CytoSport is a Benicia, California, manufacturer of sports-oriented nutritional products, or "supplements". It offers a line of protein-enhanced powders, shakes, and bars has broken into the mainstream market with an RTD form of protein supplement "Muscle Milk", a non-dairy beverage which is trans-fat-free, lactose-free, contain no high fructose corn syrup and is shelf stable. Muscle Milk is advertised to be based on breast milk.[1]

CytoSport was founded in 1998 by the father/son team of Greg and Mike Pickett. It produces its powder products and pre-blends of ready-to-drink products at a 150,000 square foot manufacturing facility.[2]

Its products are endorsed by baseball All Star Ryan Braun,[3], Pro-Bowl Running Back Adrian Peterson, and by Mike Bottom, the head coach of the University of Michigan men’s swimming program and former co-head men's swimming coach at the University of California.[4]

TSG Consumer Partners has financed Cytosport.[5]

The company reportedly earned US$200 million in 2008, and received the Small Company of the Year Award at the 16th annual Beverage Forum presented by Beverage World magazine and Beverage Marketing Corporation.[6]

On May 6, 2009, in Sacramento, California, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction requiring Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VPX) to immediately remove Muscle Power from the marketplace, after concluding that the product infringes on CytoSport’s trademark rights of Muscle Milk. This was prompted after CytoSport filed a lawsuit against VPX, stating that Muscle Power’s packaging, or “trade dress,” was deceptively similar to Muscle Milk’s packaging. The court held that “VPX has chosen an identical font, in an identical color, on an identically shaped package, and placed the mark on the package in an identical location.”[7]

On June 8, 2009, it was reported that The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) was referring advertising claims made by CytoSport Beverage Co. for its Muscle Milk product to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review. Under its National Advertising Review Council terms, NAD had asked Cytosport to substantiate certain claims following a challenge to its advertising filed by Nestle USA. Nestle said the marketing of Muscle Milk is false and misleading, alleging consumers would be misled into thinking it is a supplemented milk product instead of a dietary supplement. CytoSport said its product claims are truthful and non-misleading, and that the product name is a non-deceptive registered trademark; it declined to participate in the NAD review, stating the review was unnecessary and inappropriate.[8]