TSI Group and Iovate have been building supplements together for 10+ years. From myHMB in Clear Muscle to enfinity paraxanthine in EuphoriQ to FZZR effervescent tech in the EFF'N Series.
Consider the following products: MuscleTech EuphoriQ, MuscleTech Clear Muscle, MuscleTech Muscle Builder, Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Heat, the MuscleTech EFF'N effervescent series, and MuscleTech Recovery Peptide 144. They span pre-workouts, fat burners, muscle builders, recovery formulas, energy, and hydration. They come in powders, softgels, liquid capsules, and fizzing sachets. Some are stimulant-heavy, some are stimulant-free.
They carry two different brand names and serve very different consumer goals. But what do they all have in common?
TSI Group.
Every one of those products runs on an ingredient or delivery technology developed and distributed by TSI Group, a nutraceutical science and manufacturing company that's worked closely with Iovate Health Sciences (the company behind MuscleTech® and Hydroxycut®) for well over a decade. Not as a catalog vendor, but as a genuine innovation partner sharing research, manufacturing expertise, delivery formats, and a commitment to putting science before trend.
This is the story of how that partnership works, what it's produced, and why it matters for supplement consumers.
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Where It Started: BetaTOR and the Clear Muscle Origin Story
The partnership began with two ingredients that Raza Bashir, Iovate's Chief Innovation Officer, still calls some of his favorites. The first was BetaTOR, TSI's patented HMB free acid ingredient (now also marketed under the myHMB Clear name), and the vehicle for its debut was MuscleTech Clear Muscle, which launched in early 2014.
What is HMB, and why is myHMB® the Best?
Read the full story in PricePlow's main HMB Supplements article.
HMB (β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate) is a metabolite of leucine, the branched-chain amino acid responsible for triggering mTOR signaling and the anabolic response. It concentrates leucine's most useful effects (including its anti-catabolic properties) at a fraction of the dose required from leucine itself. Where leucine needs to be taken in impractically large amounts to meaningfully reduce muscle protein breakdown, HMB produces measurable results at 1.5g to 3g daily.
The HMB deep dive with researcher Shawn Baier on Podcast #093 covers the full science, where you'll also learn of the pervasive quality issues in the HMB market that have been solved by TSI Group and their trusted and tested myHMB platform.
The free acid form used in Clear Muscle matters here: it reaches peak plasma levels faster than calcium HMB, which is exactly what you want around intense training. MuscleTech's liquid softgel delivery for Clear Muscle wasn't a packaging decision made for aesthetics. It was matched to the ingredient's absorption profile.
Launching a novel compound in 2014 carried real commercial risk. As Bashir has noted, "When you're dealing with new compounds, there's always risks involved. But that's where it comes down to that shared vision -- it's all about science, and if you have the right science, that can be part of the storytelling."
That philosophy got Clear Muscle to market. It's still in the portfolio and selling well over a decade later.
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PEAK ATP: The Second Founding Ingredient
Peak ATP + Creatine make an epic, synergistic duo to boost ATP for improved cellular energy and muscular gains!
Alongside HMB, the early collaboration produced MuscleTech Muscle Builder, built around standalone PEAK ATP®. PEAK ATP is TSI's patented disodium adenosine triphosphate ingredient, which is actual exogenous ATP that, taken orally, raises extracellular ATP levels in the body.
The mechanism is distinct from creatine or any other energy ingredient: extracellular ATP signals through purinergic receptors, which enhances blood flow, improves muscle excitability, and reduces neuromuscular fatigue. Research has also shown that PEAK ATP supports cognitive recovery following intense exercise, a use case that Dr. Ralf Jaeger explored in depth on Podcast #078.
Muscle Builder gave consumers a straightforward, stackable format to experience PEAK ATP's performance effects. It also established the ingredient as a durable part of Iovate's toolkit, one that's shown real synergy with creatine and has stayed relevant across multiple product generations.
