A New Zealand supplement company is facing serious allegations after an independent investigation uncovered what appears to be a years-long pattern of consumer deception, illegal manufacturing, and deliberate mislabeling.
NZ Muscle, long considered a trusted name in the New Zealand fitness community, is now at the center of claims that staff were instructed to remove labels from EHP Labs protein tubs and replace them with NZ Muscle branding.
According to a former employee who spoke on the record, “There was a literal station in the warehouse where staff were told to remove the labels off the EHP proteins and then stick the NZ Muscle label on over the top.”
They also produced photographs of the workspace, including a rubbish bin containing discarded EHP labels alongside freshly cut NZ Muscle stickers.
The products in question were marketed as made in New Zealand from grass-fed whey and priced at a premium. In reality, investigators allege the tubs originated in the United States.
EHP Labs responded directly, stating: “EHP Labs unequivocally was not complicit in any of this. We had no idea and did not authorize any of this repackaging by NZ Muscle. Dion was in breach of the distribution contract with us and we actually terminated the supply agreement.”
The investigation also surfaced hundreds of empty, short-dated Mexican Isopure tubs found in bins outside NZ Muscle’s Auckland headquarters. These tubs matched the nutrition panels of NZ Muscle’s own No Brand Isolate product almost exactly.
An inside source confirmed that every bag of No Brand Isolate was the same short-dated Isopure, repackaged with an extended expiry date and sold as locally produced protein.
On the manufacturing side, a signed legal statement from a former employee revealed that staff repackaging creatine received no hygiene training, were not told to wash their hands, and were given no instruction on food-grade safety protocols.
The same machinery was reportedly used for both protein and creatine with no cleaning between runs, creating a potential cross-contamination risk for consumers with serious allergies.
NZ Muscle holds no Food Control Plan or Market Presence registration with MPI, meaning the company has no legal authority to be packaging any food or supplement product at its Auckland facility.
When investigators began asking questions publicly, NZ Muscle responded with a cease and desist letter. Shortly after, product pages for the No Brand range were quietly updated, incriminating claims about NZ origin were removed, and the products were pulled from sale entirely without any public statement to customers.
Glanbia, the multinational company that manufactures Isopure, responded: “We take the quality, safety, and integrity of our products very seriously. 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.”
The Commerce Commission confirmed that an earlier complaint filed in 2021 was assessed but not progressed. In light of the new allegations, they have since stated they will reassess the matter.
