10-Point Unbiased Review of Built Bar and Built Boost

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Updated on January 26, 2020

Do you rely on protein bars like Built Bar to appease your hunger and satisfy your sweet tooth? Do you resort to vitamin powders like Built Boost to hydrate and boost your energy levels? You are not the only one. Nearly 45 million Americans consume protein bars and energy or diet snacks every year. Analysts expect these numbers to grow significantly within the following years.

Unfortunately, healthy, nutritious, clean-label and tasty protein bars are still rare in the U.S. market. Many brands make impressive health claims while their ingredient labels are dominated by sugar or dangerous sweeteners, additives, and preservatives.

In the meantime, Built Bar and Built Boost focus on taste but seem to have some of the most attractive nutritious profiles on the market. Do they deliver on their promises and are their products really healthy?

We decided to answer the question through an in-depth, 10-point review of the brand, from the company behind it to the products themselves and the reactions (and testimonials) of those who have tried them. Check out our findings below:

Built Bar and Built Boost: “Tasty and Healthy” or Better Avoided?

1. Producer

The company that manufactures these protein bars and vitamin powders is based in Utah, close to Salt Lake City. Although information on it is scarce, the founder and developer is Luke Tolley, who has a Ph.D. in molecular chemistry and a solid reputation.  Apparently, he makes the chocolate for the bars himself, from cocoa beans, using his molecular chemistry knowledge and his two decades of experience.

According to our research, Luke Tolley was also behind The Other Nutrition Company, which produced and sold The Other Protein Bars, and worked with companies like Tranxend and Axcend Corp. In times when many companies invent stories and people to sell their products, we were thrilled to discover that Built Bar has a reputable professional as founder and developer.

2. Products Assortment

The company primarily focuses on protein bars but has recently launched a line of vitamin powder blends. They promise excellent taste and exceptional nutrition with no preservatives and artificial flavors.

The Built Bar protein bars are wrapped in 100% real, dark chocolate and contain only natural flavors and coloring agents. Their products are free of major allergens. There are 13 flavors available. The bars weigh 53 grams and are available for sale in boxes of 18. Those who find it difficult to choose one flavor can opt for the mixed box containing two bars of the most popular flavors or design their own box with their favorite varieties.

The Built Boost vitamin blends contain the daily recommended dose of 11 essential vitamins, extracts of three super plants, and incredibly high levels of B2 and B6 vitamins. Each pack of Built Boost contains 30 smaller packs of 4g each. Buyers can choose one of the available flavors or order the mixed flavor pack.

3. Built Bar and Built Boost Flavors, Texture, and Taste

As mentioned above, the Built bars are available in 13 different flavors, all having chocolate as a starting point:

• Double Chocolate Mousse
• Vanilla Chocolate Creme
• Raspberry Chocolate Creme
• Orange Chocolate Creme
• Coconut Chocolate Creme
• Black Cherry Chocolate Creme
• Banana Chocolate Creme
• Salted Caramel Chocolate
• Coconut Almond
• Peanut Butter
• Banana Nut Bread
• Peanut Butter Brownie
• Mint Brownie Delite

Built Bar changes their offer regularly, introducing new varieties and giving up others, so the assortment may look different within a couple of weeks. The good news is that the bars have a light, fluffy texture. They melt in your mouth, releasing natural, delicious tastes and flavors, superior to anything you would expect at their nutritional profile and to what most other competing products have to offer.

The six flavors of the Built Boost vitamin powder are:

• Black Cherry Lemonade
• Pina Colada
• Strawberry Vanilla
• Pineapple Strawberry
• Mango Tangerine
• Fruit Punch

The taste of the vitamin drink is usually refreshing and better than that of many competing products. However, your perception will surely depend on flavor preferences and how used you are to vitamin drinks. It’s more of an acquired taste, and, for someone who is not used to vitamin drinks, some flavors may not be that spectacular.

4. Built Bar and Built Boost Nutritional Profiles

The nutritional profile of the Built bars varies from one flavor to another. The Creme varieties have the fewest calories, while the peanut butter varieties have the most calories. However, those who have tried them claim the additional calories are worth it.

• Double Chocolate Mousse – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Vanilla Chocolate Creme – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Raspberry Chocolate Creme – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Orange Chocolate Creme – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Coconut Chocolate Creme – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Black Cherry Chocolate Creme – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Banana Chocolate Creme – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Salted Caramel Chocolate – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar
• Coconut Almond – 130 calories, 18g protein, 5g fat, 7g fiber, 3g sugar
• Peanut Butter – 170 calories, 20g protein, 7g fiber, 7g fat, 3g sugar
• Banana Nut Bread – 150 calories, 18g protein, 5g fat, 6g fiber, 5g sugar
• Peanut Butter Brownie – 170 calories, 20g protein, 7g fat, 7g fiber, 3g sugar
• Mint Brownie Delite – 110 calories, 15g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 4g sugar

Built Boost powders have all the same nutritional profile: no calories, fats, fiber, or sugar, just beneficial vitamins and plant extracts.

