Ryse Loaded Protein - Fruity Crunch 🍓🥣
How amazing does this look?? (image from rysesupps.com)
I’m really glad that a few supplement companies are making cereal flavoured protein. It is ridiculously hard (read expensive) to get Fruity Pebbles / Froot Loops in the UK, so I’m always looking for new ways to replicate that cereal experience.
I’d usually include some sort of rhetorical question here to entice you to keep reading, but I liked the Ryse Fruity Crunch flavour so much that I’ve already added their Peanut Butter Cup flavour to my 2021 review list. Read on to find out why
The Product Summary
📋 Product: Ryse Loaded Protein
🥛 Type: Whey Isolate / Concentrate Blend
👄 Flavour: Fruity Crunch
💰 Price: $39.99 (or $36 with an affiliate / athlete discount code, roughly £26)
⚖️ Weight: 2 lbs
🥄 Servings: 27 servings
The TLDR
Definitely one of the best products I’ve tried and this has now become a firm favourite of mine. The taste of the Fruity Crunch flavour is true to the cereal it tries to emulate, and is easily 9 / 10. Macro profile is great, with 25g of whey isolates & concentrates and some additional digestive and health benefits. Only downside is that price + shipping makes it slightly expensive in the UK, although you can size up to a 54 serving tub and reduce cost per serving.
The Macros
🔥 130 Calories
💪 25g Protein
🍬 3g Carbs (1g sugar)
🛢️ 2.5g Fat (1g saturated)
The Brand
Ryse is relatively new American company founded by Nic Stella near the end of 2017. The company started with only 2 flavours of pre-workout, BCAA + EAAs and a few basic pill products. Today, Ryse has a much bigger offering which includes protein (obviously), protein pancakes, pre-workouts and a Blackout line that is geared toward the more “hardcore” lifter. Ryse has also been affiliated with some very high profile athletes, including Conor McGregor and Greg Doucette.
While the brand has historically (and understandably) been more US focused, Ryse products are now increasingly available abroad. Luckily for those of us living in the UK / Europe, Ryse set up an EU website earlier this year, and they have a UK distributor as well (who I use, more details below)
The Formula
When it comes to protein, I’m a big fan of simple, clean products that don’t have a lot of added calories. I never understood why some very popular products out there have 200 calories but only around 20 grams of protein…. So with a name like “loaded protein”, I was actually pleasantly surprised to find that this had some beneficial ingredients like MCTs and Prebiotics, and not “loaded” with empty calories.
Going through the ingredients list, the first 2 ingredients are of course instantized whey isolate and instantized whey concentrate. Since isolate is listed as the first ingredient, we know that this at least 50%+ of the protein content is from whey isolate. I’ve said this before, but I’m not sure the average person benefits tremendously from the faster absorption of whey isolates. However, it is good to know that with this product, the majority of the protein you get is derived from (objectively) higher quality isolates.
The next ingredient is MCT powder - derived from palm kernel (the edible seed of the oil palm fruit) and coconut oil. MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides, which is a type of healthy fat that is commonly used as a supplement. MCTs are easier to digest than other fats (which have longer molecular chains), and therefore is a great source of energy. Moreover, there is research which shows MCTs can reduce lactate build up in athletes (contributing to better endurance), promote weight loss, reduce risk factors for heart disease, as well as help manage blood sugar levels. Incidentally, this is primary reason why coconut oil is considered a superfood.
Great option for a milkshake, recipe in versatility section
Interestingly, this product has some sodium caseinate, which is essentially a complete protein source derived from milk (hence casein). However, given how far down the ingredients list this is, I suspect this is not a significant source of protein, but rather an emulsifier used to keep help the MCTs mix with any added liquid.
The other noteworthy ingredient is the Organic Agave Inulin, which is a carbohydrate that isn’t absorbed (and therefore considered a fibre), with a a mild but sweet flavour. This is a prebiotic which feeds “good” gut bacteria (probiotics) and promotes intestinal health. This also has the added benefit of being very soluble in cold water, meaning it should not affect mixability.
The remaining ingredients on the relatively short list are fairly standard, and includes thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and lecithin to help with mixability. While the lecithin used here is from sunflower (and not soy), the product warning label does say that this contain some soy.
Full ingredients list below:
Instantized Whey Protein Isolate, Instantized Whey Protein Concentrate, Medium Chain Triglyceride Powder [medium chain triglycerides (from palm kernel and coconut oil), sodium caseinate (a milk derivitive), contains 2% of less of each of the following: silicon dioxide, sunflower lecithin, Organic Agave Inulin, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Salt, Gum Blend (cellulose gum, xanthan gum, carrageenan), Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium
The Mixability
In powder form, Ryse Loaded Protein is slightly more clumpy than some of the other powders out there, reminiscent of flour, as opposed to free-flowing dry sand. This is actually not surprising given the addition of MCTs, which tends to be less “dry”, but more importantly this has virtually zero impact on mixability. This mixed super easily with a few quick shakes in a blender bottle, and doesn’t take much mixing with a fork / spoon to fully dissolve into cold water and a bowl of oatmeal.
The consistency was smooth and not thick using Ryse’s recommended 170 - 230ml of water, and I personally preferred mixed each scoop with about 250ml of water.
