Buying guide

Plant Protein Vanilla: comparing a plant base with a dairy one

Plant and whey powders differ in source, allergens and flavouring. The ingredients list settles all three.

5 min read6 sections1 kg

Plant protein is a category, not an ingredient

Whey has one source: milk. Plant protein is an umbrella term, and the label has to name what is actually in the pouch, commonly pea, rice, soya or a blend of them.

That is the first thing to read. Two pouches can both say plant protein and be built from entirely different raw materials.

Blends are listed in order by weight

Where a product is a blend, the ingredients list puts the components in descending order by weight. The first named protein is the largest contributor.

So a blend headed by pea protein and a blend headed by rice protein are different products, even when both list the same three sources.

Allergens: a different set of questions

The allergen line is where plant and dairy powders part company most clearly. A whey powder declares milk. A plant powder may declare soya, and will name pea or rice as ingredients whether or not they are declarable allergens.

Plant does not mean allergen free, and dairy free is a separate statement from vegan. Read both lines rather than inferring one from the other.

Whey base: a milk declaration, always
Plant base: soya where present, plus named pea and rice ingredients
May contain lines, which are the manufacturer's own declaration
Vegan and dairy free are two separate claims, each verified separately

The 1 kg figure means the same thing on both

Plant and whey pouches are both sold by total powder weight. One kilogram is the whole mix, including flavouring and anything added to help it dissolve.

Protein per stated portion remains the only figure that compares the two fairly, because plant and dairy bases do not arrive at the same protein content per gram of powder.

Vanilla on a plant base

Flavouring a plant base is a different job from flavouring a dairy one, and the ingredients list often shows it, with a thickener or an additional flavouring listed.

Our plant range runs vanilla and chocolate on the same base. Same formula, different flavouring, and the allergen list still has to be read per flavour.