Where to Buy Protein Powder Abroad: A Guide for Any Country

Protein powder is one of the easier things to find abroad, but where you find it changes from country to country. In Bangkok it might be a LazMall store delivering to your condo in two days. In Tokyo it is a bottle from the konbini fridge. In Mexico City it is a Mercado Libre official store, and in Berlin it is the supermarket shelf.

This guide covers every option in the order we would try them, then gives a country-by-country table. If you are still deciding whether to pack a tub instead, our guide to travelling with protein powder covers airport rules and packing.

1. Start with a brand you recognise

The simplest way to avoid a bad tub is to buy a brand you already know and trust, from a seller the brand itself lists. Most big sports nutrition brands publish a store finder or a list of authorised stockists for each country, and those pages are usually more current than any blog.

Optimum Nutrition is a good example. Its Southeast Asia site has a "find a retailer" page for Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. In Thailand it lists its official Lazada and Shopee stores, online shops such as MuscleFoodshop, and more than 200 physical stores: supermarkets like Tops, Villa Market and Central Food Hall, supplement chains like Nutrition Depot, LAB and Vitamin Club, and gyms including We Fitness and Fitness7. In the UAE, GNC sells through its own regional site and says its stock comes through the official GNC supply chain.

Do not be too attached to your usual brand, though. Imported tubs often cost noticeably more in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, and many countries have strong local or supermarket own brands that are better value. If a local brand is sold through an official store or a reputable chain, it is a perfectly good choice for a trip.

2. Marketplaces and official brand stores

In much of the world, the big online marketplaces are where brands run their own official stores. They usually beat local shops on price and range, and deliver within a few days in big cities.

Lazada and Shopee (Southeast Asia)

Lazada operates in six countries: Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Shopee covers most of the same markets. Both have a section for official brand stores: LazMall on Lazada and Shopee Mall on Shopee. Shopee Mall launched with a 100% authenticity guarantee and a 15-day return window, and LazMall promises authentic products too. The exact terms vary by country, but buying from these sections is the safest way to shop either platform.

• You need a local number. Sign-up usually sends a one-time code by SMS, so get a local SIM or eSIM with a phone number first. A local number also lets the courier call you.
• Paying is easy. Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards generally work, and cash on delivery is available on most items. In Thailand you can also pay in cash at 7-Eleven.
• Delivery is quick in cities. In Thailand, orders from Bangkok sellers usually arrive in 2 to 4 days, or 1 to 2 with express. Overseas sellers can take 1 to 3 weeks, so filter for local sellers.
• Write the address for the courier. Add your building name in the local script in the delivery notes. Condos and hotels usually take parcels at reception or security, so tell them you are expecting one.

In Indonesia, Tokopedia is just as big as Lazada and Shopee, and Optimum Nutrition Indonesia sells there as an official brand seller. Indonesian supplements also carry a registration number from BPOM, the national food and drug agency, which is a quick check that the product was legally imported.

Mercado Libre (Mexico and Latin America)

Mercado Libre is the Amazon of Latin America, and it has a "Solo tiendas oficiales" (official stores only) filter. Turn it on before you search for whey: it hides the resellers and shows stores run by the brands or their authorised distributors.

Amazon, Myprotein and iHerb

Amazon covers the US, UK, most of the EU and Japan, and is fine for well-known brands if you check that the seller is the brand or Amazon itself. Myprotein ships across the EU and the UK with tracked delivery in about 3 to 6 working days. iHerb ships to more than 180 countries and is a good fallback where local stock is thin, but it restricts some products by destination. At the time of writing it does not ship whey to Great Britain or Ireland, so check the product page with your address set.

3. Delivery apps: protein in an hour

If you want protein today, check the local delivery app. Most now deliver from shops and pharmacies as well as restaurants, and because they draw on stores across the whole city, they often reach a supplement shop you would never walk to.

• Grab (Southeast Asia). GrabMart has run in Thailand since 2020 and covers dozens of provinces. It lists convenience stores, supermarkets and some pharmacies.
• Gojek and Grab (Indonesia). Useful in Bali for protein cafés and smoothie bars as well as shops: ShakeUP! Protein Bar in Canggu takes orders through GoFood, for example.
• Talabat (Middle East). In the UAE, pharmacies list whey and isolate under their fitness and diet sections, from small tubs to brands like Dymatize. Prices differ a lot from one pharmacy to the next, so compare a few.
• Uber Eats. In the US, GNC stores deliver through Uber Eats, and convenience stores and pharmacies on the app often carry ready-made shakes.
• Glovo (Europe, Africa, Central Asia). The "Anything" option sends a courier to buy a specific item from any shop. It suits a tub you have found on a shop's website: the item has to be under 9 kg, and the courier checks with you if the price is more than 30% above what you said.
• Rappi (Latin America). RappiFavor works the same way: describe what you want and where to buy it, and a courier picks it up.

