A Sam’s Club shopper and Premier Protein customer who purchased a case of the whey nutritional supplement beverage cut a container of one of its carton open on camera and wasn’t too enthused about what he found resting on the bottom.
TikTok user Ricky Waller (@rickywaller2020) thought that it was strange the individual containers of the drink still felt like they had some heft to them even after he was done drinking, which is what inspired him to run the experiment online.
@rickywaller2020 No, I am not OK after this I am about to call #Sams and #premiereprotein because this is just #Nasty #ProteinShake #Discovery #Gelato #ProteinCheese #Protein #Detective #JustTryingToBeSkinny @Sam’s Club @Premier Protein ♬ original sound – Ricky W
In his viral clip, Waller says that he’s been a longtime customer of Premier Protein shakes, particularly the caramel flavored variety, and he noticed after slurping them down, there were some “chunks” resting at the bottom of each of the containers.
He initially chalked up this chunkiness to him “not mixing them well” but wanted to get to the bottom of what this viscosity issue was. So he decided to, for the first time, cut open one of the mini cartons of Premier Protein he purchased from Sam’s Club as part of a larger case.
He clarifies that the clip is “not a staged video [or] a paid endorsement” and shows off the date of the particular carton he was about to cut open, which is good until Aug. 9, 2024. Waller also shows that the container is completely sealed and unopened.
The TikToker then begins shaking the carton with the intent to pour it down the drain before cutting it open, never taking it off of the screen for the duration of his 3:24 clip.
He walks on over to the sink with the protein carton in hand, again, keeping the drink in plain view and starts pouring it out into the sink. The liquid exits the carton with relative ease, and Waller shakes it for good measure, noting that the carton is “still heavy” even though all of the contents have been poured from out of the beverage.
To demonstrate its weight, he drops it into the sink, but then shows off that “there’s nothing else in the sink” in the event that folks think he was attempting to pull the old switcheroo on them.
He then grabs a knife to cut into the bottle to “see why it’s been chunky” in the video and starts perforating the hard paper-like substance that holds the whey-based beverage. After successfully severing the top portion of the drink, he pours out the rest of the liquid protein resting at the bottom of the drink, before seeing something that makes him gag.
“Oh my God, oh my God what the heck?” Waller says, before digging into the bottom of the drink where he extricates a small, jelly like puck that has coagulated there. He jiggles it on camera to demonstrate its consistency.
“It’s like thick in there y’all see that? This is at the bottom of these shakes,” he exclaims, before dropping the blob into the sink. “It’s like cheese can anybody tell me if this is—look at that,” he says again while extricating more of the goo from the bottom of the container, letting it fall into the sink. “This can’t be, this can’t be good!”
“Should I be concerned?” he asks viewers towards the end of the clip.
According to Bulk, whey protein naturally lends itself to coagulation, so, theoretically, it could make sense why pre-packaged shelf stable drinks like Premier Protein are experiencing this kind of phenomenon. “When mixed with milk, the digestion process of whey protein can take longer. Milk contains proteins which cause the whey to coagulate, meaning it hangs around in the stomach,” the article reads.
The video has amassed more than 3 million views since it was posted on Sept. 11. TikTokers had a variety of different responses to the video.
One user said that their only concern was that they might not be getting their money’s worth. “My only concern after watching this, is I’m not getting the 30g of protein like promised,” the user wrote.
Which was sentiment echoed by someone else: “Wait.. so you mean I’ve only been getting like 15g of protein per drink and throwing the other 15g in the trash.”
Someone else said that they too, noticed the Premier Protein containers felt a little heavy after they drank them. “I always wondered why they still felt heavy while empty,” the user wrote.
There was another user on the platform who still thought that the issue was that it wasn’t being shaken up enough: “Maybe it isn’t shook up very well. Lord I hope that’s the case because I’ve been drinking them too.”
In a follow-up video, Waller said Premier Protein reached out and explained that there’s no “risk involved” in drinking containers with the coagulated whey on the bottom of the container. However, the company is sorry he didn’t have a satisfactory experience with their beverages, and, as the TikToker said, they made things “right” by sending him four complimentary cases.
The Daily Dot reached out to Premier Protein via email and Waller via TikTok comment for further information.
