Food Review - Built Puff Bars

The Built Puff Bars have been around for a couple of years, but I've only started seeing them at my local Costco this year. Intrigued by the "PUFF" on the packaging (you could say I fell victim to their marketing claim), and with them on sale for $24.99 for 14 bars ($1.79 per bar), I thought I'd give them a try.

And they did not disappoint.

But first, let's look at the nutrition and ingredient lists.

17g protein, 13-14g carbs, and 2.5-3g fat for 140 calories at 40g per serving offers decent and balanced macros. For reference, Optimum Nutrition Whey protein (my go-to) is around 24g protein and 120 calories per 32g scoop.

Ingredient-wise, the primary protein sources here are partially hydrolyzed whey protein isolate and collagen.

Whey protein isolate is a complete protein source. "Partially hydrolyzed" means that the protein has been broken down into smaller pieces by the addition of water (hydrolysis), but not completely. This is often done to improve digestibility, texture, and mixability.

Collagen, on the other hand, is an incomplete protein (lacks tryptophan). So while collagen is great for skin, joint, and connective tissue health, it's not the best for muscle protein synthesis in the same way as other complete protein sources.

This is not a cause for concern since whey is already a complete protein source, and it's hard to tell from the ingredients list how much collagen is included.

Other than the fact that the Brownie Batter's outer shell looked crumpled out of the package, the two bars look almost identical. The Coconut bar's outer shell looks completely smooth. You can kind of see some ridges on the Brownie Batter where I think they tried to make it look like a chocolate drizzle, but it's very faint.

Because the bars are much softer compared to the likes of Quest, Pure Protein, or Simply Protein, I would say more care is needed when taking them on the go unless you don't mind them getting a bit crushed. I took a couple of these on my Vancouver trip and I definitely had to be more careful not to squash them in my backpack.

These were delicious.

The Coconut flavour had a pleasant chocolatey and coconut smell straight out of the package. When I bit into it, it had this gelatin-like texture, almost like sticky rice or tapioca. I found the sweetness to be a little overpowering at first (although it only has 6g of added sugar), but not off-putting. Overall it was very chocolatey and coconuty, fulfilling its flavor profile promise. No aftertaste that I was able to discern, which is always a plus in my books.

Brownie Batter tasted similarly chocolatey and pleasant, but somehow I found the flavour profile to be a bit more muted compared to its Coconut cousin. It's not as distinct and unique. If I bought them as singles, I definitely would buy Coconut over Brownie Batter.

One thing I'll say is that I got hungry pretty fast after eating them, on both occasions (I ate them on different days). I guess 140 calories on its own is a pretty small snack given I eat ~2,500 calories a day, but a nice afternoon treat nonetheless.

❄️ For fun I threw a couple into the freezer overnight to see how that might change the texture. It definitely got harder, but still quite chewable. Was it an improvement? Probably not.

Built Puff Bars have decent macros, great flavor, unique texture, and an overall satisfying offering that hits the spot. The non-sale average price per bar is about on par with other protein bars offered at Costco, if not a bit more premium, but a great deal if you catch them on sale.

This is an easy recommend for me.

Catch y’all in the next one! ✌️