Fall is here, and it feels like everything is pumpkin spice flavored, including this Premier Protein shake from Costco! Many people love Premier Protein as a convenient, protein-packed meal replacement or snack. I enjoy pumpkin spice–flavored treats, but I’d never tried a pumpkin spice protein shake before, so I was curious to see how this one measured up. Read on to find out what I thought!
Location in Store
This was located at the front of Costco, near the Robert Irvine’s Protein Bars and the Kirkland Signature Chewy Protein Bars. The item number is 1898055.
Taste
Both my husband and I have protein shakes regularly, so we’re used to the taste, but neither of us enjoyed this Pumpkin Spice Premier Protein. It’s very sweet and has an artificial pumpkin spice flavor—though to be fair, most pumpkin spice tends to taste a bit artificial.
On top of being overly sweet, this shake has a strong artificial sweetener aftertaste that lingers in your mouth for quite a while after drinking it. That said, there were a few things I did like. To me, it had a slight chai-like flavor, which I enjoyed, and I could pick up notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Interestingly, none of those spices are listed in the ingredients. I know some people like to mix these shakes with coffee, so this pumpkin spice flavor might work better combined with a morning coffee for a cozy fall beverage.
Cost
The box comes with 18 × 325-milliliter containers of protein shakes and costs $44.99 Canadian. That works out to $2.50 per shake, which is pretty expensive. Other protein powders cost less than a dollar per serving, you’re definitely paying for the convenience.
Convenience
The box recommends serving these cold and shaking well before consuming. The best-before date is 11 months from when I purchased it. Protein shakes like this are great as a quick meal replacement for anyone looking for a convenient protein boost. The individually sized Tetra Paks make them easy to toss into a gym bag, lunch bag, purse, or backpack.
Nutrition
Calories
One 325-milliliter shake contains 160 calories, three grams of fat, four grams of carbohydrates, two grams of fibre, one gram of sugar, 30 grams of protein, and 250 milligrams of sodium. I appreciate the high protein content, relatively low calories, and modest amounts of carbs and fat—but I don’t love the ingredients!
Ingredients
I see so many unhealthy ingredients listed, such as soy oil/high oleic sunflower oil, artificial flavors, carrageenan, additives, and preservatives. The Premier Protein shakes are gluten-free but contain both milk and soy. They also have additional supplements added in.
Scoring
Taste: 9.5/10
Cost: 7/10
Convenience: 10/10
Nutrition: 0/10
Overall
Walk on by!
There are far healthier, tastier protein shake options you can buy like the Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard protein.
Have you tried the Costco Premier Protein Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake? What did you think of it?
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
I was very surprised to find this at my Costco. I think you are either a pumpkin spice person or not. I am one that loves pumpkin. Yes it is sweet,yes it has a strong taste but that goes along with all of these shakes. I have stocked up 😋