In the news
A bag of whey that once cost £60 now carries a £170 price tag. In a BBC report on ‘proteinflation’, shoppers describe switching brands and making their powder last longer. Their stories point to a wider squeeze on whey supply. Where can regular buyers still find a fair price?
The people behind the proteinflation headline
Amarpreet Singh told the BBC that his usual 4.5kg whey bag cost about £60 in 2020. It rose to £120 last year and now costs £170. He has decided to switch brands. The report also follows Manchester student Evie Lewis, who says she is using less powder to make her £32.99 tub last. The squeeze is changing what people buy, not just what they pay.
The BBC points to strong demand for high-protein foods and a supply chain that cannot expand quickly. Expana's European figures show one high-protein whey ingredient costing 130% more in late August than a year earlier. That is a wholesale ingredient price, not a 130% rise on every tub. Wholesale costs have begun to level off, but shoppers are still facing the higher prices already on shelves. So what does £170 actually buy, and how does it compare with other packs?
The £170 bag is not the whole market
Amarpreet's 4.5kg bag works out at £37.78 per kg. In our 24 September check, Sports Fuel Premium Protein was £14.99 for 1kg and Pure Source Nutrition Diet Whey was £16.99 for 1kg. Neither needed a code. Those prices are below half the BBC bag's cost per kilo, though they are different products rather than replacements for his exact whey.
The formulations explain part of the gap. Sports Fuel blends whey with casein and soya; Pure Source combines whey, milk and soya proteins with other ingredients. The table shows the exact packs and retailers we checked. For a wider choice of powders, use the protein comparison; once you have a product in mind, a voucher may lower its price further.
| Product | Shelf price | What you get | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sports Fuel Premium Protein Bodybuilding Warehouse · Double Chocolate · 1kg | £14.991kg · before delivery | Whey, casein and soya protein blend | |
 Diet Whey Protein Powder Pure Source Nutrition · Chocolate · 1kg | £16.991kg · before delivery | Whey, milk and soya blend with added ingredients |
Voucher codes can help, but only if they beat the sale price
A big discount badge can disguise an ordinary price. Some retailers raise the crossed-out price, then run frequent promotions that make the return to the usual selling price look like a bargain. The Competition and Markets Authority warns that a 'was' price becomes misleading when the supposedly reduced price is actually the normal one. The £14.99 Sports Fuel and £16.99 Pure Source bags above show why the price you pay matters more than the percentage on a banner.
Our voucher feed picked up RUNNA10 at Science in Sport and WELCOME20 at Holland & Barrett on 23 September. Before trying either, look at the price already on the product page. Holland & Barrett's Plant Protein Vanilla 840g was listed at £16 against a £22 'was' price on 24 September, saving £6 without entering a code. The protein deals page has the tracked codes; student and Blue Light offers provide another route for people who qualify.
Retailer saleDated listingHolland & Barrett · Plant Protein Vanilla 840g
The product page listed £16 against a £22 'was' price on 24 September. No voucher code needed.
Before£22.00After£16.00
Save £6.00- Product prices checked 24 September 2026 · before delivery
Member discounts can deepen a sale price
For students and Blue Light Card members, an already reduced price can fall further. Student Beans advertises an extra Myprotein student discount on eligible sale items, while Blue Light Card describes its 5% Bulk offer as on top of existing prices. On 24 September, Bulk's Pure Whey Protein Unflavoured 1kg was £29.99, down from its stated £38.99 regular price. That £9 saving is available before a member code enters the picture.
A member code may reduce an eligible pack further, but the final price is only known once that account's code is accepted at checkout. Both Myprotein and Bulk limit orders to one discount code. For a recurring order, subscription pricing offers a different route.
Retailer saleDated listingBulk · Pure Whey Protein Unflavoured 1kg
The retailer listed £29.99 against a £38.99 regular price for this exact 1kg variant on 24 September. No member code included.
Before£38.99After£29.99
Save £9.00- Product prices checked 24 September 2026 · before delivery
Referral codes can help on a first order
Our Myprotein referral code CHILL-R3E gives a qualifying new customer £15 off a first order of at least £45. ProteinDeals can receive £15 in credit when the referral qualifies. The exact pack and final price depend on the eligible first-order basket, so there is no product-specific referral price in the table below.
Myprotein's referral terms exclude discounted products and subscriptions, making this an alternative to the sale and student route above. If you buy the same product regularly, subscription pricing offers a different kind of saving.
Subscription pricing comes with a catch
Subscriptions can lower the price of a pack you buy repeatedly. On 24 September, Innermost The Fit Protein listed its 520g Chocolate pack at £33 one-off or £26.40 on subscription. That is £6.60 less per pack before delivery.
Innermost's product page states a minimum two-order commitment. You are not locked in indefinitely: after that minimum, you can cancel or pause through your account. Its terms require cancellation at least three days before the next charge. This price makes sense if you planned to buy two packs anyway. Our subscription buying guide covers other arrangements. Short-dated stock is another route when you would rather make a single purchase.
