What Makes Awesome Supplements So Awesome?

As you’ve probably seen by now, Awesome Supplements has undergone an Awesome upgrade! We have given all our products a fresh look, new 100% recyclable or compostable packaging, and more convenient pricing structure. This has been no mean feat and is the culmination of over 18 months of planning and hard work, but it’s not all about us – our Awesome Customers have made this whole thing possible and so we wanted to fill you in on exactly what we’ve done and why. 

So why the change? Let’s start with a small shift in how we think about things... 

 

What Makes Awesome Supplements So Awesome? 

 

We started Awesome Supplements in 2016 because we felt we were being under-served, lied to, and mis-sold as supplement users ourselves. Supplement companies are notorious for saying X is in your product and only putting a ¼ of the researched dose in the product or using very flimsy research to back up their claims. 

We also couldn’t fathom why so many supplements didn’t taste good, after all is it that hard to make a protein powder taste AWESOME??  

 (as it turns out, yes it is, it takes a really long time to get right!) 

So, for us it’s always been about the product, making it the best it can be, and providing our awesome customers with something they can trust and rely upon. 

 And it’s served us well.  

But if you think about it, what we’re doing should be the norm.  

All companies should put the right ingredients in their products.  

All companies should follow the research and not cherry pick data.  

All companies should go out of their way to make their products taste AWESOME.   

So, for us we are only doing what everyone SHOULD be doing.  

Now if all companies did this, what would be left, what defines us?  

We looked at ourselves and asked ourselves this question, what defines us, what makes us different? Why do we do what we do?  

And it came down to one thing….  

YOU.  

We do what we do to help you #FuelYourAwesome, in whatever way that may be!  

We want you to have products that support your health, are there when you need to recover or boost your protein needs, and help you perform at your peak.  

So, we made a shift with AWESOME 2.0 as you can now see from our refreshed website, packaging, and social media. This small shift is exemplified in our change of hashtag, which was was #FuelledByAwesome  

But this puts us and the product at the centre of the story, when really it should be you, our awesome customers, so we’ve changed it to  

 #FuelYourAwesome  

 

Because this isn’t about us, it’s about you, your awesome goals and lives. 

Everything we do from here on in will be about you, because that is who we serve.  

We want to make the best products out there, yes, we want to inspire, educate and support you, yes, we want to be on the cutting edge of the research, yes...but it all comes back to you.  

We are here to serve you, and we hope you see this reflected in our image and message, and throughout the business going forward. Let’s look at the first way we’re making that happen 

 

Plastic Is a Worldwide Issue 

 

At Awesome Supplements we believe that we have a responsibility both to our customers and to the planet to do things ‘right’. Like you, the people working behind the scenes here are concerned about plastic and its effect on ecosystems around the world, and we’re also aware that it can be frustrating when you’re forced to contribute to the problem.  

There are some products which, if you want them, require you to buy single use plastic that you’re just going to throw away, and so we asked ourselves – why would we allow ourselves to be a part of that?   

 

 Old and new packaging side by side

 

Big plastic tubs? Surely, we can do better than that?  

This was in fact one of the reasons behind our rebrand and spurred a lot of wider introspection and self-critique on our part.  

 We had to ask ourselves: 

“What do we want to achieve with Awesome Supplements?”  

“What impact do we want to have on people and the world?”  

“How do we want to look and be perceived?”  

“How can we do better for ourselves, and more importantly our customers?” 

“Ultimately, what mission are we on?”  

These questions were tough to really explore, but we came out the other side with a fresh new look thanks to packaging that is either 100% recyclable or compostable, all while using less plastic in the first place. This all means that you can rest assured your products aren’t going to still be here in thousands of years. 

You may be wondering why we haven’t gone to fully compostable packaging across our whole range, as some other companies have, which is a fair question!  

Compostable packaging only has a year-long shelf life. This works for our protein bars, so, we made the switch here (the box is still made of the same recyclable cardboard). This makes a lot of sense on a product level, too, because people tend to eat protein bars on the go where there are no recycling bins available. By going compostable you can confidently put your bar wrapper in a bin and know that it won’t hang around in landfill for long unlike a typical foil wrapper. 

All our other products need a longer shelf-life, so unfortunately, we cannot yet use compostable packaging across our whole business. 

As the UK recycles #4 plastics at designated recycling points, we opted to use a #4 plastic for our packaging. This gives a 2-year shelf life meaning your products can be stored for longer, and it will get a 2nd life if you recycle it with your plastic bags when you go shopping.  

To further reduce our plastic usage, scoops will no longer be provided in our new products. This means you can keep and reuse old scoops, or we also have a new, more sustainable option: wooden scoops that will last a lifetime and are sustainably sourced! 

We’re also proud to say our Eden Partnership is also here to stay for the foreseeable future! So far, we’ve already planted over 100,000 trees with your help (as of March 2022 – check our home page for the updated number), this helps to combat climate change and providing food, jobs, and ecological protection in developing communities. With your help we’ll be able to continue to support this awesome initiative. 

