TL;DR: major progress, gotta wait on the old protein to go back and get new stuff, production might start as early as next week (or not).

Yesterday I had the day off so we did some work on Keto Chow 2.0. We received some test samples of the different flavors using a different whey protein. The short version of the story is: we were going to be using a whey protein concentrate (80% protein) but there was a rather severe metallic aftertaste when we used the actual protein that was purchased in bulk. We decided to try a different brand from the same distributor (so we could apply credit for the returned concentrate) and instead of concentrate, we got whey protein isolate that’s 90% protein. The isolate is going to be more expensive (for me to buy, price will be the same) but it tastes good, has more protein, and actually has fewer carbs (win!). Specifically, the isolate has 1/3 the carbs with 2g per 100g instead of 6g, and 90g of protein compared to 79g. The bad news is the nutrition on the labels isn’t going to match what’s actually in there (the good news is it’s better than what’s on the label!) – for this first batch I don’t have the resources to have them redone so there will be a sticker directing you to the website for updated information. We’re working on returning the concentrate and getting the isolate delivered, I’m guessing that will take a week. When production starts I’ll update the Keto Chow 2.0 nutrition page with the new information.

We also ran into some issues with the viscosity of the mix. It would mix up pretty thin and watery in a blender bottle but use an actual blender or immersion blender and it thickens right up! I’m still waiting on a reply from my 2:00 am email about my theory but I think the issue is the co-packer used a granulated xanthan gum instead of the fine powder we have been using. This caused the xanthan gum to not fully integrate and there was a slight “tapioca” texture. My guess is we just need to switch xanthan gum form factor and it’ll be good for blender or blender bottle.

The flavors all tested extremely well with 2 people telling me to get the problems resolved NOW so they can order a bag of the Salted Caramel flavor! I even had my children do a tasting session, because that’s how we do market research… or something =)

For any interested, here are the differences between the concentrate I was going to use and the isolate I will be using per 100g: