Our Honest Review of OWYN Protein Shakes
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As a college athlete turned personal trainer turned fitness and nutrition editor, I’ve lost count of how many protein shakes I’ve tried in my mission to meet my protein needs. In college, my track coach would hand me a lukewarm Muscle Milk at the end of every weights practice and tell me to drink up. The stuff was undeniably tasty and did the job—two things pre-made protein shakes nearly always win on. But since, I’ve learned Muscle Milk isn’t exactly the healthiest protein shake out there. Whey also unfortunately doesn’t agree with me. Which is why I mostly look to plant-based shake and powder options to get my fill.
When I caught wind that OWYN’s Non-Dairy Protein Shakes are available at Costco, taste great, and boast a relatively clean nutrition label I set out to put them to the test. I sampled a flat each of OWYN’s Non-Dairy Protein Shakes (20 grams of protein each) and Pro Elite Protein Shakes (32 grams) to see if they’re worth it.
Our Experience
Hone Health is a team of health-obsessed journalists, editors, fitness junkies, medical reviewers, and product testers. As an editor, I have spent years testing, researching, and reviewing products in the fitness and nutrition space, including protein powders and supplements. Since I’m prone to digestive issues and breakouts from whey protein, I’ve spent the past eight years or so experimenting with alternatives like goat whey protein and plant-based protein products. I’ve also reviewed a stack of studies and interviewed a number of registered dietitians about what to look for and avoid in plant-based protein shakes.
What Are OWYN Protein Shakes?
OWYN’s protein shakes deliver a multi-source plant protein blend (of peas and pumpkin seeds), “superfood” greens, and vegan omega-3’s. The brand features one of cleanest labels in the game—avoiding the top nine allergens including dairy, soy, gluten, egg, peanuts, and tree nuts—and is non-GMO certified. The sweet, decadent taste is thanks mostly to monk fruit, meaning all of the shakes contain either low or no added sugars and avoid artificial sugars and sugar alcohols.
OWYN’s shakes come in two main offerings: Non-Dairy Protein Shakes (which pack 20 grams of protein each) and the Pro Elite Protein Shakes (32 grams). Here’s how the two stack up in ingredients and nutrition.
OWYN Protein Shake nutritionals
When it comes to nutrition, OWYN’s Pro Elite Protein Shake appears to have the upper hand when compared to the Non-Dairy Protein Shake—with more protein (32 grams), less added sugar (0 grams), less carbs (6 grams), more fiber (6 grams), and less fat (6 grams). However, it does contain a few extra calories (200 versus 180) and is more expensive ($3.92/serving versus $3.08 per serving). So, if you’re trying to cut back on calories or cost, or simply don’t need 32 grams of protein in one sitting, the Non-Dairy Protein Shake might be the better choice.
OWYN Protein Shake ingredients
The OWYN Non-Dairy Protein Shake and Pro Elite Protein Shake have comparable ingredient lists. We appreciate that both ingredient lists are relatively short.
Multi-source plant protein blend
OWYN Non-Dairy Protein Shakes and Pro Elite Protein Shakes are both made with OWYN’s protein blend—which contains pea protein, organic pumpkin seed protein, and flaxseed oil.
Pea protein is one of the highest quality sources of plant-based protein—containing high amounts of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) which promote muscle growth. It also has a nearly complete protein profile (meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids), but it’s a little low in methionine (1).
Knowing this, many protein powder brands—like Transparent Labs—combine pea protein with another protein source that contains methionine to make a more complete protein. Common plant-based sources of methionine include rice, oats, and some nuts and seeds (like walnuts and flaxseeds).
Unfortunately for OWYN, pumpkin seeds aren’t a great source of methionine. And flaxseed oil doesn’t provide the same protein profile as flaxseeds. This doesn’t mean OWYN is a bad source of plant-based protein, it just could be slightly better if they added something with methionine to the mix.
Cane sugar and monk fruit extract
The Non-Dairy Protein Shakes contain four grams of organic cane sugar. That amount of added sugar isn’t exactly a deal breaker. However, since limiting added sugars is a net positive for overall health (2), it’s something to keep in mind when consuming other sources of sugar throughout the day.
The Pro Elite Protein Shakes are sweetened with monk fruit extract, a natural, zero-calorie sweetener. So far, monk fruit hasn’t shown any bad side effects, and is considered a healthier swap for artificial sugars (3).
Sunflower oil
Both shakes contain sunflower oil—which is a seed oil. Seed oils (which are primarily omega-6 fatty acids) get a bad rap for being linked to inflammation; in reality, though, some omega-6 fatty acids can be beneficial for overall health. It’s the overall balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in your diet that counts. Experts believe the ideal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is somewhere between one-to-one and four-to-one (4, 5). OWYN smartly includes the same amount of flaxseed oil (a good source of omega-3’s) as sunflower oil for a balanced ratio.
Greens blend
I dig that OWYN attempts to include a blend of greens (broccoli, spinach, kale) in their product. Greens contain nutrients most of us (particularly those of us regularly slurping down protein shakes over real, whole foods) need more of. That said, considering its greens blend is way down at the bottom of the ingredients list—below sea salt—we can assume the amount of these ingredients included is negligible.
