The bottle and the sachet answer 2 different problems. One removes preparation entirely. The other gives you control over how the protein reaches you.

Twenty grams of protein in 171 kcal, with close to half those calories coming from protein itself. The base is a milk protein shake made with a patented ultra-filtration method, so each sip is dense with protein rather than empty sweetness. 

Every bottle also carries 3.5g of prebiotic fibre and roughly 50% less lactose than regular milk.

There is no added sugar. Available in Chocolate, Vanilla, Coffee and Peanut Butter, shelf-stable until you open it. This is the format for the commute, the ten minutes between meetings, the walk out of the gym, and the late-night hunger you do not want to answer with a full meal.

24 grams of protein and 4g of prebiotic fibre in every 36g sachet, built on fermented yeast protein, with whey protein concentrate added in the Unflavoured variant. Each sachet is pre-dosed, so there is no scoop to find and nothing to measure. Add one to 200ml of cold water or milk in a shaker and it is done.

The powder also carries 72mg of digestive enzyme to support protein digestion. It comes in Unflavoured, Chocolate and Coffee, in a 1kg zipper pack of 28 sachets or a 180g box of 5. And since it mixes rather than pours, it goes places the bottle cannot: high-protein buttermilk, overnight oats, a smoothie bowl, even uttapam batter.

Plenty of people use both. The bottle covers the mornings that get away from you. The sachet covers the days you are around a glass and a shaker.

Protein is not just about the quantity. It is about how much of it your body can actually use.

Both formats deliver complete protein at PDCAAS 1.0, which means all nine essential amino acids in adequate amounts, in a form the body digests well. The bottle brings 4g of BCAA and 2g of leucine, the amino acid that signals muscles to start repairing. 

The powder brings 4.8g of BCAAs and 10.5g of EAAs in the Chocolate and Coffee variants, and 4.9g BCAAs with 11.2g EAAs in the Unflavoured.

Choosing a protein comes down to three questions: whether the protein number is honest, what provides the sweetness, and what else is in the formulation.

The 20g in the bottle and the 24g in the sachet are whole protein, measured in the finished product, with no amino spiking. Neither format carries artificial flavours or added preservatives. 

The bottle has 0 added sugar and no trans fats, with maltitol providing the sweetness. The powder uses no artificial sweeteners at all, drawing its sweetness from monk fruit powder, and every batch is cleared against more than 150 quality and compliance tests covering heavy metals, aflatoxin, antibiotics, pesticides and adulterants.

Both formats are crafted by expert nutritionists and made in India by Hindustan Unilever, backed by a hundred years of Horlicks in Indian homes.

You can buy Horlicks Protein online across both formats and pack sizes. For a different taste on the same base, there is the Proffee Protein Shake for coffee lovers and the Peanut Butter Protein Shake for something nuttier.

The bottle asks nothing of you. Open it and drink it. It keeps outside the fridge until you open it, and after that it needs a shelf in the fridge and should be finished the same day.

The powder takes about ten seconds. One 36g sachet into 200ml of cold water or milk, shake, drink. One serving a day is the recommendation, or whatever your dietician suggests. If protein supplements are new to you, ease in with half a sachet in 100ml for the first five days and move to a full sachet from day six. It tastes best cold, though lukewarm water or milk works fine.