Raza Bashir, the new CEO of Iovate Health Sciences, unveils Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred and discusses Muscle Peptide 185, CellTech's TikTok resurgence, and his path from R&D to the top job on Episode #235 of the PricePlow Podcast.
Iovate has a new CEO, and he used the PricePlow Podcast to reveal his company's biggest weight-management launch in years. On Episode #235, recorded at the inaugural Future Nutra Innovation Summit in Lake Conroe, Texas, Raza Bashir joins us for the fifth time, now as the newly appointed CEO of Iovate Health Sciences, parent company of MuscleTech and Hydroxycut.
Raza spent 20 years building Iovate's R&D engine before taking the top job in June 2026, and he brings that formulator's mindset straight into unveiling Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred, a stimulant-light fat burner built around an exclusive ingredient called TheoLim® that Iovate already proved out inside MuscleTech's own Peptide Series.
Joining Mike and Ben is Joey Savage, founder and president of the Future Nutra Foundation, who brings sharp questions of his own about stacking supplements with GLP-1 drugs. The episode also covers Muscle Peptide 185's move into Walmart, CellTech's TikTok-driven second life, and the regulatory tightrope Hydroxycut now walks.
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https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/raza-bashir-hydroxycut-glp-235
Video: Iovate’s New CEO Unveils Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred
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Detailed Show Notes: Raza Bashir Unveils Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred
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0:00 - Introductions
Mike opens live from Lake Conroe, Texas at the inaugural Future Nutra Innovation Summit, joined by Raza Bashir, the new CEO of Iovate and MuscleTech (not just MuscleTech anymore, Mike jokes, but the whole Iovate portfolio). Co-host Ben Kane and Joey Savage of the Future Nutra Foundation round out the table for this special live recording.
The timing worked out perfectly, as Raza had just finished a keynote at the summit, and the crew wanted to catch him fresh off the stage to talk about his new role, several new product launches, and what changes now that he is running the company instead of just building its products.
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0:45 - From Head of R&D to CEO: A 20-Year Path
Raza walks through his 20 years at Iovate, 18 of them building out R&D and innovation before earning a seat at the table under the company's founder. He learned product development first, then branding, storytelling, sales, and retail relationships as Iovate moved through its founder-led era and into a series of subsequent CEOs.
Every leader taught him something, he says, even when it was what not to do. That reflection, plus two decades of pitching ideas that didn't always land the first time, shaped him into the innovator and business leader now running the company he helped build.
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4:30 - Becoming CEO: Global Compliance and a 90-Day Plan
Joey points out that being a Canadian company means Iovate answers to Health Canada's Natural Product Number (NPN) pre-approval process, a stricter bar than the US market currently requires. Raza agrees that clearing Canada's system first sets Iovate up for smoother international expansion, even as evolving US GRAS rules start moving closer to that same standard.
Winning the CEO role took more than a product pitch. Raza had to present a 90-day plan built around stabilizing and simplifying the business before pushing for growth, plus a case for his grasp of company culture, consumer needs, and retailer relationships built over two decades in the industry.
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11:00 - Muscle Peptide 185: MuscleTech's Peptide Platform Takes Root
MuscleTech Muscle Peptide 185 uses DL185 dileucine. Compare the standard 2g and Walmart 1g versions, plus the latest human strength and MPS research.
Ben credits Iovate for the risk it took launching a standalone dileucine supplement when peptides still carried a stigma from the injectable drug world. The ingredient, developed with NNB Nutrition as DL185, started life as Peptide 185 before MuscleTech renamed it Muscle Peptide 185 to make its purpose clearer.
Raza traces the idea's evolution from raw dileucine research to a full product story, crediting NNB Nutrition for the science and MuscleTech's team for building the narrative around it. A university-vetted trial later found the ingredient increased muscle protein synthesis where an equal dose of free leucine didn't, giving the exclusive launch the human data to back up the risk.
When it launched, he came onto Episode #123 to announce it with Shawn Wells.
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15:15 - CellTech's Viral TikTok Resurgence
Nitro-Tech and Cell-Tech were where MuscleTech's research obsession started, and CellTech is now having an unexpected second act. Raza revisits the original science behind the formula (creatine monohydrate, carbohydrates, and alpha-lipoic acid) tested against whey protein alone, creatine alone, and creatine plus juice-based carbs. CellTech outperformed all three on muscle growth, strength, and recovery.
None of that is new, but TikTok introduced it to a generation that never knew the backstory. Joey jokes about the marketing potential, floating the tagline "Daddy's back... CellTech", while Raza notes that new flavors and a possible carb-ratio tweak are already in the works to meet the fresh demand.
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19:15 - Inside MuscleTech's Hands-On TikTok Strategy
It's official. Raza Bashir, the innovation mind behind EuphoriQ, the Peptide Series, and EFF'N Energy, is now CEO of Iovate Health Sciences, parent company of MuscleTech. A four-time PricePlow Podcast guest just took the top job. Congrats, Raza!
