NZ Muscle controversy: Shock claims of expired product, relabelling and more

One of New Zealand's largest and most well-known supplement and sports nutrition retailers has come under fire following an expose which claims the business has been misleading its customers in many ways for years. 

In a 40-minute video, NZ YouTube group Kino House Investigates claims their independent investigation uncovered alleged consumer deception, country-of-origin fraud and unregistered manufacturing practices at NZ Muscle

“Over the last 2 weeks, we’ve pieced together a trail of evidence demonstrating 6 years of what looks [like] illegal behaviour from NZ Muscle - taking your money, and putting YOUR health at risk,” one of the creators, Cam Boot, wrote in an Instagram post.

“We’re all a part of this industry - as consumers or brands - and it’s our shared responsibility to hold it to a higher standard.”

The group of creators made up by Jordan Federici, Cam Boot and Jamie McDowell all say they met through NZ Muscle - buying their supplements, training in their gym, and Federici even claims to have worked for the business for a period of time.

In the video, multiple claims are made, including: Not disclosing expiry dates in sales, hiding legitimate negative customer reviews, making misleading ‘high protein’ claims on their product, relabelling products and unhygienic/unlicensed manufacturing and packing practices

What exactly are the allegations being made against NZ Muscle?

Non-transparent expiry claims

The group initially came across a 2024 Reddit post from a customer who claimed they received expired supplements from NZ Muscle after purchasing products through a promotion that allegedly contained no heads-up that the product was short-dated. "They're selling expired supplements without disclosure, which is not only unethical, but also illegal and may pose significant health risks," Boot says in the video, noting the Ministry of Primary Industries’ report that “It's illegal to sell food past its use-by date”. 

Boot alleged the incident represented "a blatant breach of consumer trust and a potential violation of the Fair Trading Act, disguised as a good deal".

Multiple Google reviews also reported receiving stock that was out of date.

While he acknowledged that "nine times out of 10, you would be fine using an expired supplement", Boot argued there are regulations in place for a reason and "it shouldn't be up to a company to decide if these rules apply to them".

Avoiding negative customer reviews

The group ordered their own products from the company and left two 1 and 2-star reviews on the brand's product pages. 

They claim the reviews never showed on the website.

And while the brand boasts having 7,000 plus five-star reviews, multiple of their products don’t show any reviews lower than 3 stars.

Comparing ratings on three popular products sold by both NZ Muscle and competitor Sports Fuel, Sports Fuel's listings included a mix of ratings, including one- and two-star reviews, despite having fewer total reviews.

While the video notes there are some one- and two-star reviews visible on NZ Muscle's website, it alleges these are reviews published automatically through Shopify that cannot be removed.

McDowell claims a former NZ Muscle employee told them: "You know NZM only shows positive reviews on products, aye… Because the negative ones would bury them."

He goes on to call it "a deceptive and illegal tactic, if true.”

How are you meant to make an informed decision when you're only being shown what they allow you to see?

Making misleading ‘high protein' claims

The video also raises concerns about NZ Muscle’s “high protein” products, claiming they may be delivering less protein per serving than the brand’s standard whey, with the difference made up by a larger scoop size.

Boot claims that with whey protein prices on the rise, some companies may be increasing margins by “sneaky formulas”, including “diluting whey with incomplete protein sources such as collagen” while still marketing the product as high protein.

“At best, it’s misleading, and at worst, it’s a deliberate attempt to take advantage of anyone who is unfamiliar with nutrition panels and trusts the label for what it says,” he says.

And although the product may be “technically legal”, it could still represent a “blatant breach of consumer trust”.

An NZ lawyer, who goes by the name Legally Brunette, took to TikTok following the investigation's release to unpack the claims.

“NZ Muscle could argue that technically their claim isn’t misleading because you are having more protein…” 

Though she goes on to add: “In practice, this person isn’t getting more of the same protein within the same product.”

A brand athlete steps away after misleading ‘high protein’ claims

The video shares a leaked email from an affiliate athlete, Boxy, who requested to step away from the brand.

“I’d like to remove myself as an affiliate, especially if the brand is going to stand by products like the high protein powder,” the email read. “If NZ Muscle is not willing to acknowledge or address this, it doesn’t speak highly of the direction the brand is taking.”

In his own video following the investigation, Boxy has spoken out.

“I was an NZ Muscle ambassador for over 2 years and a customer for over 10 years before that,” he wrote in an Instagram post. 

