Premier Protein Bananas & Cream 30g Shake: Nutrition & Labelgrade B+ (80/100)
B+ 80 / 100 — Premier's banana spin on their flagship 30g shake. Same dual-artificial-sweetener formulation as the Vanilla version. Wins big on protein-per-calorie (5.3 cal/g — matches plain chicken breast). The 33-ingredient list is the price of mass-market shelf-stable convenience.
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Premier Protein Bananas & Cream delivers 30 g of protein for 159 calories in a single 340 ml bottle (USDA FDC 2626567) — that’s 5.3 calories per gram of protein, the same ratio you get from plain cooked chicken breast. There’s 1 g of sugar, 3 g of fat, and 242 mg of sodium, so nearly every calorie is doing protein work. It earns a B+ (80/100): the macros are about as good as a grocery-store shake gets, and the grade is held back by exactly one thing — a long, additive-heavy ingredient list built for room-temperature shelf life.
Why the B+
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | C | 63 / 100 | 8.7 g per 100 ml — only moderate, because a drinkable shake is mostly water. The number that matters here is the 30 g per bottle, not the concentration |
| Ingredient quality | B- | 71 / 100 | 33 ingredients, with sucralose and acesulfame potassium flagged. Most of the length is the 22-item vitamin blend; the rest is the shelf-stability stack |
| Saturated fat | A+ | 99 / 100 | 0.5 g — effectively none. The lone fat source is a sub-1% splash of sunflower oil |
| Sodium | A+ | 100 / 100 | 242 mg per bottle — genuinely low for a fortified RTD shake |
| Sugar | A+ | 100 / 100 | 1 g, and it’s residual lactose, not added sugar. All the sweetness is from the sweetener blend |
| Fiber | F | 32 / 100 | 1 g, from a little added inulin. This isn’t a fiber product and doesn’t pretend to be |
Five of the six dimensions are basically maxed out. The B (rather than an A) comes down entirely to ingredient quality: two non-nutritive sweeteners and a stack of gums, carrageenan, and phosphate salts. That’s not a knock on safety — it’s the honest cost of a protein shake that survives a year in a warm pantry, and it’s the single biggest gap between this and a fresh, refrigerated shake.
What you’re actually buying: protein per calorie
This is the whole point of the product, so it’s worth being blunt about it. Hitting 30 g of protein at 159 calories is hard. Most ready-to-drink shakes either carry extra sugar (Fairlife’s original cane-sugar line, ~5 g added) or extra fat to improve mouthfeel, and the calorie count climbs. Premier strips almost all of that out and lets artificial sweeteners do the flavor work, so the calorie total stays pinned to the protein itself. At 5.3 cal/g it ties plain chicken breast — and unlike chicken, it’s drinkable in 20 seconds with no prep, no cleanup, and no refrigeration. If your only question is “how do I get 30 g of protein with the fewest possible calories and zero effort,” this is one of the best answers on a grocery shelf.
The honest catch: the ingredient list
The flip side of that efficiency is a label that runs 33 ingredients deep. Here’s the fair way to read it: 22 of those are just the vitamin and mineral fortification blend, which is upside, not filler. What’s left is the machinery that makes a shelf-stable shake possible — cellulose gel and gum for body, carrageenan to stop the protein from separating, and a set of phosphate salts (tripotassium, dipotassium, sodium hexametaphosphate) that keep the milk protein suspended and smooth. None of it is unusual; all of it is functional. But it is the reason a refrigerated competitor can show a much shorter label, and if a short ingredient list is a hard requirement for you, that’s the real reason to look elsewhere — not the macros.
The sweeteners deserve their own line. Premier uses sucralose and acesulfame potassium together, the default combo for mass-market shakes, because two small doses taste cleaner than one large dose of either. They’re FDA-approved and let the shake hit 1 g of sugar. If you specifically avoid non-nutritive sweeteners, no amount of good macro math changes that, and a cane-sugar option like Fairlife Core Power original is the better fit.
An overlooked upside: 649 mg of calcium
One number on this label that almost nobody talks about: 649 mg of calcium per bottle — about half a day’s worth. It isn’t bolted-on fortification; it rides along with the milk-protein concentrate and calcium caseinate that form the protein base. For anyone who’s cut back on dairy but still wants the calcium, a 30 g protein hit that also covers 50% of your calcium is a genuine two-for-one that the front of the bottle doesn’t advertise.
