Protein Powder NZ

Protein powder is protein from milk (whey), beef or plants such as pea, faba bean, almond and peanut, dried to mix with water or milk. Most tubs we stock give 20 to 27 g of protein a scoop. You only need it if food leaves you short: one serve closes a gap of 20 to 30 g, and protein bars or ready to drink shakes do the same job without a shaker. New to it? Start with a smaller tub and our protein powder guide for beginners.

For most people it is a whey concentrate or blend with about 25 g of protein a scoop, such as MusclePharm Combat 100% Whey or Basic Supplements Whey. Choose an isolate such as Basic Supplements Isolate (110 calories a scoop, against 130 for Basic Supplements Whey) for less lactose or fewer calories; it is still made from milk. Avoiding dairy? Choose plant protein such as Ghost Vegan Protein. In drug tested sport, pick from our tested for sport range, which includes MusclePharm Combat 100% Whey, Combat Sport and both Pillar Performance isolates, and check your batch certificate. Our buying guide compares every type.

Compare the price per 25 g of protein, not the tub price. In September 2026, MusclePharm Combat 100% Whey works out at $2.19 per 25 g in every flavour of the 2.27kg tub, and Basic Supplements Beef Isolate at $2.11 per 25 g in the 1.81kg tub, though it is a fruit-flavoured drink, not a milky shake. Bigger tubs usually cost less: Basic Supplements Whey Mango Cream is $2.77 per 25 g in the 908g tub and $2.22 in the 2.27kg tub. Other formats cost more per 25 g of protein: protein water from $2.71, though it is mostly collagen; bars from $5.59; and MusclePharm Combat Ready RTD $5.21 (40 g a bottle, bought as a 12-pack). See every tub compared per 25 g of protein.

Usually one scoop a day, about 25 g of protein, to close the gap between your food and your daily target. Our daily protein guide puts most active people at 1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight, 98 to 140 g for a 70 kg person; if shakes supply more than a third of that, add food instead. Timing matters less than your daily total, so have it when it suits you. Mix it in a protein shaker; milk adds its own protein, carbohydrate, fat and energy.

For most healthy people, yes: a daily scoop is ordinary food. Our daily protein guide notes that intakes above the usual ranges mostly waste money rather than cause harm, and research on healthy kidneys has not shown damage from higher protein diets. It only adds weight if your total calories go over what you use; MusclePharm Combat 100% Whey is 120 calories a scoop. With kidney disease or a medical diet, follow your clinician; whey is milk protein, so it does not suit a milk allergy.

For muscle gain, whey is the usual first pick, such as MusclePharm Combat 100% Whey at 25 g of protein a scoop, alongside progressive training and a daily total near 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight. For a plant option, Macro Mike Peanut Plant Protein gives 24.5 to 25.7 g a scoop. Creatine is a separate buy, a 5 g scoop a day that adds no protein: if food already covers your protein, it is the usual next add; if you are short on protein, start with a protein powder. A mass gainer only makes sense if you cannot eat enough: Basic Supplements Mass Gainer gives 50 g of protein and 1,030 calories a serve. See our muscle gain ranking.

Women do not need a different protein powder; pick by diet, budget and flavour. Protein powder does not cause weight loss on its own; your total calories decide that. Watching calories? Compare protein per calorie: Ghost Clear Whey Isolate gives 25 g of protein in 100 calories and Basic Supplements Isolate 26 g in 110. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your midwife or GP first. More in our protein powder for women guide.

The difference is how far the protein is filtered and whether it comes from milk. Per 25 g of protein, as at September 2026:

• Whey concentrate and blends: less filtered, so more lactose; most whey protein powder is this type. From $2.19 per 25 g (MusclePharm Combat 100% Whey).
• Whey isolate: filtered further for less lactose and fat, from $3.04 per 25 g (Basic Supplements Isolate) or $3.58 per 25 g for Dymatize ISO 100 in the 2.27kg tub. Clear whey is a juice-style isolate: Ghost Clear, $5.00 per 25 g.
• Plant protein: pea, faba bean, almond or peanut, 20 to 25.7 g a serve, from $3.50 per 25 g (Macro Mike Peanut Plant Protein). Pillar Performance Vegan Protein Isolate is in our tested for sport range.

Yes: plant protein and beef isolate are not made from milk, so start there. For a vegan powder, choose plant protein such as Ghost Vegan Protein or Pillar Performance Vegan Protein Isolate; Basic Supplements Beef Isolate is not made from milk but is not vegan. Whey isolate is lower in lactose but not lactose free, and clear whey is still whey. Inspired Protein Water is mostly collagen, but its label also lists 2 g of whey protein isolate a serve. Mixing with water does not remove lactose already in a powder. Check the allergen panel on the flavour you pick.

For dessert flavours such as cereal milk and choc chip cookie, start with Ghost; for birthday cake or mint chip ice cream, Ryse; for classic chocolate and vanilla, Basic Supplements, Dymatize and MusclePharm. Prefer a light, juice-style drink? Try Ghost Clear Whey Isolate. Taste is personal, so buy a smaller tub of a new flavour first: Ghost, Ryse and Basic Supplements all come in tubs of about 1 kg.