Quest Bars: Moving in the Wrong Direction?

1 More Repp

1 More Repp

Member
I was wondering if anyone has noticed all of the additional ingredients in the newest Quest bar releases (s'mores, cookies & cream, etc.) They are still some of the cleanest, most desirable bars on the market, but I don't understand why they would begin adding less desirable ingredients like palm oil, sunflower lecithin, and baking soda. It also looks like they are leaning towards a lower fiber count. What's going on Quest?!
 
1 More Repp said:
I was wondering if anyone has noticed all of the additional ingredients in the newest Quest bar releases (s'mores, cookies & cream, etc.) They are still some of the cleanest, most desirable bars on the market, but I don't understand why they would begin adding less desirable ingredients like palm oil, sunflower lecithin, and baking soda. It also looks like they are leaning towards a lower fiber count. What's going on Quest?!
Click to expand...

WTH is wrong with baking soda???? For myself, Quest bars are just something I use so I never crave real desserts. For that function, they are a hell of a lot better than a candy bar or ice cream. Still, I hope they maintain a clean profile bc they changed the game. Protein bars used to be **** to avoid, not enjoyed.
 
scope75 said:
Also what's wrong with Red Palm Oil??
Click to expand...

If it's organic red palm oil, absolutely nothing. Red Palm oil is loaded with vitamin A, vitamin E, and other carotenoids. I blend a tablespoon of it into my morning smoothie a couple days a week. Rotating between that, coconut oil, and hemp oil.
 
scope75 said:
Just eat carbs along with a bar and your set.
Click to expand...

Defeats the purpose of using the bars then, LoL.

Driven2lift said:
It would be interesting to see, if they can make them taste that good low cal one would have high expectations if they did
Click to expand...

I just want a SKU that caters to people that aren't trying to eat like birds. LoL. It's the only reason I haven't used Quest bars in a long long long while now.
 
Young Gotti said:
seems like they are but not really for the reasons listed above
Click to expand...

Lol you're right. I was just about to point out, though I don't know this as fact, that the palm oil used is more than likely refined, and not organic, virgin, cold pressed, etc...

So yeah, you probably have a reason to be concerned a little bit.
 
kissdadookie said:
Defeats the purpose of using the bars then, LoL.



I just want a SKU that caters to people that aren't trying to eat like birds. LoL. It's the only reason I haven't used Quest bars in a long long long while now.
Click to expand...

There are plenty of other options as far as bars then. Quest has a certain demographic they are trying to reach. If you do enjoy the bars, eat them and add oatmeal or something. It doesn't defeat the purpose of them. Bars should be used to fit ones dietary needs, if that comes up short,macro wise, there are a million other things one can eat that are just as portable.
 
AntM1564 said:
There are plenty of other options as far as bars then. Quest has a certain demographic they are trying to reach. If you do enjoy the bars, eat them and add oatmeal or something. It doesn't defeat the purpose of them. Bars should be used to fit ones dietary needs, if that comes up short,macro wise, there are a million other things one can eat that are just as portable.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a lot of excuses, lol.

There's plenty of bars out, but nothing tastes quite like a Quest bar. If I have to start adding my own extra carbs to Quest bars I consume, then that defeats the purpose of the reasoning behind using bars in the first place.

The solution here is quite simple, Quest High Carbs Line. Done. These could have other uses other than as a snack/MRP. Such as, preworkout nutrition use, etc.

As for your point that there are a million other things one can eat that are just as portable, same can be said for Quest bars. Thus that argument is nonsensical really.

Alas, I've clearly made the point that what I am suggesting would be an entirely different SKU. They already expanded out to things like protein powders for goodness sakes. There's really no reason why they can't have a High Carbs line. It's not like the High Carbs line will displace their regular line of bars. LoL. I don't see how this would end up affecting their target demographic.
 
AntM1564 said:
There are plenty of other options as far as bars then. Quest has a certain demographic they are trying to reach. If you do enjoy the bars, eat them and add oatmeal or something. It doesn't defeat the purpose of them. Bars should be used to fit ones dietary needs, if that comes up short,macro wise, there are a million other things one can eat that are just as portable.
Click to expand...
X2 and some high carb bars taste way better than the best quest bar too. I'm always amazed at how good some taste when walking around fitness expos.
 
kissdadookie said:
That sounds like a lot of excuses, lol.

There's plenty of bars out, but nothing tastes quite like a Quest bar. If I have to start adding my own extra carbs to Quest bars I consume, then that defeats the purpose of the reasoning behind using bars in the first place.

The solution here is quite simple, Quest High Carbs Line. Done. These could have other uses other than as a snack/MRP. Such as, preworkout nutrition use, etc.

As for your point that there are a million other things one can eat that are just as portable, same can be said for Quest bars. Thus that argument is nonsensical really.

Alas, I've clearly made the point that what I am suggesting would be an entirely different SKU. They already expanded out to things like protein powders for goodness sakes. There's really no reason why they can't have a High Carbs line. It's not like the High Carbs line will displace their regular line of bars. LoL. I don't see how this would end up affecting their target demographic.
Click to expand...
As nice as it would be i don't see quest making a carb bar anytime soon since it seems like they are proud to be LC and it's easy to make a carb bar taste good.
Plus if they added carbs they'd probably be more expensive because I think they'd still keep them GF.
 
scope75 said:
As nice as it would be i don't see quest making a carb bar anytime soon since it seems like they are proud to be LC and it's easy to make a carb bar taste good.
Plus if they added carbs they'd probably be more expensive because I think they'd still keep them GF.
Click to expand...