How it compares
| Product | Protein / bottle | Calories | Cal per g protein | Sweeteners | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier 30g Bananas & Cream (this) | 30 g (340 ml) | 159 | 5.3 | Sucralose + ace-K | Shelf-stable |
| Premier 30g Vanilla | 30 g (340 ml) | 160 | 5.3 | Sucralose + ace-K | Shelf-stable |
| Fairlife Core Power Elite 42g | 42 g (414 ml) | 232 | 5.5 | Sucralose + ace-K + stevia + monk fruit | Refrigerated |
Against its own Vanilla sibling, this is the same shake with a banana note on top — macros, sweeteners, and grade are identical, so the choice is purely flavor preference. Against Fairlife Core Power Elite, the split is clearer: Elite hands you 40% more protein per bottle and a smoother, refrigerated formula, but costs 40-60% more and has to stay cold. Premier wins on price, portability, and the protein-per-calorie ratio; Elite wins when you actually need 42 g in one sitting. Premier is the commuter and pantry shake; Elite is the post-heavy-session one.
Ingredients
Water, milk protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, contains less than 1% of high oleic sunflower oil, natural and artificial flavors, inulin, cellulose gel and cellulose gum, salt, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, carrageenan, tripotassium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, vitamin and mineral blend.
The first three ingredients carry the product: water plus two milk-derived proteins. Everything after the sub-1% sunflower oil is flavor, sweetener, texture, stability, or fortification. (Verbatim from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 2626567.)
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 1 shake (340 ml)
See how this fits your day — protein calculator · macro calculator
Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (1 shake (340 ml)) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 159 |
| Protein | 30g |
| Total Fat | 3g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.5g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 4g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1g |
| Total Sugars | 1g |
| Added Sugars | 0g |
| Sodium | 242mg |
| Cholesterol | 21mg |
| Calcium | 649mg |
| Iron | 1.8mg |
| Potassium | 179mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Premier Protein 30g Shake (Bananas & Cream) (11.5 fl oz (340 ml)) · UPC 643843717850. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains animal-derived ingredients
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein is in a Premier Protein Bananas & Cream shake?
30 g per 11.5 fl oz (340 ml) bottle (USDA FDC 2626567), or about 8.7 g per 100 ml. The protein is milk protein concentrate plus calcium caseinate — so predominantly slow-digesting casein with some whey, which makes it sit better as a meal or bedtime shake than a fast post-workout one.
How is it only 159 calories for 30 g of protein?
Because almost nothing else is in it. There's effectively no sugar (1 g, all lactose) and only 3 g of fat, so the calories track the protein almost 1:1 — 5.3 calories per gram, the same ratio as plain cooked chicken breast. That efficiency is the entire reason this shake exists; it's a protein delivery vehicle, not a treat.
Does Bananas & Cream actually taste like banana?
It's a mild artificial-banana note over Premier's standard creamy base — closer to banana pudding than fresh fruit, and sweeter than the plain Vanilla. If artificial banana flavor (the Runts-candy kind) bothers you, this is the one Premier flavor to skip; if it doesn't, it's one of their less divisive options.
Why are there 33 ingredients?
Twenty-two of them are the vitamin and mineral blend — fortification, not formulation. The rest is the shelf-stability stack every room-temperature shake needs: cellulose gel and gum for body, carrageenan to stop separation, and phosphate salts to keep the milk protein suspended. A refrigerated shake like Fairlife Core Power can skip most of it; that's the real trade for 12-month pantry storage.
Why both sucralose and acesulfame potassium?
Each sweetener has a faint bitter edge at full strength, so blending two smaller doses gives a cleaner sweetness than either alone — a standard mass-market move. Both are FDA-approved. If you'd rather avoid them, Fairlife Core Power's original line uses cane sugar instead (at the cost of 5-7 g of added sugar per bottle).
Is one shake enough protein to count as a meal?
For the protein, yes — 30 g clears the threshold most people use for a muscle-protein-synthesis dose, and it's 60% of the FDA Daily Value. But at 159 calories with 1 g of fiber and no real fat, it won't keep you full like food. Treat it as a protein top-up or a light breakfast you pair with something, not a standalone meal.
How does it compare to Fairlife Core Power?
Different jobs. This Premier shake is the shelf-stable, throw-in-a-bag value pick at roughly $2.50-3.50 a bottle. Fairlife Core Power Elite packs 42 g of protein but needs refrigeration and runs $4-5. Elite buys you 40% more protein per bottle for athlete-sized doses; Premier buys you convenience and a lower price for everyday 30 g hits.
How much calcium does it have, and is it keto-friendly?
Calcium is the sleeper stat: 649 mg per bottle, about half a day's worth, and it rides along free with the milk-protein base rather than being added in. On keto, it fits — 4 g total carbs minus 1 g of inulin fiber leaves 3 g net carbs, under the usual 5 g threshold — with the only asterisk being the sucralose that some strict practitioners avoid.