Clif Energy bar - Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch

I'm not a fan of cereal bars, with the exception of Nature Valley Crunchy Oats & Dark Chocolate Granola Bars, but I couldn't resist the absolutely beautiful package design of this product. Besides, who can say nay when words like chocolate chip and peanut are floating before their eyes? So I picked up this Clif Energy bar from my trusty supermarket, Ratna Stores at Maitri Park, Chembur. These bars came all the way to Chembur from the US of A, where Clif Bar & Company make a host of organic health foods.

The company was set up by Gary Erickson in 1992 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California. Erickson got the idea of the flagship product, a basic health bar, in 1990 during a day-long bike ride. Back in those days, there were hardly any good energy bars and Erickson decided to make his own, starting his experiments in his mom's kitchen. Happy with his formula, he set up the company and named it Clif after his father, Clifford. The rock climber illustration, which is used to this day, was made by his friend, Doug Gilmore, on a napkin over dinner in San Francisco. Wikipedia cites, "in the the first year itself, sales of CLIF Bar exceeded $700,000, fueled primarily by strong sales in bike shops and the growth of the healthy and natural foods movement."

Today, the brand is highly popular not just for its products but also its CSR activities and commitment to organic foods. Clif Bar & Company produces a hot of products today, including nutrition bars for kids, protein bars for body builders, granola bars, fruit & nut bars and special bars for women. The Clif Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Energy Bar is one among their popular categories.

The bar comprises organic brown rice syrup, soy protein isolate, rice flour, barley malt extract, organic rolled oats, organic peanut butter, chocolate chips, cocoa butter and peanuts among other things. The taste of peanut/peanut butter comes through, but the barely-there chocolate chips don't do anything for the bar. The consistency is sticky-soft and the taste is moderately sweet. However, it isn't tasty (as is the case with all healthy foods), and has that unmistakable cardboard-like flavour that raw oats tend to have. Don't ask me when I ate cardboard.

But the taste wasn't the only turn off. Price at an eye-watering INR 210, the 68g bar is hardly affordable for everyday consumption. I would have liked to try their double chocolate bar, but I think it's way too expensive.

RATING: 2.5/5