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[allaboutfoodgwu]

Whey Underwhelming

It was a windy Sunday afternoon, I’m sure everyone was being blown away by the cherry blossom blooms, but not I. I was at GNC at 1754 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006, being floored by the amount of protein this place had in it. Like, we’re talking 1,000’s of grams. Floor to ceiling shelves with giant tubs of powders, vitamins, supplements, pre-workouts, post-workouts, during workouts (that might just be water)…

Walking in, it was pretty clear this place does not see a lot of action. Nestled between office buildings, this GNC has a ‘convenience store’ vibe without products that really scream ‘convenience.’ They still had a poster in the front window boasting ‘Holiday Specials’ with a red background and snowflakes. There were no other customers at the time of my visit, though I imagine their clientele are people walking to the metro from work.

The floor at the entrance is a tiled linoleum, which changes to a black linoleum as you walk to the back. Florescent lighting illuminates all the products which are on basic, unimpressive shelves. The ambience sort of felt like when rental video places were going out of business and you would walk into one of those somber, empty places and all the covers of films would look at you as if they longed to go home and escape.

The store has multiple brands but the most heavily featured is (big surprise) the GNC brand. Shelves seem sectioned off based on the amount of protein per serving and amount of activity like athletes, lifting, professional lifting, etc. The “pro” powder has 50g of protein per serving and recommends 4 “heaping” scoops a day at 1340 calories… yikes. 

It isn’t as expensive as I had expected at $34.99. It has an insanely long list of ingredients, all of which are unpronounceable. A protein called “wheybolic ripped,” is $64.99 but seems to have a more specific purpose. Across the store, the more specialized the product, the more expensive it is.

There is a small ‘natural’ section to the right as you walk in. Familiar labels reside there, like Vega, Organic Protein and Garden of Life. The sizes of all the tubs feel dramatically smaller in comparison to 5 or 6 lb tubs of the others. Vega is the most expensive at $54.99, on the top shelf. As you look down, the prices slowly drop to GNC’s soy protein powder at $19.99.

Overall, their slogan “live well” seemed to be an understated goal for what most of their products were boasting. The catchy phrase does work to appeal to a broader public, but I don’t think the majority of us feel like drinking 50 grams of protein in a shake. This place is not for the average, indecisive window shopper.

Next week, I will return to Whole Foods with wiser eyes. Tune in for a new take!