Bars galore: 11 new and exciting portable snacks
Innovation in formulation, branding and unique flavors continue to drive the stalwart bar category.
![Bars galore: 11 new and exciting portable snacks Bars galore: 11 new and exciting portable snacks](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltafc06db067aebac6/64cbf83cdb0bcc7a8de33eaa/NewHopeNetwork_Horizontal_RGB.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Imagine the toasty cinnamon-sweet taste of the beloved Mexican street dessert with 12 grams of plant-based protein and just 1 gram of sugar. Sounds good, doesn’t it? ONE’s new bar flavor swaps sugar for sweet-promoting ingredients including soluble corn fiber, the sugar alcohol malitol and monk fruit. Also check out ONE’s new Carrot Cake bar—another covetable flavor.
We love Kate’s Real Food for its diehard commitment to using ... um … real food in its bars. That’s why we’re excited about Kate’s new Bites, which are teensy, poppable versions of the company’s large bars. Still inside: organic oats, honey, peanut butter, brown rice crisps, flax seeds, dark chocolate, hemp seeds and more.
Our favorite O.G. nut butter flavor (or is it legume butter?) packaged in a keto-friendly bar. Pea protein, pea protein crisps, chia seeds, almonds and sunflower seeds boost this bar to 9 grams of protein and 210 calories—all with just 3 grams of sugar. We like!
This chewy snack bar hits all the right notes: it tastes like dessert, it has just 2 grams of sugar (without sugar alcohols) and it features a good-fat blend of dry roasted almonds, walnuts, coconut oil, MCT and chicory root-derived fiber. It’s also a gluten-free and keto-friendly bar, making it great for those with multiple diet restrictions.
From the maker of snacking jerky comes this meat-containing protein bar, made with 190 calories worth of dried apples, almonds, dried egg whites, chicken breast jerky, sesame seeds, chicken broth, garlic powder, peanut butter, pineapple and more—an ingredient combo that seems like it wouldn’t work (but it totally does). Plus, 10 grams of protein per bar ain’t too bad.
Are these refrigerated peanut butter cups technically a bar? No, they are not. Do we care? No, we don’t. That’s because we’ve never seen peanut butter cups that have organic kale, tomato, apple, alfalfa, celery or kelp in them, nor ones that deliver 7 grams of protein. These USDA Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt cups represent an awesome innovation for a super-popular bar brand.
The cute product name and a blend of both plant-based and cricket protein shows eating bugs doesn’t have to be scary—especially when combined with dates, almond butter, organic clover honey, organic cocoa and more, like Bug Out’s Chocolate Brownie bar does. Also inside: 15 grams of protein and no “high-intensity” sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit or erythritol.
A better-for-you chocolate bar that is not only clean label, but also infused with hemp protein and silky macadamia nuts for 4 grams of protein per bar. Amazingly, this product doesn’t contain any sugar—the result is a deep, dark, luscious chocolate protein bar you can feel good about eating. With ingredients this healthful, it’s hard to call Jojo’s candy.
There’s a lot going for this prebiotic-focused nutrition bar, which helps support a healthy gut. Made with a base of almonds, egg white protein, dried blueberries, organic blueberry juice and organic yacon syrup—a low-glycemic, high-prebiotic sweetener—this 180 calorie nosh imparts 9 grams of healthful protein. We also love the inclusion of tart cherry powder for added flavor and nutrition.
The subtly spicy, warming flavors of Mexican Hot Chocolate—which typically contains a teensy pinch of chili pepper—is retooled into this tasty whey-based protein bar. Unite is dedicated to crafting protein bars with globally influenced flavors, and this SKU does not disappoint with almond butter, cashews, hemp seeds, date paste, cinnamon, vanilla extract and chicory fiber. Also check out the company’s equally interesting flavors, such as Churro.
Go ahead, indulge. A crunchy, dessert-flavored protein bar that tastes like your fave candy bar, inside SimplyProtein’s new flavor (launching April 2020) you’ll find dark chocolate crisps, almonds, 14 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and just 3 grams of sugar. Also, Non-GMO Project verified and gluten free!
Go ahead, indulge. A crunchy, dessert-flavored protein bar that tastes like your fave candy bar, inside SimplyProtein’s new flavor (launching April 2020) you’ll find dark chocolate crisps, almonds, 14 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and just 3 grams of sugar. Also, Non-GMO Project verified and gluten free!
Take a look at the bar aisle of any natural grocery store and you’ll find a dazzling array of nutrition bars lining the shelves. From paleo products made with just a few caveman-approved ingredients (think nuts, coconut oil and fruit), to highly crafted versions made with whey isolates and dark chocolate soy crisps, the consumer appetite for portable nutrition never seems to cease.
Sales aren’t slowing down anytime soon: Nutrition Business Journal reports sales of nutrition bars grew to $5.7 billion in 2019, with 3.7% year-over-year growth.
Innovation in product formulation, branding and unique flavors drive this growth, as evidenced by the new and interesting bars in this gallery.
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