consumers with a cleaner ingredient deck is an overall incremental step to expanding the brand’s audience.

Retail consumers will begin seeing the new product in late November and early December, with the changeover expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2021. After a busy year of innovation in 2020, Iconic is set to follow up with another new product launch that will begin rolling out to stores in late Q1.

“At the very least, if nothing else, our current core consumers will know that we have been actively listening to them, because a lot of these changes that we are making [are] based on consumer feedback,” she said.