 

Are the Products Changing? 

 

We’ve also made a few changes to our product range that we want our customers to be aware of. 

 Some things are so AWESOME already that they don’t need to change. You love them, we love them, and so we don’t want to mess with the formula; but some others are being upgraded and improved. See below for a comprehensive guide to which of our Awesome products have changed and which are staying the same from a formula perspective. You’ll notice that most are getting a fresh new name, though! 

 

Awesome Vegan Protein – Now Called Awesome Protein 

Awesome Whey Protein – Discontinued now we’re 100% plant based  

Awesome Performance Blend – Now Called Awesome Power 

Awesome Electrolytes – Now Called Awesome Hydrate 

Awesome Fish Oil – Now Called Awesome Omega, our 100% plant-based Omega 3  

Awesome Electrolytes + Carbs – Now Called Awesome Endure (a carb only formula desinged to be added to Awesome Hydrate)  

Awesome Protein Bar – Still Called Awesome Protein Bar  

Awesome Daily Dose – Now Called Awesome Defence (and now only 4 tablets per serving) 

Awesome Caffeine Tabs – Now Called Awesome Focus 

Awesome Creatine – Now Called Awesome Strength  

Awesome Curcumin – Now Called Awesome Joints 

Awesome Pre-Workout – Now Called Awesome Boost, which is a new 3.0 formula  

 

Awesome Health Range

 

What's changed with our pre-workout formula and why?  

 

Our aim with Awesome Pre-Workout is to give you an evidence-based pre-workout supplement free of caffeine, and after a lot of reflection we have made the decision to remove creatine and beta alanine from the formula. The reason for this is that these substances need to be taken daily in order to benefit you, but you probably don’t take Awesome Pre Workout more than 5 times per week. As such, you’ll now find those ingredients solely in our Performance Blend which is recommended for daily use, and made our 3.0 formula purely based around compounds shown to help improve focus and performance acutely (just before you perform). Thus, our new formula is below, which we have split into 3 performance enhancing categories: 

Blood Flow Boost: 

L-Citrulline Malate: When ingested, Citrulline Malate is used to increase arginine in your blood, and ultimately this increases Nitrous Oxide (NO). NO leads to vasodilation, an expansion of your blood vessels, which improves blood flow to and from working muscles, and gives you a great pump! Citrulline has been found to improve power output and endurance performance, and to reduce fatigue when training. 

Awesome Boost - formerly 'Awesome Pre-workout'

 

Performance Boost: 

Betaine Anhydrous: Also known as trimethylglyceine, this acts as a methyl donor (in a roundabout way this means it can be cardioprotective) and has also been found to improve power output in athletes 

  L Carnitine L Tartrate: In athletes this has been found to reduce muscle damage during exercise and increase power output 

Brain Boost: 

L – Tyrosine: This is a precursor to noradrenaline and dopamine, and as such has been found to reduce the effects of acute stressors like hard training, meaning you can stay focused and attentive to your session. 

  Alpha GPC: This is the most effective choline prodrug, meaning that it can increase body levels of choline. As such it’s a potent nootropic, increasing cognitive performance, which may explain why it’s been found to increase power output in athletes 

 

 

But this means you’re now recommending we take 4 performance products, why?  

 

 We understand that it might feel like more life admin taking 4 products to improve workout performance, but there’s a reason for everything. Creatine and Beta Alanine in Awesome Power (previously Performance Blend) need to be taken daily to be effective. The substances in Pre-Workout need to be taken 15-30 minutes prior to training to be effective, caffeine needs to be taken in an individualised dose for your body weight, sensitivity and time of the day, and electrolytes are there to support intra-workout performance.  

Some companies might try to put it all in one product, and that might work out cheaper, but is it actually more economical if it means the things you’re getting aren’t effective?  

 Here’s a summary of how it would look if you used everything: 

Awesome Power – Daily mixed as a drink  

Awesome Boost – 15-30 minutes pre-workout 

Awesome Focus – 15-30 minutes pre-Workout individually dosed  

Awesome Hydrate – During training  

 But of course you don’t have to! Because we’ve made these products the way we have they are all outstanding additions to your training on their own – choose one, mix and match, or get the whole stack – you're going to benefit either way! 

 

And that’s a wrap.  

 

 We know that was a lot to take in, but there are a few changes to take note of, and we really hope you see the positive steps we are making with our packaging, products, and how they are delivered to you.  

 Overall, our aim at Awesome is pretty simple, if a little cliché: We want to be the change we want to see in the world.  

When we first started the Supplement scene was a mess, populated by companies producing useless products they probably couldn’t tell you about while looking you in the eye. We were different, and we like to think we were part of the reason things are starting to change more broadly, but we aren’t done, not by a long shot.  

And now we stand with brand new sustainable packaging, improved products, a fresh look, a refocused purpose, and 100,000 planted trees ready to continue the mission.  

 

Thank you for being a part of it.  

 

Thank you for allowing us to #FuelYourAwesome