Bespoke protein drink manufacturing

Clear whey, protein sodas and shakes from a protein shake manufacturer

For premium wellness brands, we work as a protein shake manufacturer at our Leicester facility, which is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, developing and making clear whey drinks, protein sodas, ready-to-drink and plant protein shakes, meal replacement shakes, and collagen drinks and shots. Every drink starts from the protein, because the protein decides the pH, the heat step and the pack. We set protein per serving to the evidence and to a claim you can use in every market you sell in, and every batch ships with its certificate of analysis. Protein drinks sit within our functional drink manufacturing. Your formula is yours.

BeverageDaily reported in March 2026 that SPINS data show ready-to-drink protein sales growing at a 13% compound annual rate over two years. The same report put clear protein shakes up 34% in 2025, the fastest growth in ready-to-drink protein.

Dose follows the evidence and the claim. The International Society of Sports Nutrition advises 20 to 40 g of protein per serving, with 0.7 to 3 g of leucine (Jäger and colleagues, 2017), and whey carries more leucine per gram than plant proteins, so a plant shake needs a larger serving or added leucine to match it. In the UK and EU, a "source of protein" claim needs at least 12% of the drink's energy from protein, and "high protein" needs 20%. Meal replacement shakes that carry the authorised weight control claims must deliver 200 to 250 kcal per meal, with 25% to 50% of the energy from protein and at least 30% of the reference values for vitamins and minerals (GB and EU claims registers). The same formula as a powder or stick sits with our protein powder manufacturing.

Why clear whey needs a low pH and shakes lean on casein

Clear whey: pH, clarity and astringency

Whey proteins stay in solution well below their isoelectric point, where they carry a positive charge and repel each other. In a study of heat-treated whey drinks, every sample was essentially clear at pH 3.6 and below, before and after heating, while added salts raised turbidity at pH 4.0 (LaClair and Etzel, 2010). We therefore build clear drinks on whey isolate at low pH and keep minerals out of the clear base. Sensory work at North Carolina State University traces astringency to the same charge, with positively charged whey proteins binding negatively charged saliva proteins: astringency was far stronger at pH 3.4 than at neutral pH and fell between pH 3.4 and 2.6 (Beecher and colleagues, 2008). The acid, the sweetener system and the flavour bring it under control through our flavour and taste masking work.

Foam and carbonation

Whey proteins are surface-active, so they foam whenever a drink is mixed, filled or shaken. We hydrate protein under low shear and de-aerate every batch before filling. Protein sodas add carbon dioxide, which dissolves more readily in cold liquid and forms carbonic acid, so carbonation level, fill temperature and headspace are set together to keep the foam in the pack and the drink clear.

Ready-to-drink shakes: heat, sediment and age gelation

A near-neutral milk shake is a low-acid drink, so a shelf-stable version needs a sterilising heat step, and that step is hard on whey. Whey proteins start to unfold above 65 °C and denature irreversibly at 70 °C (Krishna and colleagues, 2021), then aggregate into grit or gel. Casein micelles tolerate heat far better, so high-protein shakes lean on milk protein concentrate, micellar casein or ultrafiltered milk, with whey kept to the level the heat step allows. UHT processing heats milk to 135 to 145 °C for 2 to 3 seconds before aseptic filling, while retorting sterilises the drink in its sealed pack. After processing, sediment builds with storage time, and age gelation is the main limit on the shelf life of UHT milk (Krishna and colleagues, 2021). We control both through protein choice, mineral balance, homogenisation and stabilisers such as gellan or carrageenan, and we prove them in stability studies at ambient and raised temperatures.

Lactose and browning

Lactose and the lysine in milk proteins react under heat and in warm storage. This Maillard reaction browns a shake, shifts its flavour and reduces available lysine, and sterilisation speeds it. Lactose-free shakes use lactase to split lactose into glucose and galactose, which brown faster still. We set the heat load, the protein grade and the storage advice from stability data, and we track colour and flavour through shelf life.

Plant proteins

Pea, soy and faba proteins carry insoluble fractions that settle and earthy notes that need masking. A plant shake is an emulsion, held together by a plant oil, an emulsifier, homogenisation and a stabiliser. Blends close amino acid gaps: pea is low in sulphur amino acids and rice in lysine, so the right ratio lifts protein quality (Herreman and colleagues, 2020). We check each blend's amino acid profile before it carries a quality message.

Sweetening at full protein dose

We design protein drinks without added sugar wherever the brief allows. Sucralose is about 600 times as sweet as sugar and steviol glycosides 200 to 400 times (FDA), each with its own aftertaste, and proteins and minerals bring off-notes of their own, so sweetener blends are built at full protein dose, never on a placebo base. Without sugar a shake loses body, which we restore with protein choice, fibres or stabilisers.