If I’m being pedantic, I’d say that the consistency of the powder makes it slightly difficult to pack the scoop and get exactly the right serving size. However, this is a very common issue with protein powders, and I imagine most people don’t really care about a margin of error of a few grams. If you do care, you can always measure out
The Taste
This part section is super simple for me to write - Ryse did a really, really good job with the Fruity Crunch flavour.
I’ve written about fruity cereal before (shamelessly plugging my Ghost Fruity Cereal Whey review), and think that most people in the UK / Europe don’t really know to expect with this flavour. The best way I can describe this is an unlikely blend of milk and tangy citrus fruits. I know this probably sounds like it doesn’t work, but trust me, it’s amazing.
So back to Ryse’s Fruity Crunch, this is meant to taste like Fruity Pebbles, and my honest opinion is that this tastes almost identical to the actual cereal. The flavour is undeniably sweet, and is a satisfying combination of milky and fruity. On balance, I’d say that flavour is slightly less fruity than having the actual cereal, but I think even in a blind taste test I’d know this was based on fruity pebbles. I tried this with both milk and water, and this was delicious with both. I actually preferred this with water, as I found the I didn’t need the additional “creaminess” from milk.
I think this is very comparable to Ghost’s Fruity Cereal Milk Whey, and having tried both I think Ryse is clearly the better tasting option. While the macros and protein sources are very similar (the main difference being Ryse has added MCTs), Ryse tastes almost exactly like the cereal, whereas Ghost’s whey does have a slight artificial hint to it.
This might sound crazy, but I was a little surprised with the lack of colour in the finished protein shake. Given how colourful Fruity Pebbles are, I was expecting the powder to turn pink once mixed. This obviously has no impact on flavour, and I should probably be grateful for the lack of food colouring, but this lack of colour does mess with me slightly because I just don’t expect a white liquid to taste fruity. (For an interesting book on how various senses affect our perceptions of food, I recommend Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating by Charles Spence)
My personal visual fussiness aside, the overall flavour and experience was amazing. Easily 9 / 10 for me and I really looked forward to having my protein.
The Flavour Longevity
Flavour longevity here was really good. I didn’t tire of the (27 serving) Fruity Crunch flavour, and I was genuinely quite sad when I started scratching the bottom of the tub. Ironically, my comment on longevity is based on only about 2 weeks of use…
In addition to using 2 scoops post workout, I found that this was a great breakfast and snacking option during the day. As a result, the smaller tub didn’t last me that long, and I regret not going for the bigger tub
The Versatility
Surprisingly, I found a lot of different ways to use this rather unique protein flavour. I happened to try this during a period of lockdown in London with no access to gyms, and this gave me a lot of time to experiment and focus on nutrition.
One thing I really enjoyed was making a Fruity Crunch milkshake out of this. The recipe is very simple, and produces a very satisfying, fruity and filling milkshake. Simply blend:
Fruity Crunch milkshake ingredients:
2 scoops of protein
400ml milk
150g of Halo Top low cal (birthday cake flavoured) ice cream
You wouldn’t associate the flavour of this bowl of cereal with a white liquid!
The Flavour Longevity
Flavour longevity here was really good. I didn’t tire of the (27 serving) Fruity Crunch flavour, and I was genuinely quite sad when I started scratching the bottom of the tub. Ironically, my comment on longevity is based on only about 2 weeks of use…
In addition to using 2 scoops post workout, I found that this was a great breakfast and snacking option during the day. As a result, the smaller tub didn’t last me that long, and I regret not going for the bigger tub
The Versatility
Surprisingly, I found a lot of different ways to use this rather unique protein flavour. I happened to try this during a period of lockdown in London with no access to gyms, and this gave me a lot of time to experiment and focus on nutrition.
One thing I really enjoyed was making a Fruity Crunch milkshake out of this. The recipe is very simple, and produces a very satisfying, fruity and filling milkshake. Simply blend:
Fruity Crunch milkshake ingredients:
2 scoops of protein
400ml milk
150g of Halo Top low cal (birthday cake flavoured) ice cream
Milkshake ingredients
I also REALLY enjoyed recreating the fruity pebble cereal experience with this. Although I usually make overnight oats with protein, I was a little bothered by the flavour of fruity pebbles with a lack of “crunch”. A really good compromise is to mix this protein with a neutral flavoured cereal (I used rice krispies). Honestly this was very close to eating actual fruity pebbles, and a really simple way for me to get in 50g+ of protein in one sitting.
Overall, I think there is quite a lot you can do with this flavour.
The Pricing
On the pricing front, this is very much in line with comparable premium products on the market. By using an athlete / affiliate discount code, you can pick this up for around £26 (at the time of writing), although this is still charged in USD, so you may need to factor in exchange rates and FX fees. What doesn’t help European customers is that is a flat shipping charge of roughly $13. This adds a little bit to the cost of the protein, but if you like Fruity Cereal I think this is 100% worth it.
Sizing up to the 4lbs option will set you back around £48 (with a discount code), which is in line with Optimum Nutrition / Dymatize etc. However, Ryse’s bigger option is 57 servings, so still slightly pricier than competitors (although cheaper than Redcon1 / Ghost etc. on a per serving basis).
As always and in the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t pay full retail for this, and got this wholesale from Protein Bargain (they distribute Ryse products in the UK).
The Verdict
If you’ve made it this far down the post, then you’re probably not surprised to learn that I really liked this product. While there are of course cheaper options out there, I thought the flavour, macro profile, ability to size up, and overall experience makes this a really good option for long term use.