Love Muscle started with a simple idea: protein didn’t have to come in the form of a thick, milky shake. Founder Karina Young wanted to create something lighter, more refreshing and easier to enjoy as part of everyday life, leading her to develop a clear, sparkling protein drink for the New Zealand market.

When Karina Young set out to develop a clear, sparkling protein drink in 2023, she was entering relatively new territory in the New Zealand beverage market.

The idea was to offer the benefits of whey protein in a format that was very different from the traditional milky protein shake: light, clear and carbonated. Karina had seen protein waters emerging overseas but saw an opportunity to create something different for New Zealand consumers.

The result was a product that went on to receive a Technical Innovation Award at the New Zealand Food Awards. But getting the first product to market was only the beginning. Karina wanted to keep improving it.

As the product developed, several technical and commercial challenges emerged. The price of whey protein was increasing, while the existing formulation presented challenges around mouthfeel and required a number of masking ingredients. Karina wanted to explore alternative whey proteins that could improve the drinking experience while potentially simplifying the formulation and reducing costs.

Following the New Zealand Food Awards, Karina received funding that enabled her to work with NZFIN's technical team on these challenges.

Rather than starting again, the work focused on troubleshooting and refining an existing commercial product. NZFIN's FoodOtago team worked alongside Karina to investigate different protein ingredients, formulations and approaches. It was an iterative process. Changing one ingredient could affect flavour, sweetness, mouthfeel or another part of the formulation, meaning each adjustment had to be considered as part of the complete product. The formulation work delivered more than a technical improvement.

One of the barriers Karina had encountered, was feedback about the product's mouthfeel. Refining the formulation helped address this challenge and contributed to the business securing core ranging for two flavours, an important step forward in distribution.

The relationship extended beyond the sparkling protein drink. Karina also turned to NZFIN for support with Nesium, a high-magnesium water that presented a very different formulation challenge. The product performed as intended in glass bottles, but moving it into cans created stability issues and the product failed testing. The challenge was to reformulate it while retaining the mouthfeel and flavour Karina wanted.

Once again, the work centred on technical troubleshooting, understanding what was happening within the formulation, testing alternatives and adapting the product in response.

Karina is now focused on growing the customer base, increasing distribution and encouraging more consumers to experience the products through sampling.

The journey highlights that innovation does not stop once a product reaches the shelf. Sometimes the next stage of growth comes from returning to the formulation, solving the technical barriers that emerge in market, and continuing to improve.

For Karina, having access to people who could work through those challenges alongside her has been an important part of that journey.