Today, we're taking that battle to your pantry, comparing three heavyweight champions in the world of healthy snacking: Skout Organic, Clif Kid ZBar, and GoMacro Bar.
The Rundown on the Contenders
Before the gloves come off, let us give you a breakdown of each contender:
Skout Organic
Skout Organic is a family-owned business run by a father and his sons, driven by the original vision of crafting snack bars that are tasty and healthy for children. They take pride in selecting only natural, organic ingredients sourced ethically from farmers, with a portion of the proceeds supporting these farming communities. Their products keep it simple with simple ingredients that don't require a Google search to decode. This ensures you and your loved ones can enjoy clean and wholesome snacks.
Clif Bar
Clif Bar is built on 5 principles: sustaining the people, sustaining communities, sustaining our planet, sustaining their business, and most importantly - sustaining your health and well-being. They have a wide range of products such as protein bars, energy bars, and kids' bars that are all crafted with organic ingredients without any artificial flavors or preservatives.
GoMacro
GoMacro Bar is a mother-daughter company that set out to create a plant-based snack that fits a macrobiotic diet. This all started during the mom's battle with breast cancer. Their bars are made using only organic and non-GMO ingredients. As a farm owner, they know the importance of supporting local communities and sourcing ingredients close to home.
Comparison 1: Ingredients and Nutritional Value
When it comes to nutritional value, the three companies come from different corners of the ring.
Skout Organic
Skout prioritizes high-quality non-GMO, organic ingredients from ethical farmers, free from chemicals, pesticides, or shady labor practices. Their recipes always go by the "less is more" principle, using natural, recognizable ingredients, ensuring that every bite is nutrient-dense.
With all Skout Organic products, you get organic cocoa and chocolate bars without heavy metals, toxins, refined sugars, artificial ingredients, or preservatives.
The Skout Organic Kids Snack Bar line offers 13 flavors, with the Peanut Butter & Jelly Kids Bar as their best seller. It contains only 4 ingredients - organic dates, organic peanut butter, organic strawberries, and organic strawberry essence.
Clif Kid ZBar
Clif Kid ZBar claims that they use whole grains, dried fruit, nuts, cocoa, and natural flavors for their bars. But here are the problems. The first is their ingredients are not all organic. With cocoa in the recipe, heavy metal and toxin contamination can be a concern.
The second is the high amount of refined sugar. As a matter of fact, there was a class lawsuit against them in 2018 with the problem of misleading labels in sugar content and market their kids bars as "nutritious" when the amount is unhealthy. Since then, Clif Bar revamped their marketing strategy to claim that carbohydrates are a necessary energy source.
GoMacro Kids Bar
With GoMacro, it's not just about the nutrients. It's about the planet, too. Each 100% plant-based ingredient is sourced from organic and non-GMO certified growers who follow sustainable farming practices. These natural bars come with a powerful punch of nutrition and a side of environmental goodwill.
👑 And the Winner Is…
In the first round, both Skout Organic and GoMacro Bar takes the cake for their commitment to cleanliness and sustainability. While Clif has its place, many health-conscious parents weren't completely won over due to the use of ingredients like soy lecithin, soybean oil, and sugar syrups, and the lack of organic ingredients.
Comparison 2: Meeting Special Diet Needs
A snack that can't cater to dietary restrictions is like a toothless shark — great on the outside, but lacking on the inside.
Skout Organic
Skout Organic is proud to offer products that are organic, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO, soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and, in general, just about 'free' of anything you wouldn't want to put in your body. They made sure that there are 8 nut-free flavors, making this a safe snack option for school lunches and those with nut allergies.
GoMacro Bar
GoMacro makes a strong claim with their 100% plant-based products that are organic, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO, soy-free, dairy-free, and even cater to a low FODMAP diet. One problem is all their products contain nuts, limiting options for those with nut allergies.
Clif Kid ZBar
Clif Kid ZBar claims to be Smart Snack Compliant according to the USDA, meaning it meets the criteria for nutrition in schools. Their bars are non-GMO and labeled as USDA organic when their website confirms that only 76% of their ingredient sources are organic.
This is a bit misleading if you ask our opinion. Still, they do offer a nice selection for kids who are allergic to nuts and dairy products.