Fortifying a shake with vitamins and minerals

Fortified shakes carry vitamins that degrade with heat, oxygen and light, so overages come from stability data. EU tolerance guidance expects vitamins in a food to stay between 35% below and 50% above the declared value through shelf life, and US rules require added vitamins and minerals at 100% of the declared amount or more (European Commission, 2012; FDA). Calcium salts can thicken and destabilise a neutral shake and iron darkens it, so we choose mineral forms with care and add them at a set point in the process.

Whey isolate, milk proteins or plants: picking the protein

Protein drinks are part of our sports nutrition manufacturing, and smaller, nutrient-dense shakes are part of our nutrition range for people using GLP-1 medicines. Energy and protein hybrids draw on our energy drink manufacturing.

Cartons, cans and clear PET matched to the heat route

The pack is part of the process. Each protein drink needs a pack matched to its heat route and to its sensitivity to light and oxygen:

• Aseptic cartons: for UHT shakes, with layers that block light and oxygen.
• Retortable bottles and cans: for shakes sterilised in the sealed pack.
• Clear PET: heat-set grades for hot-filled clear whey, so the drink's clarity sells it on the shelf.
• Cans: for protein sodas, holding carbonation and blocking light.
• Glass: inert and premium, for protein and collagen shots.

Light-blocking packs protect milk drinks from light-induced off-flavours and vitamin loss, and opaque sleeves do the same for clear bottles of vitamin-rich drinks. Deposit return schemes in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland start in October 2027 and cover PET bottles and cans from 150 ml to 3 litres, so the pack decision includes the scheme.

Hot fill, UHT or retort: choosing the heat step for a protein drink

We make every protein drink in Leicester. Our HACCP study for each product type, reviewed annually, sets the critical control points, and the heat step is one of them.

1. Specify. We agree protein per serving, claims, pH, heat route, pack and shelf life with you before the first bench sample.
2. Approve and receive. Every material comes from a supplier approved before first use and reviewed each year, with its certificate of analysis checked against our specification. Milk and soy are handled under our allergen management plan with yellow colour coding.
3. Hydrate. Protein is dispersed into water or milk under low shear and left to hydrate fully, so it neither lumps nor foams.
4. Blend and standardise. Stabilisers, minerals, sweeteners, flavours and acids follow in a set order. We check pH, Brix and viscosity, and clarity for clear drinks, before the batch moves on.
5. Homogenise and de-aerate. Shakes are homogenised to hold fat and protein in suspension, and each batch is de-aerated to protect vitamins and flavour.
6. Apply the heat step. Clear acidic drinks are hot filled or pasteurised in the pack. Shelf-stable shakes are UHT processed and filled aseptically, or sterilised in the sealed pack by retorting. Time and temperature are critical limits, recorded for every batch.
7. Fill and seal. Protein sodas are carbonated chilled, and every run is checked for fill volume, seam or closure integrity, headspace and tamper evidence.
8. Label and verify. Label verification on every batch is our critical control point, CCP-01: right text, batch code and best-before date.
9. Retain and release. Shelf-stable shakes pass incubation checks before release. We keep three retained samples per batch for shelf life plus one year, and quality control releases every batch against its specification.

A full mock recall, forward and backward with mass balance, runs in seconds.

Catching protein spiking, and proving sterility in shelf-stable shakes

Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025), and batch testing is part of every order. Nothing is dispatched without quality control sign-off. Our testing and batch release page explains each method.

Our credentials: ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered. BRCGS implementation under way, certification expected in early 2027. Informed Sport testing is arranged for your product when you sell to athletes.

Protein claims, the sugar levy and US food rules

As of October 2026, these rules shape a protein drink label. We design every formula to the rules of the markets you sell in, and our regulation watch tracks the changes.

• UK and EU claims: a protein drink is a food, with a nutrition declaration per 100 ml. "Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass", "Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass" and "Protein contributes to the maintenance of normal bones" need the drink to be at least a source of protein.
• UK sugar levy: the UK plans to lower its soft drinks levy threshold from 5 g to 4.5 g of total sugar per 100 ml from January 2028 and to bring sweetened milk-based drinks into scope, counting lactose from whey powder, so we design new recipes below 4.5 g.
• United States: a protein drink sold as a beverage is a conventional food, with Nutrition Facts and ingredients that are generally recognised as safe or approved. A protein claim brings a Daily Value corrected for protein quality, and "high protein" needs 20% of the 50 g Daily Value. Collagen has no tryptophan, so a collagen-only drink scores zero.

We are an FDA registered food facility for dietary supplements. Before the first US order of a drink sold as a food, we add the matching food categories to our registration, and for a shelf-stable acidified or low-acid drink we also register as a food canning establishment and file its process with FDA. Research and development is a paid stage that can be included with an order of the right size. When your protein drink is ready to brief, Start your project.

References: LaClair and Etzel, Journal of Food Science (2010); Beecher and colleagues, Journal of Dairy Science (2008); Krishna and colleagues, Polymers (2021); Jäger and colleagues, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2017); Herreman and colleagues, Food Science and Nutrition (2020); Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims (2006); Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 on permitted health claims (2012); HMRC, Changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (2026).