To better understand what the protein bars have to offer and how healthy they are, it helps to look at the ingredients.

5. Ingredients

Before we review the ingredients list, keep in mind that, unlike many protein bars on the market, these ones contain no artificial preservatives, colorings, or flavors, no major allergens (gluten, nuts), and no GMOs. Here are their ingredients:

• Whey protein isolate
• Dark chocolate (chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin, vanilla, and vanillin)
• Gelatin
• Water
• Erythritol
• Maltodextrin
• Citric acid
• Natural flavors and colorings according to variety

As you can see, the list of ingredients is quite clean and healthy. We love the fact that they explained their choice of ingredients on their Nutrition page. Sure, some choices, like soy lecithin and vanillin are debatable but, all in all, this is one of the cleanest and healthiest ingredients list we’ve seen in protein bars, especially for this nutritional profile and incredible taste and consistency.

Unfortunately, the situation is a little different with Built Boost. These contain:

• 100% vitamin A, B, C, D, E, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, biotin
• D-Calcium Pathentonate
• 10,000% B12
• 1,850% B6
• Maca root
• Rodiola Rosea
• Ashwagandha
• Citric acid
• Malic acid
• Fibersol2 (non-digestible, water-soluble maltodextrin)
• Sucralose
• Natural flavors and colorings

If only they didn’t use sucralose! Sure, it’s not the worst sweetener out there, and it is approved by the FDA as safe to consume. However, quite a few sources question its safety for long-term, frequent consumption.

6. Pricing and Shipping

The price of a protein bar ranges between $2 and $1.50, depending on how many boxes you order and what discounts are available. The vitamin blends cost up to $1/serving, approximately $30/pack, again, decreasing for larger volumes. It is important to note that shipping is free in the U.S. no matter how many boxes you order, so you have no additional costs to worry about.

The price may be slightly higher than that of some competing products. However, the free shipping, convenient packaging, and clean ingredients list totally make up for the difference. It would be nice to see an auto-delivery option with additional price discounts like those available for other protein bar varieties.

Of course, that would involve a long-term commitment, and the Built brand seems to be all about flexibility and convenience. With their sample box offer, they drop the price per bar to $1.76 allowing everyone to get a taste of their products.

7. Sample Box

This box is a unique offer for first-time customers. It includes 10 bars in different flavors. At the time of this review, the cost of the whole box is only $17.58, dropping the cost per bar to $1.76. It is a great way to find out if these protein bars are right for you and find out what flavor you prefer.

Truth be told, they used to have a much better offer back in 2018, when the price of the samples was $1/bar. Also, they didn’t extend the offer to their vitamin blends, but they did send free samples along with many Built Bar orders, maybe they still do.

Keep in mind that you can only order one sample box per household, and shipping may take a little more than for regular orders.  However, the wait should be worth it.

8. Built Taste Guarantee

We are pretty sure you and your friends or family will love Built products. In case you do not, the company offers a taste guarantee. This means you can contact them and request a refund. They only offer refunds for one line product on first orders. To receive a refund, you have to contact the company within 14 days from order placement.

The company does not accept returns and will only allow exchanges in rare cases of defective or damaged products. This practice is common among food producers. Moreover, considering the qualities of the products under discussion, it is difficult to believe you will ever have reason to ask for a refund or replacement.

9. Built Buck$ Rewards

Built Bar had quite an attractive rewards program. It gave participants six ways to earn built buck$ and use them to pay for their orders. Unfortunately, it looks like they discontinued it or, for some reason, the link to their Rewards page redirects visitors to Homepage.

To earn built buck$, users had to:

• Sign up for the program – 50 built buck$
• Order protein bars – 1 built buck for every dollar spent
• Recommend Built Bar to friends and family – 100 built buck$ for every referral ordering a 16-bar box
• Share the Built Bar offer with Facebook or Instagram contacts every month to win 50 built buck$ per share
• Follow the company on Instagram and Facebook to earn 25 built buck$ per follow
• Stay a built bar member until birthday and earn 200 built buck$ as a gift

10. Built Reputation

Throughout the last couple of years, the company has built an impressive reputation. They have overwhelmingly positive reviews on both Amazon and third-party websites. The Built bars seem to be more appreciated than the Built boosts but, generally, most users continue to consume both and even recommend them to others, which is impressive, especially since there are no more rewards at stake.

Final Thoughts on Built Bar and Built Boost

Based on the above-presented facts, we have every reason to believe that you’ll be thrilled with these protein bars and vitamin blends. They are definitely better than most options available on the market.

Once you’ve tasted the Built Bar snacks and vitamin blends, don’t forget to get back to us and share your opinion in a comment below! This way, you can enrich our review with your own experience and help others learn the truth about Built Bar. Together, we can make protein snacks healthier and tastier!

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