Chocolate or Vanilla Formula 1, Which Should You Buy First
The two flavours most people choose between, what actually separates them, and what to do if you pick wrong.
Quick answer: Vanilla if you will add coffee, fruit or spices and want variety. Chocolate if you want the safest first tub to drink with water. They are the same price, so this is taste, not money.
The short answer
Buy Vanilla Cream if you think you will still be drinking this in six months.
Buy Smooth Chocolate if you want the one you are most likely to enjoy tomorrow morning.
Both work with water alone, which is what separates them from the fruit flavours.
They are the same price, so this is a taste decision rather than a money one.
If you genuinely cannot choose, chocolate is the lower risk first tub.
Why vanilla wins on flexibility
Vanilla is a base rather than a finished flavour, and that is its advantage.
It takes instant coffee, cinnamon, frozen berries or peanut butter without fighting any of them.
That means one tub can taste like several things across three weeks.
Chocolate does not do that. Adding coffee works, adding berries does not.
People who get bored of a flavour tend to get bored of chocolate first.
Why chocolate wins on the first morning
Chocolate is the more forgiving flavour when made with water and nothing else.
It covers the taste of powder better, which matters most in the first week.
If your worry is that you will not like it at all, chocolate is the safer bet.
It is also the flavour most people describe as tasting like a drink rather than a supplement.
Both, side by side
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix Smooth Chocolate 550g | £26.46 |
| Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix Vanilla Cream 550g | £26.46 |
| Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix Vanilla Cream 780g | £36.00 |
What actually decides it
Whether you will add anything to the shake, or drink it as it comes.
If you will add things, vanilla. If you want to open the tub and drink it, chocolate.
How easily you get bored, because vanilla survives boredom better.
What you drink otherwise, since coffee drinkers often prefer vanilla with coffee stirred in.
Neither is the healthier choice
They are the same product in different flavours, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
Sugar and protein figures are on each product page, and the differences are small.
Anyone telling you one flavour performs better than another is guessing.
Pick the one you will actually drink, because that is the only thing that matters here.
What people say after a month
Chocolate drinkers most often report that it started to feel too sweet by the third week.
Vanilla drinkers more often report boredom rather than dislike, which is fixable with additions.
Very few people abandon either flavour outright once they have got past the first few days.
The ones who stop usually stopped for reasons that had nothing to do with the flavour.
That is worth knowing before you agonise over the choice.
If you are buying for someone else
Chocolate is the safer gift, because it needs nothing added to be drinkable.
Vanilla is the better gift for someone who already cooks and will add things to it.
Neither is a good gift for someone who has not asked for it, in all honesty.
If in doubt, ask them, because a tub they will not drink helps nobody.
If you buy the wrong one
Try it with milk before deciding, since water is the harshest way to drink either.
Blend it with ice, which changes the texture more than people expect.
A spoon of coffee rescues vanilla. A little salt rescues chocolate, oddly enough.
If it is still not for you, buy one tub of the other rather than three.
How to test both without wasting a tub
Buy one tub of chocolate and use it properly for three weeks before judging.
Three weeks is roughly a tub, and it is long enough to know whether you will keep going.
Then buy vanilla next and compare from memory rather than side by side.
Buying both at once means alternating, and alternating means neither gets a fair run.
It also means two open tubs, which is how powder goes stale in a cupboard.
The flavours nobody mentions
Banana Cream sits close to vanilla in how forgiving it is, and gets overlooked.
Strawberry Delight is better than its reputation once blended rather than shaken.
Cookie Crunch is the one people either love immediately or abandon by day four.
Mint Chocolate divides a room, and is not a sensible first tub for anyone.
If chocolate and vanilla both sound dull, banana is the third safe option.
Ordering
Both are the same price, so there is no cost argument either way.
No minimum order and delivery is shown at checkout.
Buy one tub of one. Do not buy both to compare, because you will finish neither.
We are an independent Herbalife member based in the UK. Prices on this page were checked in August 2026 and can change. The price shown on the product page is the one that applies.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, chocolate or vanilla Formula 1?
Vanilla if you will add things to it and want variety. Chocolate if you want the safest first tub to drink as it comes.
Do they cost the same?
Yes, both sit at the standard tub price, so this is a taste decision rather than a cost one.
Which is better with water?
Chocolate. It covers the taste of powder better when made with water and nothing else.
Which is more versatile?
Vanilla. It takes coffee, cinnamon, berries and peanut butter without clashing.
Is one healthier than the other?
No. They are the same product in different flavours, and the figures are on each product page.
What if I do not like the one I bought?
Try it with milk or blended with ice first. If it is still wrong, buy one tub of the other rather than three.
Can I mix the two?
Yes, people do. It works better than most flavour combinations in the range.
Are these genuine?
Yes. We are an independent Herbalife member based in the UK and everything we ship is genuine stock.
