General Description
Energy bars are part snack, part nutritional supplement. They are generally consumed by athletes to boost performance, providing a concentrated combination of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and protein. They quickly replace calories burned during exercise or activity, and at least one company refers to them as "portable nutritional products." Energy bars emphasize varying nutritional values to target the needs of consumers’ diverse performance goals.
Energy bars are usually individually wrapped and candy bar-sized, boasting a variety of flavors--like chocolate, peanut butter or coffee--suggesting the package might hold a treat. But like most healthy foods, it’s better on the body than on the tongue.
History and Recent Developments
PowerBar was founded by Brian and Jennifer Maxwell in 1986 and acquired by Nestle in 2000. The story goes that Brian bonked at mile 21 in a marathon and decided he wanted to make something that athletes could eat before and during endurance events. In 1990, Clif Bar's founder, Gary Erickson, decided he was unsatisfied with the current energy bar offerings and began the process of developing his own--one that simply tasted better. Balance Bar entered the fray in 1992.
Energy bar sales totaled a reported $838 million in 2004, accounting for a 169 percent increase over a five-year period. New players keep joining the energy bar game as consumer demand grows and nutritional objectives shift with diet fads.
Key Features
Selecting an energy bar comes down to 2 characteristics: nutrition and taste.
Nutrition: Bars are individually labeled with the percent of the daily recommended values for various vitamins and minerals, as well as the fat, sugar, carbohydrate, protein and calorie totals. Because performance goals vary, active people can choose which components they want to prioritize in their diet and select an energy bar that matches their nutritional needs. For example, endurance athletes may look for bars high in carbohydrates to give them the fuel needed to sustain energy levels throughout a long workout. Body builders may seek a bar higher in protein to contribute to muscle growth and speed recovery after a workout.
Bars that are higher in protein can also be a welcome help for people who have had one of the several types of gastric bypass surgeries because they offer a concentrated dose of protein in a small-sized food portion, although these people generally also will want to take note of the sugar content since they can be more sensitive to foods that offer higher amounts of simple carbohydrates.
Taste: Bars have flavors as diverse as carrot cake, chocolate peppermint stick, banana and oatmeal raisin cookie, to name a few. Because taste is a personal preference, experimentation is a good way to find a flavor that fits. Bar flavors usually fall into one of three categories: dessert-like, fruity and nutty.
Texture also factors into taste for energy bars and varies by brand.
Major Brands
PowerBar: PowerBar produces a series of energy bars, including its Performance, ProteinPlus, Harvest, Nut Naturals, Triple Threat and Pria lines. The 20-year-old Berkeley, California, based company regularly brings new products to the market as evidenced by its wide assortment of bars--more than 45 unique flavors. The Pria line is targeted at women. PowerBar primarily caters to athletes, promoting itself as a performance tool.
Clif Bar: Clif Bar Inc., also based in Berkeley, has a reputation for being an environmentally friendly energy bar choice. Most of its products use organic ingredients, and the company boasts environmentally sustainable business practices. The company has expanded beyond its initial Clif Bar offerings, recognizable by the rock climber on the packaging, to include Mojo bars (nutty), Builder’s bars (high protein), ZBaRs (for children) and Luna Bars. Luna, like Pria, is marketed to women, but men can enjoy either for a lower calorie substitute to the other bars. You can get the 15 Clif Bar flavors, including apricot, peanut toffee buzz and banana nut bread all year, but spiced pumpkin pie, iced gingerbread and caramel apple cobbler are seasonal selections.
Balance Bar: Like its competitors, Balance Bar offers its energy snacks in multiple product lines. They include the original Balance Bar, Balance Gold, Balance Bar Trail Mix, Balance Gold Crunch, Balance CarbWell and Balance 100 Calories. There are more than 2 dozen different bars. The name Balance is likely linked to the company’s emphasis on a balance in nutritional elements. Most of the bars meet the 40-30-30 equation of the Zone diet – 40% of calories from carbohydrates, 30% of calories from protein and 30% of calories from dietary fat. Balance Bar has a greater emphasis on nutrition than athletic performance, selling itself as a healthy snack more than a means to physical achievement.
Matisse & Jack's: Matisse & Jack's introduced the first bake-at-home energy bar, called TrailBlaze?. This fresh-baked product addresses consumers top two complaints about traditional energy bars (according to Mintel Research Group), which are 1. taste (not real food) and 2. cost. TrailBlaze? bars are made by adding applesauce and/or yogurt and baking for 30 minutes. The mixes come in two flavors: Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Walnut. The Denver Post conducted a blind taste test of energy bars in 2006 which rated TrailBlaze? as the best tasting energy bar. Since Matisse & Jack's bars use less packaging, the cost per bar is much less, roughly $0.50 per bar.
Tri-O-Plex Bar: Chef Jay's Tri-O-Plex are based on a blend of 3 protein sources: soy protein isolate, whey protein isolate, and milk protein isolate. They offer a taste and texture that's more similar to a very dense muffin. Each 4.2 oz bar contains 30g protein 3-4g fiber, and about 17g sugars. Because Tri-O-Plex bars less like a candy bar than most other energy bars, they're also very stable even in a warm car or backpack.
Lean Body Cookie Bar: Labrada Lean Body Cookie bar is based on a blend of whey, soy, and egg proteins. More like something from the bakery rather than the candy aisle, this bar has a slightly sweeter flavor with a bit of a dense but chewy texture and can be eaten at room tempurature or heated for 10 seconds in the microwave for a fresh-baked taste. Each 3.4 oz bar contains 30g protein 3g fiber, and about 12g sugars.
Sampling of other brands: Hooah! Bar, Snickers Marathon, Larabar, Maya, Odwalla Bars, Promax Bar, ZonePerfect, Arriba, Greens+, and Atkins Nutritionals.
General Pricing
Most energy bars cost between $1 and $2 per individual bar. Bars are often on sale for $1 each. They can also sometimes be purchased in bulk at a discount.
External Links
Official Matisse & Jack's Website
Official Tri-O-Plex Bar Website
Category
Owner: "elizabeth werhane" Last edited on January 24, 2007 3:00 pm by "69.233.139.119"
