I use True Protein Meal Replacement. Their WPI Protein is good too. I like their salted caramel flavour, mixed with almond milk and a shot of espresso.
True Protein is made from WPI sourced from New Zealand which has stricter food regulations and better quality milk in general. Bulk Nutrients is from imported WPI of unknown origin (most likely china) so cheaper, but not as high quality and healthy.
Don't give up yet, protein powders are not created equal.
I live in Australia and my go-to brands are True Protein WPI and Musashi. I have a smoothie for breakfast every day and I put a scoop of protein in my smoothie (frozen banana, almond milk, chia seeds, PB2, cocoa powder and protein powder).
Sometimes I also have an afternoon protein water drink.
Not sure if you'd have the same options, but I have gone into supplement stores and asked for some samples to try. They usually have a few sachets they can give you so you can try a few to find out what you like.
For beginners, a simple whey isolate is usually the easiest to digest and mixes well. I rotate between a few brands, but the whey isolate from True Protein has been solid for me and tastes good in shakes. Pretty hard to go wrong with it.
You could try a few Aussie brands and see which one fits your ingredient preferences. Bulk Nutrients is great if you want something local and simple. If you prefer isolate, the unflavoured True Protein WPI is one of the cleaner options around and mixes well, but it sits at a higher price point.
For me personally, my absolute favourite will be My Protein, the first ever protein powder I got. Not bad, but since I can't get the matcha flavour in Australia now I just switched to True protein's WPI 90. Works well for me. TBH, building muscle is just about dieting, whichever protein powder will work.
A whey isolate is usually a good starting point since it’s easier on the stomach and mixes well. I’ve been using the whey isolate from True Protein and it’s been a simple way to bump up my protein without changing much else in my diet. Easy to add to smoothies too.
bulk nutrients is the cheapest for sure. true protein wpi is a bit pricier but the ingredient label is cleaner if that matters to u, just whey, NZ grass fed. myprotein is the third one to compare. for "healthiest" it kinda depends on what u care about most, gram per dollar = bulk, ingredient list = true protein.
Nutrition warehouse (and I think Elite supps) will do taste tests in-store so that you can try their products before buying.
Most of the good quality Australian brand whey proteins in come from the same farms operated by Fontana (the label will most likely say either New Zealand or grass fed, but you can also ask). The quality is amazing and it’s grass fed. The main difference between brands is just the flavours they use.
Brands that use the New Zealand grass fed whey are: True protein (not Australian but still good quality), Anabolix, Genetix, International Protein. Protein Supplies Australia has good quality protein that’s easy to digest as well, but they use a different farm.
If you go for cheaper brands, or American, they won’t be the New Zealand/ grass fed, which means they are more prone to causing inflammation in the digestive system because of how the cows are fed.
Those brands are: Optimum nutrition, Rule 1, EHP labs, Bulk Nutrients, Maxine’s.
Another thing that helps, is having digestive enzymes added into the formula, there’s quite a few brands that do this now. The ingredients will list Digezyme, or probiotics.
Top Protein Powder on Reddit
1
Optimum Nutrition
Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder
76% positive of 992 users
Trusted all-rounder, but price hikes and quality decline concern.
CrocsRule251
