Protein contents in new GO bar formula

[Skymirrh]

Hi,

Like with past formula changes, I am personally disappointed by Queal's decision to reduce protein content in GO bars.

We can see there's a 36.2% reduction in protein per € when comparing Dark Chocolate with Nuts & Seasalt, and a 51.5% decrease when comparing with Nuts & Apricot.

It's even worse when you consider that you could get the GO bars at a discount when buying in bulk up until somewhen in Q4 2018 / Q1 2019 (according to my past orders):

I understand that reducing protein contents helps to drive the costs down, however this seems not to be reflected in the prices -- in fact it is the opposite, since energy per € is going down as well.

These new bars are a definite no for me purely due to the low protein contents.

Thanks for reading me, have a nice day

[joshzam]

Thanks for the research and side-by-side comparison, @Skymirrh. It really helps when trying to choose a bar that can be considered a "complete food", and know what we're actually getting for our money.

[Skymirrh]

Just to be clear since I am not sure it was: I am not contesting the fact that GO bars are a "complete food": they offer a nutritional profile in terms of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that can be considered "complete" -- or at the very least its similar to current other foods stating they are "complete". Whether that definition of "complete" is right or not is another subject (since the "completeness" is based on DRV or PRI values from EFSA or other organisms, one could always challenge whether or not a "complete food" should "just" match or exceed them and in which situation).

In other words: the protein contents are "fine" if you think in terms of "minimum/recommended values for the average adult", thus GO bars do fit the definition of "complete". The new GO bars actually still beat that minimum recommended for protein (it's something like 60g a day for an adult of average weight) by a 50% margin, clocking in at around 95g of protein if you were to consume solely that.

However I personally think that it is still way too low for protein, because of the observed benefits of high-protein diets. Allow me to redirect to Queal's blog entry of the subject, which contains relevant factual information: https://queal.com/protein-why-high-queal/

Since my personal daily minimum is 150g, with a target of 200g, and the new GO bars offer halved protein per € value, they just have become way less interesting to me that the previous GO bars to fill up holes in my diet.

[Latestfuels]

Great couple of posts.

Have to agree that I am disappointed to see the lowering on the protein. Personally, I also like the bigger bars, but this adaptation is most likely from some internal data.

One reason for hope is the fact that Nuts & Seasalt was the bar with the lowest protein content out of both. By a big margin in fact (24% vs 33%). Thus, I am hoping that Dark Chocolate, or whatever is replacing Dark Chocolate will follow the macronutrient distribution this one did.

[Dejay]

Thanks for the comparison Skymirrh! I was wondering about the prices. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed to see the prices going up instead of going down. I'd like a complete food replacement for cheap, not a snack size bar. At the very least it's a waste of packaging.

I have the new bars coming so maybe I do end up liking them more.