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The Flagship: EuphoriQ and the enfinity Paraxanthine Exclusive
If Clear Muscle established the partnership and Muscle Builder deepened it, MuscleTech EuphoriQ announced it to the broader supplement world.
Launched in September 2022, EuphoriQ was the first consumer supplement to use enfinity® paraxanthine, TSI Group's branded form of paraxanthine (manufactured by NNB Nutrition), caffeine's primary metabolite. Iovate held an exclusive window with enfinity before it became available to other brands. That's not access you get from a transactional supplier relationship. It's access you earn through years of scientific alignment and trust. Looking back, it wasn't surprising. But at the time, it confirmed that this partnership was operating at a different level.
MuscleTech EuphoriQ V2 is here! It still has 300mg enfinity paraxanthine, but now supports more citrulline, added betaine nitrate, and a small hit of yohimbe!
Paraxanthine is worth understanding clearly, because it's a genuinely different category of energy ingredient. When the body metabolizes caffeine, it breaks down into three metabolites: paraxanthine (approximately 84%), theobromine, and theophylline. Research has established that most of caffeine's desirable effects (adenosine inhibition, dopamine upregulation, lipolysis) trace primarily back to paraxanthine. The other two metabolites have much longer half-lives (6 to 7 hours versus paraxanthine's roughly 3 hours) and appear to drive a large share of caffeine's less welcome side effects: jitters, difficulty sleeping, and the lingering over-stimulation that many users report.
By using paraxanthine directly, you bypass those metabolites entirely. Consumer feedback and blinded beta testing have consistently confirmed the result: a cleaner, smoother energy experience that clears the system substantially faster. For the roughly 80% of people who aren't getting the ideal experience from caffeine, paraxanthine is a meaningful upgrade.
EuphoriQ V2, launched at the 2024 Mr. Olympia, built on the original with a genuine ingredient upgrade: L-citrulline raised to 6g, betaine nitrate added as NO3-T®, L-tyrosine boosted to 1.5g, yohimbe extract, Senactiv®, and the MuscleLyte™ electrolyte blend. The 300mg enfinity paraxanthine core stayed put. It was working.
For the full backstory on how enfinity came to be, our Podcast #072 with Raza Bashir and Shawn Wells is essential listening.
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Paraxanthine Crosses Over: Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Heat
The enfinity story didn't stay in MuscleTech's pre-workout line. Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Heat brought paraxanthine into Hydroxycut's fat-burning category, and the formula shows how TSI ingredients can move across brand identities without losing their scientific rationale.
Paraxanthine is the primary metabolite of caffeine, providing most of caffeine's beneficial effects. Now you can take it directly with enfinity!
Liquid Heat is a two-liquid-capsule product with 200mg enfinity at its center, supported by MCT oil (200mg), L-tyrosine (100mg), choline bitartrate (100mg), aXivite® microencapsulated phenylcapsaicin (28mg), grains of paradise extract (15mg), and Hydroxycut's signature C. canephora robusta green coffee extract (200mg, standardized for 45% chlorogenic acids).
The formula logic holds together: paraxanthine provides clean energy and supports lipolysis. aXivite phenylcapsaicin and grains of paradise add thermogenic activation through different receptor pathways. The robusta coffee extract delivers the chlorogenic acids behind Hydroxycut's clinically researched weight loss data. The MCT oil and sesame oil base also improve absorption of fat-soluble compounds.
The same ingredient powering MuscleTech's prestige pre-workout fits naturally in a liquid capsule fat burner for a different brand under the same roof. That flexibility (both scientific and logistical) comes directly from TSI's ability to supply consistently across product formats and categories.
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Beyond Ingredients: FZZR™ and the EFF'N Series
In late 2025, the Iovate x TSI partnership entered new territory with the MuscleTech EFF'N Series, three products launched exclusively at GNC, all built around TSI's FZZR™ effervescent beadlet technology.
MuscleTech EFF'N Energy delivers 225mg caffeine + 200mg Alpha-GPC in fizzy sachets. No powders, no shakers -- just tear, pour, and go. Available at GNC in Orange Tangerine Fizz and Blue Razz Fizz.
