TLC PurePlant Protein™ — Heritage Vanilla Bean Spice
Clean, complete plant protein. Nothing hidden.
TLC PurePlant Protein™ Heritage Vanilla Bean is a plant-based protein built on Nutralys® pea protein isolate, made from Canadian-grown yellow peas and manufactured by Roquette in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The pea protein is extracted through a water-based process, no chemical solvents, so the base ingredient is as clean as the finished product.
We formulated it for people who read ingredient lists. No gums, no emulsifiers, no hidden carriers, no artificial flavours, no "natural flavours," no engineered flavour systems, and no non-nutritive sweeteners. What's on the label is what's in the tub.
A more complete amino acid profile
Pea protein is naturally rich in the branched-chain amino acids and high in lysine, but like most legumes its limiting amino acids are the sulfur amino acids (methionine + cysteine). Unfortified pea supplies about 21 mg/g protein, just under the WHO/FAO/UNU adult requirement of 22 mg/g (WHO/FAO/UNU, 2007). We correct that directly: TLC PurePlant Protein™ is fortified with L-methionine to lift that one shortfall above the adult requirement pattern.
On top of that, we add L-leucine, the amino acid most directly tied to triggering muscle protein synthesis. Pea already carries a strong leucine content; the added L-leucine reinforces that anabolic signal for people using protein to support training and muscle maintenance.
Two amino acids, two clear jobs: methionine to complete the profile, leucine to strengthen the muscle-building trigger.
Pea protein is not a lesser protein. On the PDCAAS scale of protein quality, Nutralys® pea protein scores 92.8%, in the range of whey and casein, and well above cereal or fruit proteins (Babault et al., 2015). In a 12-week randomized controlled trial, pea protein produced muscle-thickness gains comparable to whey, with the clearest benefit in people new to or returning to resistance training (Babault et al., 2015).
Plant protein isn't the lesser choice
There's a widespread belief that plant protein is a step down from whey. For a plain, unfortified pea protein taken in a small amount, there was a kernel of truth to it: pea is naturally a little lower in methionine, and gram-for-gram carries slightly less leucine than whey. Those two gaps are what people are reacting to when they call plant protein "inferior."
We engineered both gaps shut.
Muscle building comes down to two things: getting enough leucine in a serving to switch on muscle protein synthesis, the well-established "leucine threshold" of roughly 2–2.5 g per serving, and supplying all nine essential amino acids. Pea already contains all nine; methionine is simply its lowest. So we topped up both:
- Added L-leucine brings each 30 g serving to ~2.5 g leucine — the threshold associated with triggering muscle protein synthesis.
- Added L-methionine lifts pea's one naturally limiting amino acid, the sulfur amino acids, from 21 mg/g up past the WHO/FAO/UNU adult requirement of 22 mg/g protein, so the profile meets the adult reference pattern for all nine essential amino acids (WHO/FAO/UNU, 2007).
The result: when your total protein intake is adequate, a properly formulated pea protein supports muscle as effectively as whey. In head-to-head resistance-training trials, pea protein produced muscle gains comparable to whey (Babault et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2024), and a 2025 systematic review found that well-formulated plant proteins stimulate muscle protein synthesis on par with whey when dosed adequately with roughly 2.5 g of leucine (Govindasamy et al., 2025).
Different source, same job. Your muscles don't check where an amino acid came from — they respond to whether it's there in the right amount. We made sure it is.
The Heritage Vanilla profile
TLC PurePlant Protein™ uses an alcohol-free vanilla extraction process derived from real vanilla beans, combined with ground whole vanilla bean. No artificial flavourings. No added natural flavours. We use only real vanilla ingredients, not engineered flavour systems, preserved in their natural aromatic form.
Tested, then tested again
Every batch of raw ingredients is tested before production, and the finished product is tested again after final blending. Screening covers heavy metals and microbiological contaminants. Scan the QR code on the label to pull the batch-specific testing and verification data for the tub in your hand.
