Taking your money and putting your health at risk
In New Zealand's supplement industry, trust is built on transparency—and when that trust is questioned, the burden of proof falls heavily on those who ask consumers to believe in what they cannot see. A YouTube investigation has accused NZ Muscle of six years of regulatory and ethical misconduct, from mislabeled products to concealed reviews, while the company responds with certifications that investigators say do not fully answer the questions being asked. The dispute now rests in the space between claimed compliance and public verification, a gap that regulators may yet be called upon to close.
- Independent creators published findings alleging NZ Muscle spent six years relabeling products, hiding negative reviews, making false protein claims, and packing supplements in unhygienic conditions.
- The most serious regulatory question—whether NZ Muscle holds the legally required food manufacturing registration—remains unresolved, as investigators found no public listing under the company's name or business number.
- NZ Muscle responded with HASTA test certificates and a Fonterra sourcing declaration, but the testing body itself cautioned that results apply only to specific samples and cannot guarantee entire batches are uncontaminated.
- The company declined to address the full range of allegations, leaving consumers who purchased products during the disputed period without clarity on what they may have ingested.
- The dispute now hinges on regulatory verification, with the possibility of a formal investigation looming over a company that insists no authority has yet made contact.
A YouTube investigation by independent creators Kino House Investigates has leveled serious allegations against New Zealand supplement brand NZ Muscle, claiming the company engaged in systematic misconduct over six years. The findings included relabeling products sourced from other manufacturers, suppressing customer reviews below three stars, making unsubstantiated protein content claims, and operating under poor hygiene conditions during packing. Investigator Cam Boot stated publicly that the evidence pointed to behavior that took money from customers while placing their health at risk.
At the center of the regulatory dispute is whether NZ Muscle holds a required Food Control Plan or National Programme 3 registration under New Zealand law. Investigators searched public registers using the company's name, business number, and address and reported finding no listing—a finding NZ Muscle has not directly addressed.
In response to rova's inquiries, NZ Muscle stated that no regulatory body had contacted or initiated an inquiry against them. The company provided HASTA certificates covering five products—two whey proteins, two electrolyte supplements, and a creatine—each showing no banned substances were detected. They also supplied a declaration from manufacturing partner Prosoma Ltd confirming that whey protein in their range is sourced exclusively from Fonterra, with cattle averaging over 350 days on pasture annually.
However, HASTA itself noted that results apply only to the specific samples tested and cannot guarantee uniformity across an entire batch. Investigators argued that such certificates do not confirm what a product actually contains. When asked to respond to the broader allegations—including review suppression and product mislabeling—NZ Muscle declined further comment, leaving the dispute unresolved and consumers uncertain about what they may have purchased.
A YouTube investigation into NZ Muscle, a New Zealand supplement brand, has surfaced allegations of systematic misconduct spanning six years—claims the company now disputes while offering documentation to support its regulatory standing.
Kino House Investigates, a group of independent creators, published findings suggesting the brand had engaged in illegal behavior including relabeling products from other manufacturers, concealing customer reviews below three stars, making unsubstantiated protein content claims, and operating under unhygienic packing conditions. Cam Boot, one of the investigation's creators, stated in an Instagram post that the group had assembled evidence of behavior that took customer money while putting their health at risk.
The investigation raised a specific regulatory question: whether NZ Muscle held the required Food Control Plan (FCP) or National Programme 3 (NP3) registration mandated in New Zealand for food and supplement manufacturing. Boot's team searched publicly available registers using the company name, business number, and address but reported finding no listing.
When contacted by rova following the video's release, NZ Muscle responded with a statement acknowledging awareness of the investigation. The company asserted that no regulatory body had initiated an inquiry and none had made contact. More substantively, NZ Muscle claimed to hold current food registration alongside HASTA certifications—HASTA being an independent laboratory testing service that screens sports supplements for substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Rova reviewed three HASTA certificates covering five NZ Muscle products: two whey protein formulations in vanilla and chocolate, two electrolyte supplements in blue, and an unflavored creatine product. Each certificate indicated no prohibited substances were detected according to the testing methodology employed. However, HASTA itself noted a critical limitation: the results applied only to the specific samples tested and could not guarantee that all product in a batch was free from contamination, since batches may not be uniformly composed throughout.
NZ Muscle also provided a manufacturer's declaration from Prosoma Ltd, the company's production partner, confirming that whey protein used in the brand's range came exclusively from Fonterra, New Zealand's largest dairy cooperative. The declaration specified that Fonterra's grass-fed whey met New Zealand standards, with cattle spending an average of over 350 days annually on pasture and maintaining 96 percent grass-fed status on average.
The investigators countered that similar certificates they had obtained during their research did not actually demonstrate what the products contained. Beyond the regulatory and testing disputes, Kino House Investigates alleged that NZ Muscle had systematically hidden negative customer reviews, made misleading claims about protein content, relabeled products sourced from other brands, and maintained poor hygiene standards during packing operations.
When asked to address these additional allegations, NZ Muscle declined further comment. The company's response left the core dispute unresolved: whether its claimed food registration and manufacturing certifications would withstand public verification, and whether the testing documentation it provided adequately addressed concerns about product authenticity and safety. For consumers who purchased NZ Muscle supplements during the period in question, the outcome of any potential regulatory review could determine whether they unknowingly ingested products of uncertain composition.
Notable Quotes
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.— Cam Boot, Kino House Investigates
There is no regulatory investigation underway, and no regulator has contacted the company.— NZ Muscle statement
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would a supplement company bother relabeling products from other brands instead of just selling their own?
Cost, likely. If you're buying bulk powder from another manufacturer and slapping your label on it, your margins are higher and your overhead is lower. You're not actually making anything—you're just repackaging and reselling.
And the HASTA certificates—are those real or fake?
They appear to be real. HASTA is a legitimate testing service. But here's the catch: they only tested the specific samples sent to them. A batch could have contamination in some units and not others. The certificates don't prove the entire product line is clean.
So NZ Muscle could have sent their cleanest batch to the lab?
Exactly. That's what the investigators are implying. You send your best samples, get the certificate, then use that certificate to market everything you sell, even if other batches are different.
What about the Fonterra declaration? That seems pretty solid.
It does, on its face. Fonterra is a real company, grass-fed dairy is verifiable, and the numbers they cite are specific enough to check. But it only addresses the whey protein source, not the other products or the manufacturing process itself.
The real question is whether NZ Muscle actually has the required food registration, right?
That's the hinge the whole thing turns on. The investigators say they searched the public register and found nothing. NZ Muscle says they have current registration. One of them is wrong, and it should be easy to verify. If no regulator has contacted them yet, they probably will soon.