FZZR™ shifts TSI's role from ingredient supplier to format innovator. The beadlets dissolve in roughly 80 seconds, creating a carbonated beverage experience from a dry sachet. You can mix them in water or take them direct-to-mouth. There's no scoop, no shaker bottle, no powder residue.
That might read as a marketing angle, but the science underneath it says otherwise. That's because compliance drives outcomes. A supplement that works but is unpleasant to take eventually gets skipped. As Bashir explained in TSI's case study for this partnership: "The product has to work. Consumers must feel the benefits and enjoy the experience. When you get that combination, people stay consistent with the product and trust the brand."
FZZR™ also solves a genuine technical challenge in product development: non-compatible bioactives can be co-delivered in a single sachet because the beadlet technology physically separates them until dissolution. That opens combination possibilities that standard powder blending can't support.
The EFF'N line puts three distinct use cases through the same format:
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EFF'N Energy
EFF'N Energy delivers 225mg caffeine anhydrous, 200mg GeniusPure® Alpha-GPC (alpha-glyceryl phosphoryl choline), 500mg N-acetyl-L-tyrosine, 2g taurine, and 10mg yohimbe extract (standardized for 6% yohimbine) in a single fizzing sachet. It's a focused energy formula in a format that travels anywhere without mixing equipment.
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EFF'N Hydrate
MuscleTech EFF'N Hydrate uses effervescent beadlets that fizz in water like a carbonated drink. No scoops, no mess, just pour and watch it dissolve. Electrolytes + B-vitamins + 1000mg vitamin C + Senactiv. Research shows 20% longer time to exhaustion.
EFF'N Hydrate covers electrolyte replenishment with 350mg sodium, 140mg potassium, 50mg calcium, and 30mg magnesium, layered with 1000mg vitamin C, a full B-vitamin complex at 25% DV each, and 50mg Senactiv® (the Panax notoginseng and Rosa roxburghii blend also found in EuphoriQ V2, with published data showing a 47% increase in citrate synthase activity and faster glycogen replenishment post-exercise).
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EFF'N Cut
EFF'N Cut is the thermogenic entry in the series, built around TheoLim® at 450mg, which is a branded blend of lime peel and cocoa extracts designed to support energy expenditure and substrate utilization. While the ingredient has excellent clinical data behind it, the bigger story here is how it's positioned with FZZR™: a stimulant-friendly fat loss base that complements the formula's 200mg caffeine dose and 250mg N-acetyl-L-tyrosine for focus and drive.
Rounding things out, Chromax® chromium picolinate (200mcg) supports healthy glucose metabolism, giving EFF'N Cut a more complete approach to weight management beyond just stimulants.
All three are available exclusively at GNC, see the links above for pricing and availability.
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HMB's Second Act: Recovery Peptide 144
HMB started this partnership, and it's still generating new product applications over a decade later.
MuscleTech Recovery Peptide 144, part of MuscleTech's Peptide Series, uses myHMB® (powdered calcium HMB) at 1.5g alongside PeptiStrong™ (2.4g hydrolyzed fava bean peptide, the first AI-discovered bioactive peptide ingredient) and 500 IU vitamin D3.
MuscleTech Peptide Series uses targeted peptide technology instead of basic amino acids for 70-80% better absorption. Muscle Peptide 185 (dileucine) delivers 159% greater muscle protein synthesis vs baseline. Plus Creatine Peptide 447 & Recovery Peptide 144!
The formula uses the powdered calcium salt form rather than the free acid (BetaTOR / myHMB Clear) that's used in Clear Muscle described above. TSI supplies both forms, which lets product developers match the right version to each application - myHMB is for powder, myHMB Clear is for liquid softgels.
The vitamin D inclusion is worth calling out: research has established that HMB's ability to produce strength gains is vitamin D-dependent. Subjects with insufficient vitamin D levels show muscle mass increases from HMB supplementation but not the corresponding strength improvements. Including 500 IU in the formula addresses that bottleneck proactively.