SubscriptionDated listingInnermost The Fit Protein · Chocolate 520g
Minimum two orders. Manage or cancel future deliveries in your account.
Before£33.00After£26.40
Save £6.60 · 20%- Product prices checked 24 September 2026 · before delivery
Short-dated stock can beat a promotion
Surplus stock offers a lower price without repeat deliveries. Nutricircle listed a 12-pack of Grenade Oreo protein bars for £15.99 on 24 September, down from its stated £22.50 reference price. That is £1.33 per bar before delivery. The case was marked best before 30 June 2026. If you buy bars for convenience and are happy with a past-best-before date, it is the sort of surplus deal worth checking.
A single case also attracts £4.99 standard delivery below Nutricircle's £40 threshold, bringing it to £20.98, or about £1.75 per bar. That delivery charge narrows the apparent saving. Our Nutricircle review covers its short-dated model, and the sale comparison shows other tracked offers. Best-before dates concern quality; a use-by date is about safety, and food should not be eaten after it.
Short-datedDated listingNutricircle · Grenade Oreo bars, 12 × 60g
Compared with Nutricircle's stated reference price, before delivery. The case was marked best before 30 June 2026.
Before£22.50After£15.99
Save £6.51 · 29%- Product prices checked 24 September 2026 · before delivery
The savings, in one place
The prices below are for the exact packs pictured. Holland & Barrett and Bulk listed reductions from their stated regular prices. Innermost discounted a repeat order, while Nutricircle marked down a short-dated case. Vouchers, member offers and referrals can still help, but their checkout prices depend on the product and buyer, so they are not given invented totals here.
For more ways to judge a deal, see how to buy cheap protein powder. Our UK protein price index follows the longer-term trend.
- Retailer saleDated listingHolland & Barrett · Plant Protein Vanilla 840g£22.00£16.00Save £6.00
- Retailer saleDated listingBulk · Pure Whey Protein Unflavoured 1kg£38.99£29.99Save £9.00
- SubscriptionDated listingInnermost The Fit Protein · Chocolate 520g£33.00£26.40Save £6.60 · 20%
- Short-datedDated listingNutricircle · Grenade Oreo bars, 12 × 60g£22.50£15.99Save £6.51 · 29%
Sale rows compare the retailer's stated reference price with its listed price. Innermost compares one-off and subscription prices. Checked 24 September 2026, before delivery.
References
Sources and further reading
- 01BBC News: £170 a bag? Protein users squeezed as prices soar
News report and attributed whey-market figures, published 24 September 2026.
- 02Competition and Markets Authority: price reduction claims
UK regulator explains when repeated 'was/now' discounts can mislead shoppers.
- 03Innermost: The Fit Protein
Retailer one-off and subscription variant prices checked 24 September 2026. The product page states a minimum two-order commitment.
- 04Innermost: subscription terms
Account cancellation and three-day notice before the next charge.
- 05Nutricircle: Grenade Oreo bar case
Retailer price, availability, pack size and best-before date checked 24 September 2026.
- 06Student Beans: Myprotein student offer
Sale plus extra 20% student offer, checked 24 September 2026.
- 07Myprotein: UK offer and code terms
Retailer terms for sale-price plus code combinations and the one-code-per-basket limit.
- 08Myprotein: refer a friend
First-order referral reward and qualifying purchase conditions.
- 09Blue Light Card: Bulk member offer
5% member offer, checked 24 September 2026.
- 10Holland & Barrett: Plant Protein Vanilla 840g
Exact product's £22 stated was price and £16 listed price checked 24 September 2026.
- 11Bulk: Pure Whey Protein Unflavoured 1kg
Exact variant's £38.99 regular price and £29.99 listed price checked 24 September 2026.
- 12Bodybuilding Warehouse: Sports Fuel Premium Protein
Retailer Double Chocolate 1kg price and blend ingredients checked 24 September 2026.
- 13Pure Source Nutrition: Diet Whey Protein Powder
Retailer Chocolate 1kg price and blend ingredients checked 24 September 2026.
- 14Bulk: discount code rules
Retailer confirms that only one discount code can be used at a time.
- 15Food Standards Agency: best before and use by dates
Official distinction between quality and safety dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is proteinflation?+
Proteinflation is the nickname for rising protein product prices. Whey ingredient costs and demand have increased, but the amount each shopper pays still depends on retailer, formula, pack size and promotions.
Is every protein powder now £170 a bag?+
No. The £170 figure in the BBC report is one buyer's 4.5kg bag. Compare the exact weight and protein content across retailers rather than treating one price as a market average.
Do protein voucher codes and student discounts stack?+
An eligible student or Blue Light code can sometimes reduce an existing sale price further. That is different from entering two codes: Myprotein and Bulk allow one discount code per order.
Is past-best-before protein safe to buy?+
Best before concerns quality rather than safety, according to the Food Standards Agency. Check the product's condition and storage information. Never eat food after a use-by date.