Grown clean, sourced short
The yellow peas come through a highly traceable, short supply chain. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, the pea crop requires no synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and no irrigation, a genuinely lower-input protein source. The result is a plant protein built for people who care about ingredient transparency, sustainability, and verifiable quality.
Clean Consumer Highlights
- Made with Nutralys® pea protein isolate
- From Canadian-grown yellow peas
- Manufactured in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
- Water-based, solvent-free extraction
- Fortified with L-methionine (completes pea's limiting amino acid)
- Fortified with L-leucine (supports the muscle protein synthesis trigger)
- Real vanilla bean and alcohol-free vanilla extract + organic coconut sugar
- No animal products
- Non-GMO
- Gluten free
- No gums, no emulsifiers, no hidden carriers
- No artificial flavours, no "natural flavours," no engineered flavour systems
- No non-nutritive sweeteners
- Batch-tested for heavy metals and microbiological contaminants
- QR-linked batch verification
- Made in Canada
The evidence behind the claims
Strength comes from training, not from protein. We want to be clear about this. Resistance training is what builds strength; protein supplies the raw material your body uses to repair and build muscle in response to that training. Protein does not make you stronger on its own. In the 12-week placebo-controlled trial of Nutralys® pea protein, strength increased in every group, including the no-protein placebo group, with no significant difference between them (Babault et al., 2015). A second trial comparing pea to whey over 84 days found both groups improved similarly, but it had no placebo arm and so cannot separate the protein's effect from the training itself (Singh et al., 2024). No pea-protein trial has demonstrated a strength benefit beyond what training alone produces, and we don't claim one.
Muscle: reasonably supported (human RCT). What pea protein has shown is support for muscle size comparable to whey. In a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 161 men, Nutralys® pea protein (25 g twice daily) produced gains in biceps muscle thickness statistically comparable to whey protein. The clearest advantage over placebo appeared in participants new to or returning to resistance training; the whole-group difference was a trend (P = 0.09) rather than a definitive result. Nutralys® pea protein also scored 92.8% on the PDCAAS protein-quality scale, comparable to whey and casein (Babault et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2024).
Satiety: preliminary, not yet shown in humans. Laboratory (in vitro) digestion work and a rat study found that Nutralys® pea protein triggers appetite-regulating gut hormones (CCK, GLP-1, PYY) comparably to whey. These findings are mechanistically promising but have not been confirmed as an appetite or weight benefit in human trials, and we do not market this product as an appetite-control or weight-loss aid (Overduin et al., 2015).
References
Babault, N., Païzis, C., Deley, G., Guérin-Deremaux, L., Saniez, M.-H., Lefranc-Millot, C., & Allaert, F. A. (2015). Pea proteins oral supplementation promotes muscle thickness gains during resistance training: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial vs. whey protein. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-014-0064-5
Govindasamy, K., Parpa, K., Katanic, B., Clark, C. C. T., Elayaraja, M., Kambitta Valappil, I. N., Dulceanu, C., Geantă, V. A., Tolan, G. A., & Zouhal, H. (2025). Effect of plant-based proteins on recovery from resistance exercise-induced muscle damage in healthy young adults — A systematic review. Nutrients, 17(15), 2571. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152571
Overduin, J., Guérin-Deremaux, L., Wils, D., & Lambers, T. T. (2015). NUTRALYS® pea protein: Characterization of in vitro gastric digestion and in vivo gastrointestinal peptide responses relevant to satiety. Food & Nutrition Research, 59, 25622. https://doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v59.25622
Singh, R. G., Guérin-Deremaux, L., Lefranc-Millot, C., Perreau, C., Crowley, D. C., Lewis, E. D., Evans, M., & Moulin, M. (2024). Efficacy of pea protein supplementation in combination with a resistance training program on muscle performance in a sedentary adult population: A randomized, comparator-controlled, parallel clinical trial. Nutrients, 16(13), 2017. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16132017
World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, & United Nations University. (2007). Protein and amino acid requirements in human nutrition: Report of a joint WHO/FAO/UNU expert consultation (WHO Technical Report Series No. 935). World Health Organization.