The combination of PeptiStrong's mTOR activation and myHMB's anti-catabolic action creates what MuscleTech calls dual-pathway recovery support, simultaneously building and protecting muscle tissue.
The fact that HMB is still central to a forward-looking MuscleTech product in 2025, now paired with AI-discovered peptides and vitamin D synergy data, speaks to both the durability of the science and the ongoing research investment behind it.
What Makes a Partnership Like This Last?
The Iovate x TSI collaboration spans more than a decade, two major brand families, multiple ingredient categories, and a delivery technology that didn't exist when the relationship began. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by default. A few things appear to be structural to it.
- Science comes before everything else. Both organizations start from clinical evidence rather than trend-chasing. As Bashir has put it: "It starts with the science and the consumer benefit, and then the marketing and product experience bring it all together." Clear Muscle worked because the HMB free acid science was solid. EuphoriQ worked because the paraxanthine science was solid. The format and marketing followed from that foundation.
- TSI is a full R&D partner, not a catalog supplier. The collaboration spans formula expertise, manufacturing support, delivery technologies, and consumer insights. That's a meaningfully different relationship than purchase orders for commodity ingredients. When FZZR™ became viable, Iovate didn't need to find a new partner. They already had one building it. Bashir described this directly in TSI's case study: "TSI has consistently expanded from formulations, to manufacturing, to delivery systems. It's really a one-stop shop that focuses on both the technology and the consumer to deliver complete solutions."
- Consumer experience is treated as a scientific variable. The insight running through every product above is that a supplement which works but is unpleasant to take doesn't deliver its benefits, because people stop taking it. FZZR™ exists to solve that. Clear Muscle's softgel format exists to solve that. Paraxanthine replacing caffeine for slow metabolizers addresses compliance at a metabolic level. TSI's investment in delivery technology is, at root, a scientific investment in real-world outcomes.
- Shared trust enables speed to market. When scientific standards, quality expectations, and regulatory alignment are already established between partners, moving from concept to shelf is faster. That's how Iovate secured an exclusive window with enfinity. They were positioned to move quickly and confidently on a genuinely novel ingredient.
The TSI Group Ingredient and Technology Portfolio
For consumers and industry professionals tracking TSI's contributions across the Iovate lineup:
| Ingredient / Technology | Type | Application | Featured In |
| myHMB® (calcium HMB) | Active ingredient | Muscle preservation, recovery | Recovery Peptide 144 |
| BetaTOR® (HMB Free Acid) | Active ingredient | Anti-catabolic, intense training | Clear Muscle |
| PEAK ATP® | Active ingredient | Blood flow, muscle excitability | Muscle Builder |
| enfinity® (paraxanthine) | Active ingredient | Clean energy, cognitive focus | EuphoriQ, Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Heat |
| FZZR™ | Delivery technology | Consumer experience, compliance | EFF'N Energy, EFF'N Hydrate, & EFF'N Cut |
For a complete picture of TSI's science and ingredient portfolio, visit the Iovate case study on TSI's website. You can also track all TSI-powered products at PricePlow.com/tsi-group.
Conclusion: What a Decade of Real Partnership Produces
Every product covered here was a calculated commitment to science that was good enough to build a consumer product around. Some, like PEAK ATP and enfinity, were novel compounds when the relationship began. Others, like free acid HMB and FZZR™, introduced genuinely new categories. All of them made it to market because two organizations trusted each other enough to move with confidence.
That's what a long-term ingredient partnership produces at its best: a shared body of scientific work that keeps compounding. The same HMB science that launched Clear Muscle in 2014 is now informing vitamin D synergy protocols in a 2025 peptide-based recovery formula. The paraxanthine that powered EuphoriQ's category-creating launch has since crossed into fat-burning, showing up in Hydroxycut's lineup with a different supporting cast but the same core evidence.
What's next? We're not sure, but we'll be excited to announce it when it comes.
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