Are PowerBars Vegan?

When I was a vegetarian, I used to eat PowerBars pretty often; they were cheap and convenient, especially on the road. I also liked them because I felt like I was eating something healthy, which probably isn’t true given the huge list of processed ingredients with names I have trouble pronouncing. Regardless, after I went vegan, I stopped eating them because most PowerBars are not vegan with the exception of two flavors: Peanut Butter Performance Energy Bar and Vanilla Crisp Performance Energy Bar. If I’m not mistaken, there was a time when no PowerBars were vegan, which is probably why I stopped eating them all together; so it’s great to see they now have at least two plant-based flavors. Unfortunately, all of the other PowerBar flavors contain animal-based ingredients, primarily whey protein or some other kind of dairy.

PowerBar Ingredients (Peanut Butter Performance Energy)

CANE INVERT SYRUP, OAT BRAN, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, MALTODEXTRIN, RICE CRISPS (RICE FLOUR, RICE BRAN, ROSEMARY
EXTRACT), PEANUT BUTTER (PEANUTS, SALT), FRUCTOSE, BROWN RICE FLOUR, DEXTROSE, PARTIALLY DEFATTED PEANUT FLOUR, GLYCERIN, SALT.

CONTAINS PEANUTS AND SOY.

PowerBar Ingredients (Vanilla Crisp)

Note: this flavor contains natural flavors, which means there’s a chance it’s not strictly vegan.

CANE INVERT SYRUP, OAT BRAN, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, FRUCTOSE, RICE CRISPS (RICE FLOUR, RICE BRAN, ROSEMARY
EXTRACT), BROWN RICE FLOUR, DEXTROSE, HIGH OLEIC SUNFLOWER OIL, NATURAL FLAVOR, GLYCERIN, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT.

CONTAINS SOY.

Vegan Friendly Alternatives to PowerBars

The most similar alternative to a PowerBar that is vegan friendly are Clif Builder’s Bars. Most, if not all, of the flavors are vegan. I really like the chocolate peanut butter and the chocolate mint, which also seem to be the most common at convenient stores. Other suitable alternatives are regular Clif Bars, LUNA Bars, and Kind Bars. Though not explicitly protein bars, they usually yield a decent amount and they are easy to find at most gas stations, convenient stores, and other places you would typically see PowerBars being sold.