As a lucky Londoner I have the option to shop in Planet Organic. Having met the founder Renée Elliott and heard her describe her crazy trail breaker dream to bring organic food and health to communities I like to take up that option. It helps that Planet stocks lots of my favourite things. Caveat that organic is not always better and Planet is not cheap and cheerful but I do like it a lot.
Planet Organic Protein Bars
Planet Organic stock LOTS of Protein Bars including some I have reviewed. Vive have perfected the protein bar as dessert concept and Tribe have an absolutely lovely Coffee & Walnut bar within their range. In late 2018 Planet refreshed their own label range with 4 new Planet Organic Raw Protein Bars.
The Planet Organic Protein Bar range contain 20 grams or more protein per 100 grams and are gluten free and vegan. So they gain admission to the Best Gluten Free & Vegan Protein Bars and Gluten Free Vegan Protein Bars Nutritional Comparison. I taste test and analyse all the bars so you do not have to!
Ingredients & Nutrition
All the Planet Organic Protein Bars are declared gluten free and vegan. Their “May Contain Allergens” warning is limited to Other Nuts beyond the Almonds and Cashews. The primary ingredients – dates, nuts, syrup (or coconut nectar) and rice or pea protein – are well proven popular ingredients within protein bars. In these bars they are certified organic which sets them apart from most other bars. There are no emulsifiers which is a good thing. Gut bacteria rejoice!
Protein is minimum 10 grams per 50 gram bar and averages at 21 grams per 100 grams. This is fairly low for bars marketed as Protein Bars. The combination of Dates & Syrup in all the bars & sugar within the choc chips in two bars pushes the carbs and sugars high. The average 31 grams sugar per 100 grams means these bars might be best used as pre or post workout fuel rather than a regular snack.
Cost & Value
Prices are compared per 100 grams to enable a like for like between different bar sizes.
A regular price of £1.99 per bar and £26.49 per box of 14 places these bars close to the top of the price chart. At the time of writing – April 2019 – Planet Organic are offering two deals. There is a Buy One Get one Half Price on Single Bars working out at around £3 per 100 grams. A 25% discount on boxes of 14 works out at around £2.84 per 100 grams. As with almost all Protein Bars buying boxes rather than singles offers far better value.
Best Buys From: Planet Organic (direct) or Ocado
Taste Test!
The most notable quality of all the Planet Organic Protein Bars except for the Espresso Mocha is that they are melt in the mouth creamy smooth. Unlike most protein bars chewing seems entirely optional! You can literally just smoosh these bars around and they will melt in your mouth. If by texture preference you are a smoosher, you know, rather than a cruncher or a sucker or a chewer, you will surely love these bars.
Planet Organic Sour Cherry & White Choc
Oh my I had hopes for this one. Sour Cherry in a Protein Bar? Not just Cherry but Sour Cherry?! Gimme! Marks for trying and nearly pulling it off but . . . there just is not quite enough charismatic cherry flavor to deliver this. Nice, but not quite there.
Planet Organic Espresso Mocha
Coffee flavor is pretty rare within Protein Bars and it is also a little too rare within these bars! Nice but if you want to experience a bar with gorgeous coffee flavor go for the Tribe Coffee & Walnut bar instead. 
Planet Organic Choc Chip & Almond Butter
Look, smash some dates & nuts and choc chips and some syrup together and you cannot really go far wrong. These are nice and dessert-like. The modest marks reflect that they are not amazing.
Planet Organic Coconut & Almond Butter
All the bars have coconut sugar but these have actual coconut too. I think the Dates & Almonds dominate the flavor though. Give Coconut a chance!
Planet Organic vs The Rest!
- Melt in the mouth texture, great for “smooshers”
- Organic ingredients – not unique – but unusual for protein bars
- Mostly simple ingredients and no emusifiers
- Sour Cherry flavor might be one of a kind among gluten free vegan bars
- Moderate protein, high sugars, high cost relative to other bars
Have Planet made it into any of the ‘best of categories’ within my work of love in the form of the Best Gluten Free & Vegan Protein Bars monster review? Maybe . . . go check!
I buy all the bars I taste test, no freebies, so when I say I like something I really do. The main selling points are the organic ingredients and remarkable melt in the mouth texture. I do appreciate the organic ingredients within these bars but none of the flavours were a massive hit. Maybe with a bit more cherry the Sour Cream & Cherry could make it? Hey Planet, if you change it, I will happily sample again! So . . . summary for the Planet Organic Raw Protein Bars.
Have *you* tried the Planet Organic Raw Protein Bars? Love them? Adore them? Tell and share!
More of the Same?
Do you know of a Gluten Free and Vegan Bar I have not tried? The horror! Name it and I will fill in that gap in the universe stat! Ooh, caveat that they must also not contain oats. Oats and I have agreed not to see each other. I am a special type of coeliac that cannot tolerate even the ‘good guy’ gluten-free oats.
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