As CEO, Raza says he trusts his marketing team to run point on MuscleTech's TikTok strategy, but he still reviews the copy and wants visibility into every campaign. He credits the team's instincts rather than take ownership of ideas himself, framing the culture he wants to build around iterating fast and letting the best idea win regardless of who pitched it.
Ben notes how unusual it is for a company Iovate's size to move as fast on TikTok as smaller, nimbler brands. Raza's answer is simple: let smart people experiment, throw plenty at the wall, and double down on whatever the data says is working.
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21:45 - Unveiling Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred
This is the moment the episode built toward. Hydroxycut, still the top-selling weight-loss brand in North America, needed an answer for the GLP-1 era, where losing weight matters less than what's lost. Raza unveils Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred, built around TheoLim®, an exclusive patented blend of key lime and cacao extracts that Iovate co-funded through independent research groups.
We covered TheoLim in MuscleTech's Metabolic Peptide 320: In a trial of overweight, non-obese adults, the formula was tied to over 9 pounds of fat loss in 16 weeks with muscle mass preserved, even slightly increased. TheoLim works through the body's own GLP-1 and metabolic pathways rather than a drug-like agonist. Raza also adds a modest 135mg of caffeine, keeping the formula stackable with other products.
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27:45 - Learning From Berberine's "Nature's Ozempic" Era
MuscleTech Metabolic Peptide 320 skips the stimulants entirely. TheoLim® burns 3.2x more calories at rest. DNF-10™ targets hunger signals from the inside out. Two ingredients, two distinct jobs, one clean daily capsule.
Ben brings up the elephant in the room: natural GLP supplements already had their moment 4 years ago with the so-called "Nature's Ozempic" trend, and it mostly fizzled. Raza doesn't throw berberine under the bus. He argues the ingredient works, but the early marketing ran ahead of the human data, leaning on animal studies and drug comparisons before the evidence caught up.
The difference with TheoLim, he says, is sequencing. Iovate waited for a second study to replicate the first before formulating anything, then added a third before ever taking the product to market, specifically to avoid repeating berberine's credibility problem.
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32:15 - Could You Stack It With a GLP-1 Drug?
Joey poses a theoretical question: could someone already on a prescription GLP-1 drug add Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred on top for better results? Raza is careful not to make a recommendation, but he doesn't rule out a benefit either, since GLP-1 drugs slow metabolic rate while Hydroxycut's approach is designed to speed it up.
He frames it as an open research question rather than a stack he's ready to endorse, floating the idea of using it during the maintenance phase after someone comes off a GLP-1 drug, when muscle and metabolic rate both need support.
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37:00 - Go-To-Market: DTC First, No Exclusive Retailer
Raza confirms Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred isn't going to any single retailer exclusively. Iovate is starting online and direct-to-consumer first, targeting the most research-driven early adopters before expanding into e-commerce and eventually specialty and mass retail.
MuscleTech Recovery Peptide 144 features PeptiStrong™ peptides that boost strength recovery by 144% and cut muscle fatigue by 47%. Plus myHMB® for anti-catabolic support and myostatin suppression. Complete your peptide stack!
That marks a reversal from the usual playbook, where a brand lines up retail partners before the product even exists. Ben contrasts the approach with an earlier GNC-exclusive astaxanthin launch tied to EuphoriQ, noting that Hydroxycut's household name and worldwide shelf presence make an exclusive launch unnecessary here. Sachets and other formats beyond capsules are also on Iovate's radar.
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42:00 - A Shrinking Category Finding New Life Online
The weight-management category has shrunk industry-wide, and Raza doesn't dispute it. What the syndicated retail data misses, he says, is that the category is actually growing in e-commerce and on Amazon, just not showing up the same way in brick-and-mortar tracking.
Ben adds color from Scott Dicker's conference presentation on shifting supplement spending, noting that weight management alone might be shrinking while consumers pour more of their budget into fitness and health broadly. Joey frames Hydroxycut's pivot away from pure stimulant stacking as a bet that could make the brand the last one standing as competitors abandon the category.
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47:30 - How GLP-1 Drugs Reshaped Supplement Safety Perceptions
The panel digs into an unexpected side effect of the GLP-1 boom: injectable drugs going mainstream has made supplements, and even injectable peptides, feel safer by comparison. Mike points out that decades removed from the riskier stimulant era, safety concerns barely register the way they once did.
MuscleTech Creatine Peptide 447 made the jump to Walmart with 5g creatine monohydrate per 8g scoop and about 60 servings per tub. The peptide dose drops to 1g and L-theanine is gone.
Ben shares that his own mother tried a GLP-1 drug, loved the results, and became more curious about peptides and other supplements as a result. Raza sees the same pattern across the industry: once someone experiences a real benefit, they're more willing to explore the categories around it.