“The documentary exposed some things that I have only heard rumours about, and with strong evidence to back it all up, as someone who once promoted this brand to my family, friends, clients and followers. I feel a little ashamed and embarrassed.”

Relabeling products

Federici claims they received multiple messages alleging NZ Muscle had been relabelling EHP Labs protein as NZ Muscle products.

“There was like a literal station where in the warehouse staff were told to remove the labels off the EHP proteins and then stick the NZ Muscle label on over the top,” an inside source claims in a voice message with photos provided from 2021.

While acknowledging the products themselves are “good quality proteins in their own right”, Federici says the concern is how the Nz Muscle products are marketed to a Kiwi audience.

“These specific tubs of Isopept aren’t expired, and honestly, they’re good quality proteins in their own right, but they’re clearly made in the US,” he says.

Federici argues this conflicts with NZ Muscle’s branding, which states products are “made in New Zealand from grass-fed whey” - which may mislead customers who are paying for what they believe is a local product.

They’re also priced an extra 20% knowing that you’ll pay more for something that you think is locally made.

While nutrition panels and ingredient lists may align, if true, the country-of-origin claims are misleading.

The team at Kino House Investigates reached out to EHP Labs for comment regarding the allegations.

EHP Labs allegedly responded, saying it was not involved in or aware of any repackaging activity.

“EHP Labs unequivocally was not complicit in any of this. We had no idea and did not authorise any of this repackaging by NZ Muscle,” the response read.

The company also claimed that “[NZ Muscle owner] Dion was in breach of the distribution contract with us and we actually terminated the supply agreement”, adding they were “extremely shocked” upon learning of the allegations.

This isn’t the only company that the group reached out to in their investigation. 

Kino House Investigates claims they drove down to NZ Muscle HQ after hours and inspected the outside of the warehouse, where they found a bin full of what appeared to be empty supplement tubs with Spanish labels.

“Could it be that this about-to-expire Mexican Isopure is actually being repacked into NZ Muscle’s no-brand bags and then being sold to you as 100% NZ grass-fed whey with an extended expiry date?” McDowell asks.

He also claims they reached out to several international supplement companies after identifying the tubs.

One company response included in the video states: “We were not previously aware of the matters outlined in your email and appreciate you bringing them to our attention. Given the seriousness of the matters raised, we will follow up on this as a priority.”

Unhygienic practices

Boot shares what he describes as leaked footage from inside NZ Muscle’s facility, showing an employee allegedly bare-handed while repackaging creatine.

He also shares what appears to be a statement from a former employee claiming they received no training in repackaging, quality control, or food-grade manufacturing procedures.

“Random NZ Muscle employees' bare hands are being shoved into bags of creatine with no gloves, no handwashing, and no other hygiene whatsoever for a product that you are then putting in your body,” Boot says.

They questioned whether the company holds the required Food Control Plan (FCP) or National Programme 3 (NP3) registration, which are required in New Zealand for food and supplement manufacturing.

Boot says they searched publicly available registers using the company name, NZ business number and address, but claims no listing could be found.

To us, this confirmed that NZ Muscle should not be packing anything at that HQ.

Elsewhere in the video, the group claims that after raising concerns themselves, NZ Muscle received legal correspondence from its law firm.

“NZ Muscle had caught on to us sniffing around, and they were trying to silence us. A baseless cease and desist was sent to us,” the group allege.

They add that after this, the product pages for multiple products were allegedly updated, including changes to nutrition panels and the removal of “NZ made” and “NZ grass-fed whey” claims.

“They stayed quiet and still to this day are yet to make a single public statement,” McDowell adds.

Boot acknowledges that the information within the investigation could make you feel “ angry or ripped off or disgusted or a whole host of negative emotions.”

“And that anger is justified,” he adds.

However, he urges not to direct that frustration toward people connected to the brand.

‘It’s important that’s channelled to the right places,” he continues. “Please do not harass NZ Muscle’s employees, social media ambassadors, or their partners.”

When asked about whether the investigation has been taken further, Boot wrote on Instagram: “We are in communication with both MPI and the Commerce Commission - this was reported 5 years ago in 2021, and the Commerce Commission decided not to investigate, so the video was intended to apply pressure for them to take it seriously this time.”

At the time of writing, NZ Muscle are yet to address any of the allegations made within the independent investigation.