German nutrition company FoodSpring aims to ‘Take sports nutrition to the next level’, with their incredible range of protein, supplements, vitamins, minerals, and healthy snacks including energy bars, cookies, spreads and mueslis. I’ve just finished a 750g tub of Chocolate-Peanut Whey Protein.
They source the whey from international company Fonterra who are known for their New Zealand Milk Products brand. The cows spend at least 90% of their time on grass fields, and 85% of the feed they’re given is grass.
I usually choose a vanilla flavour for my protein because it’s rare that I find other flavours I enjoy. I’ve never seen a chocolate-peanut before, and because I love a Snickers, I thought I’d give it a try. However, if you prefer something else you can choose from chocolate coconut, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, coconut crisp, neutral, raspberry, banana, mango, hazelnut, coffee, caramel or cookies and cream.
Table of Contents
First impressions
I’ve used several different protein types and brands in the past, and most have come in squat plastic tubs or plastic refill bags. This one comes in a tall cardboard tub that took up slightly less space on my kitchen side. Inside, the powder has a sweet fragrance of peanuts with an earthy background that’s not entirely pleasant, but I’ll soon find out if it comes through in the taste.
In one tub you get 750g of powder that provides twenty-five servings of 30g. In each serving, you get 22.9g of protein, 1g of fat, 2.3g carbohydrates and 0.54g of salt. It’s made with natural flavours, and the sweetness is provided by the natural sweetener stevia which is a plant-based sugar substitute.
The ingredients are whey protein isolate (45%), whey protein concentrate (43.4%), flavour, cocoa powder (4%), salt, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), sweetener (sucralose, steviol glycosides). It may contain traces of egg, soy or gluten, so may not be suitable for people with some allergies.
The packet also says that it can be mixed with water, milk or milk alternative and claims that it mixes well with no unpleasant lumps. Most protein companies claim their products can do this, but few are successful, so I was keen to find out if it was true.
Who are foodspring?
Based in Berlin, Foodspring pride themselves on creating ‘ the most revolutionary sports nutrition of our time’. This is a bold claim and one that would be hard to prove; however, their straightforward approach and commitment to sourcing the best ingredients does make their products stand out.
Not only do they offer the usual protein and energy products, but they also supply an innovative range of ‘Smart Cooking’ baking packs. These are premixed blends of protein-rich ingredients that allow you to make tasty items like bread and brownies quickly.
To ensure that every item is set apart from the competition, they have a four-part process “benefits-ingredients-simplicity-flavour”. This ensures that each new recipe is useful and of high-quality. They also refer to their ingredient sourcing as ‘globally regional’ this means that they search the world for the areas that produce each item best, for example, they get coconuts from the Philippines and Goji berries from China.
If you’re not sure which of foodspring’s products will suit your goals, their website features a useful quiz. Answer a few questions, and they’ll email you nutrition recommendations and workout tips.
Awards and Certifications
I couldn’t find any official certifications or accreditations besides the certifications that come with the grass-fed whey products from NZMP. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just means that there’s no easy way to verify the claims made by the company. However, everything that I have seen during this trial leads me to believe that this is a genuine product made to a high standard.
I would have awarded a higher score if: evidence was provided of official quality certification or third-party analysis of the ingredients.
Taste
Although I was a little concerned by the earthy scent of the powder, once I’d made my first drink up from two scoops and 600mls of water, I pleasantly surprised. This is the first protein drink that I’ve genuinely enjoyed. It’s not perfect, but it has none of the excessive sweetness that some other brands have.
The peanut-chocolate flavour was excellent and although I much prefer sugar to stevia, it was sweet enough but not overpowering. This is by no means the equivalent of a chocolate peanut milkshake but compared to many of the flavoured protein drinks I’ve tried it’s one of the best.
I would have awarded a higher score if: the taste was even better.
Ease of Use
The wide opening to the tub makes it easy to scoop out the amount you need. If you mix it with the recommended amount of water or milk (300ml per 30g scoop serving) it makes an impressively smooth liquid with no lumps. I gave it a vigorous mix and was impressed with how quickly the powder disappeared.
When combined with water, the liquid is only slightly thicker than full-fat milk and is easy to drink. With every order of protein, you get a free shaker which makes it even easier to use. The only thing you don’t get is a handy scoop to measure out each serving, but three tablespoonfuls should give you about 30g.
Effectiveness
It’s hard to tell how effective a protein powder is because the results depend on your entire diet and your training routine. However, in each 30g serving the amount of protein you get is 22.9g. This is slightly less than other brands like Gold Standard from Holland and Barrett and Pure Whey from Bulk which both contain about 24g per 30g.
I would have awarded a higher score if: the protein content was higher.
Value for Money
For £24.99 you get a 750g tub of protein powder. This is about average for mid-range products and a great price for this great tasting powder. It’s not got the largest amount of protein per serving but it’s not far off its competitors and more than makes up for it with incredible flavour and grass-fed dairy sourced whey from New Zealand. If you’re looking for something that’s easy to drink and may even have you looking forward to the next serving, this could be the one for you.
I would have awarded a higher score if: the flavour was even more impressive and the protein content was higher (for this price).
My Supplement Recommendations
These are products that I currently use and enthusiastically recommend:
Multivitamin – Nutrigenesis Multi for Men or Nutrigenesis for Women. Performance Lab use their patented Nutrigenesis technique to provide a range of vitamins and minerals in their most effective form. Read my review.
Nootropic – Mind Lab Pro contains eleven natural nootropics that have been proven to support cognitive function and brain health. Read my review.
Collagen – Edible Health Bovine Collagen. This excellent bovine collagen powder is completely tasteless and absorbs quickly into any liquid. It’s third-party lab tested and provides 13g of collagen per serving. Read my review.
Turmeric – VitaBright Organic Turmeric with Ginger and Black Pepper. These turmeric capsules are organic, effective and affordable. They include black pepper to enhance curcumin absorption and ginger to provide additional useful benefits. Read my review.
Incredible value – G&G Vitamin 28 day packs This is the most affordable way to buy supplements in the UK. One tub holds 28 daily packs of up to 11 different vitamins, minerals or food supplements.
You may also be interested in reading Testo Lab Pro Testosterone Booster Review, our round-up of ashwagandha supplements, or the best natural testosterone boosters UK.
I also reviewed; Mind Lab Pro, Performance Lab’s Sleep supplement and Performance Lab’s Men’s Multi.
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