What’s Good About OWYN Protein Shakes?
Convenient plant-based protein
You simply can’t beat a pre-blended protein shake for convenient protein. Sure, adding a few scoops of protein powder to a smoothie will get you around the same amount of the macro in one sitting. But that involves having other tasty ingredients on hand, and cleaning the blender (which is admittedly always easier than I build it up to be, but still a pain).
When I can’t be bothered to whip up a meal, OWYN protein shakes make it easy to meet my protein needs. Just shake, and pour into a glass with ice. Or better yet, stir it with an espresso shot or two for a sweet pick-me-up.
Surprisingly clean ingredients
I’ll just get out with it: Pre-made protein shakes aren’t the healthiest. To improve the flavor, texture, and consistency (and to make sure they don’t spoil while sitting for sometimes years on grocery store shelves) they often contain some questionable ingredients like artificial sugars, gums, emulsifiers, oils, and more.
I appreciate that OWYN is free of *most* of the sketchy ingredients found in other pre-made protein shakes. It’s low in added sugar, contains no artificial sugars, skips on most common allergens (like dairy, soy, and gluten), and is non-GMO certified.
OWYN does contain sunflower oil which acts as an emulsifier. But I like that the brand is transparent about intentionally blending sunflower oil with flaxseed oil to help balance the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. It also contains guar gum, which studies have found can have both positive and negative effects on the gut—so, it’s worth tuning into how you feel after drinking it (6, 7).
Third-party tested
I like to have control over what’s going into my body, so I try to avoid products that aren’t third-party tested. Ideally, third-party testing is an unbiased verification that the supplement meets its label claims and is free from harmful contaminants like heavy metals or allergens, offering an additional layer of assurance for safety and effectiveness.
OWYN is GMP compliant, meaning they follow the Good Manufacturing Practice regulations outlined by the FDA to ensure quality and safety. The brand also tests every lot of products, every time for the presence of top allergens by using Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays (ELISA). Meaning, you can be sure OWYN is free of the allergens they claim they are.
Easy to digest
The biggest qualm most people have with pre-made protein shakes is that they don’t exactly come out as easily as they go down. When it comes to digestion everyone is different. After drinking OWYN everything kept moving along as normal for me if you know what I mean.
Smooth chocolate flavor
OWYN isn’t the best tasting plant-based shake I’ve had. I personally prefer Orgain Plant Protein for flavor. That said, I had no problem polishing off both packs of OWYN.
Both the Chocolate Pro Elite and Dark Chocolate Non-Dairy shakes have a sweet chocolatey flavor. Between the two, I’d pick the Pro Elite since the Non-Dairy is significantly sweeter thanks to the addition of cane sugar on top of monk fruit. Then again, my tolerance for sweet protein shakes is low. So if you like it sweet you might prefer the Non-Dairy. Both also fall somewhere in the middle on texture (not thick like a shake, but not watery either).
I tried OWYN on its own, and blended into smoothies and coffee. Coffee was my personal favorite, since it balanced out the sweetness a bit.
What’s Not Good About OWYN Protein Shakes?
Protein quality could be better
OWYN isn’t the highest quality plant-based protein you can find. Since pea protein is nearly complete, you could do worse. But because it’s a little low in methionine, pairing it with rice, oat, or flax protein (which are good sources of methionine) instead of pumpkin seed protein (which isn’t) would be ideal.
Still, pre-blended plant-based protein shakes that actually are complete (that aren’t soy) are limited. While plant-based protein powders that do offer a blend of complete amino acids as described aren’t hard to find, the only pre-blended protein drink I’ve found that does is Muscle Milk Plant Protein. That said, Muscle Milk contains additives like stevia that, in my opinion, aren’t worth the trade off.
Miniscule amount of greens powder
There’s less greens powder in this shake than there is sea salt. Which means that the greens that are added to this shake likely aren’t in large enough quantities to provide any significant benefit, and definitely not enough to skip a serving of veggies. The intentionality and transparency of some of the other ingredients by OWYN makes the excuse to stamp “superfoods” on the label even more disappointing.
May contain heavy metals
It’s worth mentioning that in 2020, several OWYN products were found to have heavy metals—including lead and cadmium—in amounts that violated Prop 65 standards. According to the brand, OWYN is Prop 65 compliant, and tests every batch of its protein products for heavy metals. So, new batches should be in the clear. Still, check the production date when you buy. For example, I purchased mine at Target a few weeks ago, but it was produced in 2022—which isn’t exactly recent.
Expensive
Like most ready-made protein shakes, OWYN is more expensive than protein powder. For example, OWYN’s Non-Dairy Protein Shakes are roughly $3.08 per serving, while the Pro Elite Protein Shakes are $3.92 per serving. Most high-quality plant-based protein powders are less than $2.00 a serving. If you need convenience, however, it might be worth the upcharge.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for convenient plant-based protein you’ll struggle to find a pre-made protein shake with a cleaner label than OWYN. However, OWYN is expensive and the protein quality could be better.