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52:45 - Timing a Fat Burner Launch Around Bulking Season
Mike jokes that launching a fat burner right as bulking season begins seems backward. Raza explains the logic: getting the word out around Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Prime Day builds momentum ahead of the traditional January rush, rather than launching cold once resolutions hit.
He agrees that GLP-1 drugs have flattened some of the old seasonality, but the January spike in gym attendance and supplement sales hasn't disappeared. Getting Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred onto shelves and into fulfillment centers during Q4 sets up a stronger run once resolution season arrives.
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54:30 - Creatine Peptide 447 and the Theanine Story
Ben asks the question he says he gets constantly: how did L-theanine end up in Creatine Peptide 447? Raza traces it back to his morning routine of stacking EuphoriQ with creatine, theanine, and tyrosine, an experiment dating back to nootropic work he started around 2010, long before MuscleTech's peptide platform existed.
Theanine's alpha-wave effect pairs well with caffeine's alertness without the jitters, which is what led the combination into Creatine Peptide 447 alongside PepForm® Creatine Peptide. Mike pitches a limited-edition Creatine Peptide 447 coffee creamer for the holidays, MCT fats included, and Raza doesn't rule it out.
Raza Bashir of MuscleTech and Shawn Wells of Ingenious Ingredients join the PricePlow Podcast for Episode #123 to discuss the new dileucine ingredient in Peptide 185!
The conversation widens into choline's rise across the industry, with Raza name-checking alpha-GPC and choline bitartrate as his own go-to ingredients. Mike comments that half the supplement industry exists because people don't eat enough meat, pointing to creatine, zinc, taurine, and carnitine (both meat-derived, both common in these formulas) as living proof, but also choline and carnosine from beta-alanine. All of the most effective supplement ingredients are basically what you get in muscle meat.
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1:01:30 - What's Next: More Peptides, Walmart, and a Callback to Episode 123
Raza teases a new peptide line already moving through specialty retailers on its way to Walmart and other mass retailers, on top of flavored and protein-inclusive versions of Creatine Peptide 447 already in development. Walmart's growing appetite for legitimate dietary supplement peptides, he says, has moved faster than anyone at Iovate expected.
Mike does the math out loud and realizes this episode lands close to Episode #123, when Raza and Shawn Wells first introduced dileucine and paraxanthine on the PricePlow Podcast back in February 2024. More than 100 episodes later, the peptide platform that started there has become a cornerstone of MuscleTech's identity, and now Hydroxycut's too.
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1:04:45 - Closing Thoughts
Ben and Joey both credit Raza for treating the moment as bigger than himself, thanking him for letting the crew help share the news and calling his ascension a hopeful sign for other formulators and R&D people eyeing leadership roles. Raza returns the compliment, saying his R&D background combined with the business lessons he picked up along the way is what lets him connect the science to the business.
His closing advice to the industry: keep learning, keep experimenting, and remember what got you excited about the space in the first place.
Where to Follow and Learn More
Connect with Raza Bashir and Iovate
- LinkedIn: Raza Bashir
- LinkedIn: Iovate Health Sciences
- Instagram: @muscletech
- Instagram: @hydroxycut
- MuscleTech.com
- Future Nutra Foundation - Joey Savage's nonprofit and organizer of the Future Nutra Innovation Summit
- MuscleTech on PricePlow - Sign up for news alerts
- Hydroxycut on PricePlow - Sign up for news alerts
Resources Mentioned
- Raza Bashir Appointed CEO of Iovate Health Sciences
- MuscleTech Muscle Peptide 185: New Name, Walmart Dose, and DL185 Research
- MuscleTech Creatine Peptide 447 Updates: Now at Walmart
- MuscleTech Metabolic Peptide 320: TheoLim & DNF-10
- MuscleTech's Peptide Series: The Complete System
- Episode #072: Raza Bashir & Shawn Wells Launch enfinity Paraxanthine
- Episode #123: Dileucine in MuscleTech Peptide 185
- Episode #177: GNC Global Conference Finale (featuring Raza's EFF'N preview)
- Episode #183: MuscleTech's Quality Control Excellence with Raza Bashir
Products Discussed
Huge thanks (and congratulations!) to Raza Bashir for making PricePlow the first stop for Hydroxycut GLP-1 Elite Shred, and to Joey Savage and the Future Nutra Foundation team for hosting this special live conversation at the inaugural Future Nutra Innovation Summit. We'll be watching closely as Iovate rolls this one out, alongside whatever comes next from the Peptide Series.
This episode is brought to you by Iovate, the team behind MuscleTech and Hydroxycut. We also want to thank our standing 2026 partner, Perfect Shaker, for keeping every PricePlow Podcast episode on the road. Check out their nearly indestructible shaker cups at PricePlow.com/perfect-shaker.
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