Gymnation Protein Testing

*** WHAT’S THIS PROJECT FOR? ***

To test New Zealand supplement brands, and find out which are true-to-label, and which are not.

*** WHY DO WE NEED THIS? ***

Someone recently tested a brand of protein powder that’s popular in NZ. According to their results, it contained half the amount of protein it should have, and six times the amount of carbs! (It was supposedly a low-carb protein, but tests showed it was 50% carbs, with 30% sugar.) Trouble is, the person who arranged the tests was (arguably) biased.

We don’t know who we can trust, and we don’t know how many other brands might be just as bad – or even worse!

We need someone completely neutral and objective to do these tests. Someone not owned by any supplement retailer or brand. Someone like Gymnation.

*** HOW DOES THIS TESTING WORK? ***

The Gymnation Protein Testing section has two halves to it...

The first is the lab test. It’s pretty simple – we buy products off the shelf (just like you do), send them to the lab, and check that what’s claimed on the label matches what’s in the tub. We’ll look at the basic stuff, like protein, carbs and fat. Plus we’ll check for amino spiking as well.

The second half is a blind taste test. We’ll get a bunch of you guys to be volunteers, and we’ll send you free protein samples. Unlabelled. You try them out, and rate them on taste, mixability, consistency, etc. Then we collate all your scores, and reveal the results.

Let’s see if these products are as good as the people pushing them on social media make out!

*** SO WHAT DO I GET? ***

Good question. In addition to the warm fuzzies of knowing you’re helping to clean up the NZ fitness industry, here’s what you’ll get...

- For $10, your name will go on our list of Protein Taste Testers, and you could be selected to rate a bunch of samples for us.

- For $30, you’ll be on the Protein Taste Tester list, PLUS we’ll send you a free Gymnation backpack.

- For $60, you’ll be on the Protein Taste Tester list, PLUS we’ll send you a free Gymnation backpack AND a Gymnation shirt/singlet.

Remember, this is a pledge, so your credit card will only be charged if we reach our fundraising target and the project goes ahead.

There’s a few other things you need to know:

1. YOU MUST ENTER YOUR NAME AND EMAIL, AND SHARE YOUR DETAILS WITH US. If you make an anonymous donation, or you contact details are incorrect, we won’t be able to send you your reward!

2. Only those that actually donate will be eligible. (That means this project needs to reach its fund-raising target, and you then have to make good on your pledge.)

3. You must be in New Zealand to be eligible as a Protein Taste Tester.

4. Samples will be sent to Protein Taste Testers selected at random – but even if you don’t get lucky this first time round, we’ll keep you on the list for future rounds of tests.

*** WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? ***

We’re doing this project properly, and that’s not cheap. We reckon we can do it for about $15k though.

Here’s how it roughly breaks down...

$7k – Lab testing the products (basic nutritional analysis, plus amino profile)

$5k – Back end development (all the databases and graphs to track and show our results)

$2k – Rewards (bags, tshirts, etc)

$1.5k – Miscellaneous (product purchase, shipping, etc)

*** CAN SUPPLEMENT COMPANIES AND SPONSORED ATHLETES PLEDGE MONEY TO THIS? ***

Yes, but only at this stage. It’s important that the Gymnation Protein Section is clearly objective and unbiased, so once it’s up and running, any sponsor will also need to be completely independent of the supplement industry.

However, during this early setup stage, everyone is putting money in – so there’s no way a single company has the leverage to influence the results. That means it’s just a great PR opportunity for supplement companies who want to show everyone how confident they are in their products. It’ll be very interesting to see which ones take up the challenge!

So guys... if you want to know what’s really in your supplements, 1) make a pledge, 2) share this with everyone you know, and 3) let’s get this project happening!