One of the most consistently popular nutritional supplement brands over the last few years has been Optimum Nutrition. They move mass quantities of supplements, and the brand is well known in the bodybuilding and fitness community across the world. While the company manufactures supplements in many different categories, I would have to think that it really is Optimum Nutrition’s whey protein products that have made the company soar. These products have a reputation as being of high quality, and the price is very favorable – and we’ll get to the possible reasons for that in just a minute.

Having used these whey protein products off and on for a number of years now, it feels a little weird to do a “review,” but here it is. First of all, this review concerns what is now known as Optimum’s Classic Whey Protein, as that is still the most popular product of the bunch. Optimum also manufature slightly costlier products like their Gold Standard Whey and the new Hydra Whey – and we’ll probably talk about these later, but for now, let’s discuss the evergreen Classic version. Do I recommend this product? Yes, I do. Let’s take a look at the reasons for that:

• The Price is Right. For a quality product, this one is pretty inexpensive. While I generally agree with the saying that you get what you pay for, in this instance I think you actually get a little more. But how are the guys at Optimum able to sell their stuff this cheap if it’s any good? I think there are two reasons. Firstly, Optimum Nutrition is a a wholly owned subsidiary of Glanbia, a big manufacturer of cheese and various nutritional ingredients. As you probably already know, whey protein is a by product of cheese production, so if we connect the dots here we can surmise that the fine people Glanbia might be helping out their daughter company a little by giving them a good deal on their, um, left overs – so to speak. It’s a win win deal, and it works, because Optimum Nutrition is making money, and lots of it. The reasons for that is also the second reason why they can sell this stuff for a relatively low price: they sell tons of it. And when a company sells a whole lot of something, it’s obviously easier to offer the stuff at a lower price – without it being junk.
• It is Pretty Easy to Mix. Optimum’s whey protein powders have always been quite easy to mix, and lately they’ve even gotten better, so I’m happy. It saves me from having to clean my blender all the time, as I can relatively easily mix this with a spoon and a little milk – I don’t even need a shaker.
• The Quality is There. This is an economy product, and while you’ll find fancier products out there, you still get a quality whey protein powder for all kinds of use here. Granted, this product has more whey protein concentrate than it does isolate, but I don’t really have much of a problem with that. Whey concentrate is fine.
• The Taste is Good. While I’m not as crazy about the taste of this product as some others – one of the reasons for it’s popularity is no doubt the price, I think it’s more than ok. I’ve had better tasting protein powders, like Scitec Nutrition’s Protein Delite – which is a great tasting protein, but this one is still fine. And you get a lot more protein for your dollar than you get with Protein Delite, that’s for sure.

Any drawbacks? I’m not crazy about the use of artificial sweeteners, but most people have no issues with that, so consider it mostly a personal thing. While I use this product myself, I would possibly use it more if it was sweetened with something like stevia. But that’s me. And apart from that, I don’t see all that many drawbacks with this product.

So yes, Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein comes with high recommendations from us.  You’d be hard pressed to find a quality whey protein powder cheaper than this – especially when you consider the great price you can get from places like Amazon.com. Meeting your protein requirements is not only easier, but probably even cheaper with a product like this than it is with most real food, and that coupled with a taste that most people easily fall for means that I’ll have to give it a two thumbs up. It’s a classic.