Fairlife is a milk brand that also sells bottled protein shakes called Core Power. The shakes come in four flavors, and the brand claims that Fairlife protein shake "supports workout recovery" and "builds lean muscle."
But do Fairlife protein shakes contain research-backed ingredients for building muscle? Do they contain any questionable additives? Is Fairlife Elite better for athletes than regular Fairlife? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Fairlife protein shakes?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Fairlife protein shake to give our take on whether or not it's likely to help build muscle, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll highlight a few questionable additive ingredients, feature Fairlife customer reviews (including our test of the product), and explain why Fairlife was successfully sued for over $20 million.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Fairlife Protein Shake are shown above.
Protein is included at an effective dose of 26 grams (g).
A 2013 medical review found that protein doses around 25 g maximize muscle protein synthesis after exercise.
Filtered lowfat grade A milk is the protein source, and there is no reference to whether the milk is sourced from grass-fed or conventional animals, so we will assume the milk is sourced from conventionally-raised animals.
An extensive scientific review published by the University of Minnesota concluded that grass-fed milk is healthier than conventional milk for two main reasons: it provides a more optimal ratio of fatty acids such as omega-3 fatty acids, and is also higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which may have cardiovascular benefits.
Fairlife protein shake contains a number of questionable additive ingredients.
Suraclose is an artificial sweetener that has been shown in a clinical trial to negatively affect insulin function in young and healthy volunteers.
The trial participants only consumed 15% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of sucralose, and experienced a significant decrease in insulin sensitivity.
Acesulfame potassium is another artificial sweetener that was found to cause intestinal injury and negative changes to gut function in an animal study.
Natural flavors is a broad descriptor that can refer to a wide range of chemical compounds.
As we detailed in our review of Orgain protein powder, there is clinical evidence that some flavoring agents pose toxicity risks to humans.
Vitamin A palmitate and vitamin D3 are vitamin additives.
As documented in an extensive meta-study published in 2017, excess intake of vitamins poses health concerns, and it may be illogical to consume foods and supplements with added vitamins and minerals without a documented deficiency in those vitamins and minerals.
Overall, we do not recommend Fairlife protein shakes due to the inclusion of the inactive ingredients discussed above, and due to our concerns over sourcing.
We believe that this product is likely to be effective for post-workout muscle synthesis and recovery, due to the effective protein dosage.
A registered dietitian (RD) named Nicole Hoskens reviewed Fairlife protein shakes in a video with over 80,000 views:
We Tried Fairlife Protein Shake Ourselves
As the author of this article, I wanted to try Fairlife protein shake myself to share my thoughts on its taste and the product effects.
I was not a fan of the taste. Though it doesn't taste awful, it tasted worse to me than regular milk, and I would not purchase it again for this reason.
The high protein content is a plus, and I paired it with dark chocolate to neutralize some of the excessive sweetness of Fairlife.
I used this product post-workout and it did seem to help my muscles recover, but that was only after one workout session which is too small of a sample size and too subjective to definitively determine.
If Fairlife was free of artificial sweeteners I'd probably consider purchasing it a few times a week for a convenient, high-protein snack.
Overall, I'd rate Fairlife protein shake 3/10.
Were Fairlife Employees Abusing Animals?
Fairlife faced a number of controversies in 2020 over alleged animal welfare abuses on farms that the brand sourced from.
Undercover footage showed employees abusing and physically harming the cows, according to The National Trial Lawyers.
A class-action lawsuit was filed, and in 2022 Fairlife settled for $21 million.
It's unclear whether or not Fairlife had information about the alleged abuses occurring on this farm, but in our opinion it's the ethical obligation of food products businesses to routinely check up on the farms they source from, to ensure humane treatment of animals.
There are video exposés searchable on YouTube highlighting the alleged abuses, but we chose not to feature them in this article because some individuals may not want to watch animal cruelty.
Is Fairlife Elite Better?
Fairlife Elite has a very similar formulation to regular Fairlife protein shakes.
The main difference is that the Elite version provides 42 g of protein.
We do not consider this increased protein dosage likely to confer any additional benefits, as we haven’t come across clinical evidence that protein intake above 25 or 30 g in one serving provides greater muscle synthesis.
One benefit of this shake is it appears to be at least partially sweetened with strawberry puree, which is a nutritious whole food ingredient that’s rich in potassium, according to the USDA.
All of the questionable additive ingredients we highlighted in the Fairlife ingredient review are also in Fairlife Elite: sucralose, acesulfame potassium, natural flavors, added vitamins and minerals.
We do not currently recommend Fairlife Elite due to the additive ingredients, but we do believe it will be effective for muscle building and recovery post-workout due to the effective protein dosage.
Between the two products, Fairlife seems like the better purchase, since it's cheaper and should be equally effective.
A popular YouTube video published by a channel called “The Supplement Reviewers” compares Fairlife Elite (also called Core Power Elite) to Muscle Milk Pro Series:
Where to Get the Best Price
Fairlife protein shakes are available at a variety of online retailers.
Here's a per-bottle price breakdown at the time of updating this article:
Core Life Original
Amazon: $3.87 (free shipping, third-party seller, link to official Amazon listing)
Stop & Shop: $3.79 (plus shipping, link)
Target: $3.39 (plus shipping, link)
Core Life Elite
Walmart: $4.83 (free shipping, third-party seller, link)
Amazon: $4.67 (free shipping, third-party seller, link to official Amazon listing)
Target: $4.49 (plus shipping, link)
When factoring in shipping fees, Amazon currently offers the best prices on both Core Life products.
Customers Rate Fairlife
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
At the time of updating this article, Fairlife's chocolate protein shake has been reviewed over 18,000 times on Amazon, and has an average review rating of 4.8 stars out of 5.
A top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Phyllcar" who gave the product a 5/5 rating:
"This shake is a great way to get a power boost when you’re running late and don’t have time for breakfast. It’ll hold you over until you have a better chance to eat a regular meal or use it for a quick snack in between meals. Best taste when cold"
A top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Janelle" who gave the product a 1/5 rating:
"Evidently the recipe for this product has changed since the review I read of it on the Web. I was looking for a drink without any artificial sweeteners and was shocked to get a product that contains sucralose which is undigestible for me and tastes awful. Complete waste of money. Amazon needs to highlight the ingredients list for this product."
Our Clean Protein Picks
MBG Whey Protein Isolate+ is our top overall protein powder.
Whey protein is a "complete" protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids.
Anthony's Organic Hemp Protein is our top vegan protein pick.
It's extremely nutrient-dense, providing 25% of the Daily Value (DV) of iron and 8% of the DV of potassium.
Both of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Fairlife Protein Shake Pros and Cons
Here’s our take on the pros and cons of Fairlife’s protein shakes:
Pros:
- Effective protein dose
- Complete protein
- Should support muscle building
- Highly positive Amazon reviews
Cons:
- Contains artificial sweeteners
- Contains added, synthetic vitamins
- Contains flavoring agents
- Relatively expensive
- Dairy farm Fairlife sources from may have abused animals
- Packaged in plastic
