Now you can say goodbye to feeling guilty when eating ice-cream, with the introduction of WOAH! which is a high protein, high calcium, high iron, low fat, low carb, low calorie and low sugar ice-cream. 

A locally-made handcrafted artisan ice-cream, WOAH! is chock-full of premium ingredients and high in nutrition to support a healthy lifestyle.

Began as a recipe for his Leukaemia-stricken mum 

According to the Nutrition Depot Vice-President and WOAH! protein ice-cream founder, Edward Foo, 40, the ice-cream brand began as a home-made recipe for his mum, who was suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 2017.

Said Foo, “When my mum was diagnosed with leukaemia, she tried an assortment of products and her dietician encouraged her to take seven to ten pieces of chicken on a daily basis for her protein needs.” 

Continued Foo, “But this is very difficult for a 79-year-old elderly person, because consuming hard products or meat isn’t easy for them.”

His mum lost 20kg, because the harsh chemotherapy drugs on her body were affecting her taste buds and appetite, as well as her ability to chew and ingest food.

Experimenting with protein products

So that was when Foo got the inspiration to experiment with high protein products to see if he could come up with something that his mum could consume more easily.

Explained Foo, “At Nutrition Depot, I sell products that are high in protein and many of these use protein powder. So I took these raw ingredients and bought an ice-cream machine to experiment on a high-protein ice cream.” 

He added, “The result tasted a bit like sorbet but it still resembled ice cream. I let my mum try this for her leukaemia and after one to two years of taking the ice cream, she regained her weight back.”

Ice-cream is a top dessert in Singapore 

But why have an ice-cream product, though?

Explained Foo, “Protein shakes are easily available in the market but when it comes to a tropical country like Singapore, ice-cream is one of the top desserts, because it keeps you cool. And when you look at the ageing population, such as the elderly, there is a limit to how much water or protein shakes that they can consume within a day.”

He continued, “Ice-cream, though, is good for hot weather as the elderly can take it as an appetiser or a dessert and they won’t feel as full. It is also good to complement any meals that they are having before that, too.”

Taking his product into the market 

Now, Foo’s mum has fully recovered and feels much better, and heartened by the success of the ice-cream with his mum, Foo shared samples of the product with not only other cancer patients, but also nutritionists. He received many positive reviews.

Furthermore, Foo was encouraged to take the product beyond hospitals with the success of a 2018 event which garnered positive reviews of the ice-cream.

Moreover, even his 11-year-old nephew took to it, thus establishing the wide appeal of WOAH! to the young crowd as well.

A good dessert or meal supplement choice for Singaporeans

With the increased awareness that Singaporeans have in making healthier food choices and consuming less sugar, a product like WOAH! would be a great choice of dessert or meal supplement option for busy executives on the go or patients recovering from surgery.

The higher protein content in WOAH! helps in body tissue repair and reduces the chance of muscle degeneration which is vital to the needs of an ageing population. 

As we grow older, our ability to absorb our daily dietary needs grow weaker, and WOAH! addresses the gap of a healthier ice-cream with an option and all-rounded nutrition label compared to other conventional brands which focus on lowering only sugar and calories.

Said Foo, “These days, there has been an increase in demand for high protein related products in Singapore, and you will witness this at most of the major supermarket chains, this was not the case 10 – 15 years ago. I hope that WOAH! as a home-grown brand, will provide another exciting alternative for Singaporeans to reach their protein quota.”

The key ingredient used in the WOAH! protein ice-cream is L-Leucine, a powerful branched-chain animo acid which stimulated protein synthesis and assists with building muscle mass. This may help with weight and fat loss and it is burned by the muscles as fuel.

To cater to a wider range of the market, WOAH! protein ice-cream is also vegetarian and gluten-free and its nutrition profile is carefully curated to suit everyone, from young school-going children to elderly seniors, fit, active individuals and hospital patients. 

Getting the right formulation for the final product was a tedious process and finding the right ingredients and manufacturer provided to be challenging, though, according to Foo.

Trying the WOAH! protein ice-cream flavours

But in spite of the challenges and setbacks, the WOAH! protein ice-cream was officially launched at Nutrition Depot’s Marina One outlet this week, with influencers and members of the media being invited to come down to try out this ice-cream for ourselves.

I love ice-cream, so I simply could not say no to this opportunity.

There are six different WOAH! protein ice-cream flavours altogether, and these are: 

• Chocolate
• Salted Caramel
• Peanut Butter
• Cookies & Cream
• Strawberry
• Vanilla

Chocolate

I managed to try them all at the launch event, and I found the Chocolate flavour to easily be the best one, out of the lot.

This is because the Chocolate one had tasted rich and dark, without being jelak, and while there had been some sweetness to it, the chocolate flavour was not too sweet as well. 

And as a bonus, I also felt that the Chocolate WOAH! protein ice-cream was also the smoothest one out of the lot in terms of its texture. So this is a flavour that I would definitely eat again.

Salted Caramel

The Salted Caramel ice-cream came a close second, with the Caramel flavour coming out quite strongly. This was rather enjoyable to me as I like caramel, but after taking a few mouthfuls of this flavour though, the sweetness of this ice-cream hits me, more so than when I was eating the Chocolate flavour.

Unfortunately, I found the other four flavours to be quite weak, with the flavour not coming out as strongly as I had hoped. So as a result, these were not as impressive, in my opinion.

Peanut Butter

The Peanut Butter ice-cream made me feel that artificial peanut butter essence, rather than actual peanut butter having being used to make it. As a result, the flavour was quite weak and diluted and at the same time, did not taste as authentic as I would have liked, too. This is a pity because I love peanut butter, to the extent that I’d sometimes eat it straight out of the jar.

Cookies & Cream

And the Cookies & Cream ice-cream seemed to be a weak and watery imitation of the taste of Oreo cookies, with the flavour not coming out very strongly to taste buds.

Strawberry

As for the Strawberry ice-cream, it would have been nice if the fruity note had been stronger. To me, it seemed to have been pretty watered down.

Vanilla

And with regards to the Vanilla ice-cream,  I thought that this had a very subtle taste that reminded me of the Vanilla protein powder, but beyond that, the flavour was pretty weak, unfortunately.

Where to buy WOAH! protein ice-cream

Two of the flavours – the Chocolate and Salted Caramel WOAH! ice-creams, are now available at both Nutrition Depot locations at Raffles Place and Marina One, as well as online at www.woahprotein.com.

Each 473-gram pint retails at S$24 but senior citizens can get 30 per cent off at both Nutrition Depot outlets and online at the WOAH! website.

As well, the WOAH! Chocolate and Salted Caramel protein ice-cream pints can also be purchased at NTUC FairPrice outlets at Orchard Grand Court, Rivervale Mall, Singapore Sports Hub, SingPost, Sun Plaza, Tampines Mall and Fairprice Online, till 30 September 2019. 

The other four WOAH! protein ice-cream flavours are not available in the market yet, but they will be released in stages.