How WholeFuel started.
An unexpected journey that started with solving my own problem, which turns out to be almost everyone’s problem with protein shakes.
I’d had enough of protein shakes.
One day, drinking my vegan shake (I’m not vegan) after a hard training session, I realised I don’t actually like the taste of it. I’m only drinking it for the fuel.
So I went back to whey. It consistently bloated me and the artificial taste was too overpowering.
Had my time of protein shakes come to an end?
ChatGPT and 51 iterations.
Like most of my life problems, I asked ChatGPT how I could get my protein in an alternative way. It suggested I create a whole food protein shake. Madness.
51 iterations later, 28 different ingredients, 3 months and patience of steel. Together we nailed it. WholeFuel Cacao & Hazelnut.
Zero tolerance for anything that isn’t a whole food.
Tested with 50+ real people.
I’d fixed my own problem. But did anyone else have it?
I gave WholeFuel to anyone who’d try it: friends, family, colleagues, my CrossFit and climbing crew. The feedback was better than I’d hoped, and the vast majority had the exact same frustration.
I was mixing every order in my kitchen at home. Testers became first-time customers, and then repeat customers.
That’s when WholeFuel became real.
How unique is WholeFuel, really?
Before scaling up, I built a tool that audited 64 of the biggest supplement brands - every marketing claim, every ingredient. 473 ingredients in total, each graded by how processed it really is.
The finding that changed everything: “clean,” “natural” and “real food” aren’t defined or enforced by anyone. Brands print them freely, and most don’t hold up to their own labels. There’s a word for it.
Clean-washing.
/kliːn ˈwɒʃɪŋ/·noun
A brand that markets itself as clean, natural or “real food,” yet still contains artificial ingredients.
It goes beyond supplements. It’s a global food problem - one that’s entirely ungoverned.
of the 64 brands audited use sucralose, stevia or other artificial sweeteners.
of brands marketed as “clean” or “natural” still use xanthan gum or other emulsifying gums.
scored real-food Tier A. WholeFuel is one of them.
The start of the 'Real Food Scale'
The Real Food Scale grades every brand A to D on how processed its ingredients actually are - the full label, not the marketing claims.
It’s the difference between ‘clean’ and ‘clean-washing’ - finally something you can check.
Of the 64 brands, only 3 scored an A. WholeFuel is one of them.
This is what an A looks like.
Nine real-food ingredients. 23g protein and 7g collagen a serving. Egg whites, whole egg, bone broth, raw cacao, hazelnut, coconut nectar sugar, dates, vanilla, and sea salt.
No isolates. No emulsifiers. No artificial ingredients. No BS. Just real food, powdered.
30-day money-back guarantee.
We’re so confident you’ll love WholeFuel. If for whatever reason you’re not happy within 30 days, just let us know and we’ll refund you in full, no questions asked.
- Ben Riall, founder