👑 And The Winner Is…
While GoMacro Bar offers a good range of options, Skout Organic takes the win for offering the most diverse and allergy-friendly products without compromising on taste and nutrition.
Comparison 3: Taste and Texture
A snack can't just win on nutritional content alone. It has to deliver on the palate as well, or else it won't be a satisfying snack.
Skout Organic
Skout Organic has 13 delicious flavors in their Kids Snack Bar collection. They also offer soft-baked cookies if your family are cookie monsters. Their natural approach to flavoring is a delight, showcasing the essence of simple yet delicious combinations.
To keep things interesting, they also offer seasonal small-batch flavors to surprise and delight your taste buds. They also encourage customers to share their own flavor ideas, making it a collaborative and innovative experience for all.
GoMacro Kids Bar
With only 5 flavors available, GoMacro offers a similarly pleasurable experience for the health-conscious palate. The downside is that they use nuts in every product, which can be a bit repetitive in flavor and texture. For little kids who are going through their baby teeth change, the nuts can be tough to munch on.
Clif Kid ZBar
Clif offers 9 flavors in their Kid ZBar collection. While they do taste great, the amount of sugar in these bars rival some of the chocolate bars on the market. Parents who are looking for a healthier option may not be too pleased with this. They even argue that these bars are simply glorified candy bars.
👑The Winner Is...
Skout Organic edges out the competition here. They're constantly delighting customers with their vast range of options and seasonal specials.
Comparison 4: Price and Availability
Even the best snack has to be within reach of the average consumer's wallet. But with high-quality ingredients, organic certifications, and ethical business practices, can the snacks remain affordable? Let's get down to the math.
Skout Organic
Skout Organic can be found in various stores like Sprouts Farmers Market, Fresh Thyme Market, Central Market, Giant, Weis, Mom's Organic Market, Thrive Market, Nature Sante, and Erewhon.
Erewhon, if you're not familiar, is a top-tier food connoisseur grocery store in LA known for only offering the finest products that the wealthiest and healthiest would ever buy. So if Skout Organic has a place on their shelf, you know they've got quality.
The cool thing is Skout Organic makes shipping easy and offers unbeatable prices on their official site. Looking at the numbers, a box of 36 bars costs $42.99, which breaks it down to $1.19 per bar. However, signing up for a subscription saves you 20%, bringing the cost down to $34.39 at $0.96 per bar.
What's wonderful about ordering from their official site is that shipping is free after just $31.98, and you have the option of mixing-and-matching flavors in a single box. So essentially, your kid can try every flavor without breaking the bank.
As busy parents, having a regular subscription of healthy snacks for our kids is a godsend. That's one less thing you have to remember on your To-Do list.
GoMacro Kids Bar
GoMacro Bar is available at Walmart, Target, and Kroger. They also offer shipping service on their official site. However, there's no savings available. On average, it costs $38.49 for 12 protein bars. That works out to $3.21/bar. Ouch. That's a little too steep for a snack bar.
Clif Kid ZBar
Clif Kid Zbars are likely the easiest of the three to find, given their widespread availability in grocery and convenience stores. On their website, it costs $39.66 for 36 bars, which works out to $1.1/bar. But considering it's not totally organic and isn't exactly the healthiest option, the cheaper price point comes at a cost.
👑The Winner Is...
Skout Organic truly hits the ball out of the park with their price and availability. Not only is their product accessible in various stores, but they also offer unbeatable prices on their official site. Plus, with a subscription option, you can save even more money. Once you try their delicious snacks, you won't be able to resist the value they offer.
Final Verdict
When it's time to pick the snack champ, Skout Organic steps up as the winner without a doubt! Not only are their products organic, delicious, and inclusive for all dietary restrictions, but they also offer unbeatable prices and accessibility.
Starting as a project for the teenage sons of the founder, Skout Organic truly knows what kids want and what parents need for their children. Now, they satisfy all ages with a focus on health and sustainability.
What makes them truly unique is that they're always listening to their customers, continuously innovating and improving their products that blend nostalgia and creativity for guilt-free snacking.
Ready to taste the winning snack? Skout Organic is your go-to!
Try Skout Organic's Cookie Dough Kids Bar
Skout Organic
$42.99Skout Organic Cookie Dough Kids Bar
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