Search for "whey", "protein" or the local word rather than a brand name, as shop listings are not always well tagged. If nothing comes up, move the delivery pin to a different part of the city to see what is out there, then check the delivery fee before you order.

4. Supplement shops near gyms

Supplement shops cluster where people train, so the gym areas of a city are the best place to look. Open Google Maps, search "supplement store" or "sports nutrition" and look at the area around the gyms. Shops near gyms tend to stock the brands that local lifters actually buy, and staff can tell you which tubs are genuine imports.

A few examples: in Bangkok, Nutrition Depot has shops in BTS stations and malls. In Bali, Mogann has supplement stores in Pererenan, Canggu and Uluwatu, close to the main gym areas. In the US, The Vitamin Shoppe has more than 600 stores and GNC is in most malls. In Australia, Chemist Warehouse has more than 500 stores with a large sports nutrition section.

5. Gyms that sell supplements

Plenty of gyms sell protein at the front desk, from full tubs to single scoops mixed into a shaker. Big chains are more likely to (Optimum Nutrition's Thai stockist list includes gyms such as We Fitness and Fitness7), but independent gyms in travel hotspots often do too, because so many of their members are visitors without a tub.

Single scoops cost more per gram, but they are perfect for a short stay or for testing a flavour before you buy a whole tub. Ask at the desk when you buy your day pass. If you have not picked a gym yet, search the GymMaps map for the area you are staying in.

6. Pharmacies and supermarkets

In many countries the supermarket or pharmacy is now a perfectly good place to buy protein, and it is often the cheapest.

• Southeast Asia: Guardian and Watsons stock protein in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and beyond. In Thailand, Tops, Villa Market and Central Food Hall sell Optimum Nutrition.
• Germany: Rewe sells its own PWR whey and clear whey, dm sells Sportness, and Rossmann has its own whey as well.
• UK: Holland & Barrett and most big supermarkets sell tubs and shakes.
• Australia: Woolworths and Coles stock brands such as Musashi, and Chemist Warehouse has a wide range.
• USA: almost every supermarket sells powder and ready-made shakes.

7. Ready-made shakes: 7-Eleven and the konbini

If you just need protein after a session, you may not need powder at all. Convenience stores in much of Asia stock ready-to-drink protein shakes in the fridge.

• Thailand: 7-Eleven stocks protein drinks such as Hooray!, which is lactose-free, and Meiji protein drinks, generally for under 50 baht each.
• Japan: 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson all stock Meiji SAVAS milk protein drinks with 15 or 20 g of protein. Drugstores sell SAVAS whey powder, including small 280 g bags that suit a short trip.
• USA: Fairlife Core Power comes in 26 g and 42 g bottles and is in most supermarket and many convenience store fridges.

Read the label before you buy. Some drinks marketed as protein have under 10 g a bottle and a lot of sugar. Around 20 g or more is what you want after training. High-protein yoghurt and milk are good back-ups in the same fridge.

8. Protein cafés and smoothie bars

In places with a big fitness crowd, cafés serve protein shakes and smoothies with a scoop of whey or plant protein blended in. Bali is the best example: LOOP Café in Pererenan opens at 6am, ShakeUP! Protein Bar in Berawa is built around protein shakes, and Body Factory runs a café in the gym. Many gyms in Thailand and Vietnam have a shake bar too.

Search "protein shake" or "smoothie" on Google Maps or the local delivery app. Even in ordinary juice bars it is worth asking whether they can add a scoop. For a whole day of eating without a kitchen, see our guide to hitting your protein on a travel day.

9. How to avoid fake or expired protein

Counterfeit and mislabelled protein is a real problem in some markets. In India, a study reported in the journal Medicine found that around 70% of 36 popular protein supplements had inaccurate protein labels, and fakes are commonly sold well below the price of the real thing. You are unlikely to have trouble buying from official stores, but these checks are worth a minute.

• Buy from the brand's own channel: LazMall, Shopee Mall, Mercado Libre official stores, the brand's website or a stockist it lists.
• Be suspicious of a bargain. A price far below the brand's official store is the most common sign of a fake or an old batch.
• Check the seal, batch number and expiry date. The inner seal should be intact and the printing sharp.
• Use the brand's checks. Some brands print a scratch code you can verify online. In Singapore, Optimum Nutrition tells customers not to accept tubs without its authorised-importer sticker.
• Look for the local import label or registration. Legally imported tubs usually carry a sticker in the local language, and in Indonesia a BPOM number.
• Keep it out of the heat. Do not buy tubs that have been sitting in a sunny shop window, and store yours somewhere cool once opened.