It's not about making the bar just taste good. It's also about providing QUALITY carbs instead of just straight up sugar.

Let's be realistic here, PLENTY of folks whom consume MANY Quest bars whom actually do need extra calories and carbs. MANY. There's a LARGE customer base whom are not cutting and would do well with more carbs and what not in their bars. They are consuming plenty of Quest bars, the main reason? Mainly due to brand recognition. Plain and simple. At this point, it's the brand that is the main selling point for the products, not necessarily the products themselves. For goodness sakes, go walk into a GNC, they essentially no longer carry any other bars apart from chitty house branded ones and the rest being pretty much all Quest.

What would I expect from a Quest High Carbs bar? QUALITY INGREDIENTS. It's not that easy to find a high carb bar with excellent quality ingredients and protein sources. There's plenty of high CALORIES bars but a large portion of their calories are coming from fat sources, not necessarily carbs. Even Fit Crunch which is high calories, there's barely any carbs in those, they are mainly sugar alcohols.
 
I like whole/real food over bars anyways so it's not much of an issue for me and the quest brand is known for LC bars and that's what set them apart from the rest and got them there name.
Who knows maybe quest will see this thread and make them for you, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Lol
 
scope75 said:
I like whole/real food over bars anyways so it's not much of an issue for me and the quest brand is known for LC bars and that's what set them apart from the rest and got them there name.
Who knows maybe quest will see this thread and make them for you, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Lol
Click to expand...

At this point, they've grown FAR BEYOND just being the low carbs brand. Again, GNC virtually only carries Quest bars for protein bars at their stores now.
 
kissdadookie said:
It's not about making the bar just taste good. It's also about providing QUALITY carbs instead of just straight up sugar.

Let's be realistic here, PLENTY of folks whom consume MANY Quest bars whom actually do need extra calories and carbs. MANY. There's a LARGE customer base whom are not cutting and would do well with more carbs and what not in their bars. They are consuming plenty of Quest bars, the main reason? Mainly due to brand recognition. Plain and simple. At this point, it's the brand that is the main selling point for the products, not necessarily the products themselves. For goodness sakes, go walk into a GNC, they essentially no longer carry any other bars apart from chitty house branded ones and the rest being pretty much all Quest.

What would I expect from a Quest High Carbs bar? QUALITY INGREDIENTS. It's not that easy to find a high carb bar with excellent quality ingredients and protein sources. There's plenty of high CALORIES bars but a large portion of their calories are coming from fat sources, not necessarily carbs. Even Fit Crunch, there's barely any carbs in those, they are mainly sugar alcohols.
Click to expand...

The bold statement is true. However, bulking or cutting, I only use bars out of convenience. With that said, I know that I would rather eat real food then a protein bar for my food intake. Bars, no matter how many carbs, fat, or cals, do not leave me feeling satisfied. With that said, sure, people who eat quest bars need more cals, but I would say most people would want those cals from whole foods that leave them satisfied and feeling somewhat full.
 
AntM1564 said:
The bold statement is true. However, bulking or cutting, I only use bars out of convenience. With that said, I know that I would rather eat real food then a protein bar for my food intake. Bars, no matter how many carbs, fat, or cals, do not leave me feeling satisfied. With that said, sure, people who eat quest bars need more cals, but I would say most people would want those cals from whole foods that leave them satisfied and feeling somewhat full.
Click to expand...

That still makes no sense, if one prefers their calories (and mind you, I'm specifically talking about carbs actually) from whole foods, likely they prefer their protein from whole foods as well, so again, the argument would be a moot point. So what I've suggested very obviously targets and addresses those whom prefers the convenience of bars.

Think about it, kind of idiotic if you eat a quest bar for the protein and then a bunch of whole foods to up the calories and add the carbs. At that point, you should really have just eaten a legit meal instead, LoL.

I mean especially if you need to up your carbs and caloric intake, it's nonsensical to kill your appetite with filler fiber from Quest bars dontcha think?
 
Quest bars need to stay the same as they are, period. They are great now and I agree I don't know why they are changing them.
 
kissdadookie said:
That still makes no sense, if one prefers their calories (and mind you, I'm specifically talking about carbs actually) from whole foods, likely they prefer their protein from whole foods as well, so again, the argument would be a moot point. So what I've suggested very obviously targets and addresses those whom prefers the convenience of bars. Think about it, kind of idiotic if you eat a quest bar for the protein and then a bunch of whole foods to up the calories and add the carbs. At that point, you should really have just eaten a legit meal instead, LoL. I mean especially if you need to up your carbs and caloric intake, it's nonsensical to kill your appetite with filler fiber from Quest bars dontcha think?
Click to expand...

No,the selling point of protein bars are the fact that they are a convenient protein source, as typically protein sources, aside from powder, take preparation ,eg chicken and beef..carb sources, typically do not require preparation, eg bananas, rice cakes...therefore putting them in a bar does not give the buyer value of convenience as carb sources are already convenient...
 
alphanik said:
No,the selling point of protein bars are the fact that they are a convenient protein source, as typically protein sources, aside from powder, take preparation ,eg chicken and beef..carb sources, typically do not require preparation, eg bananas, rice cakes...therefore putting them in a bar does not give the buyer value of convenience as carb sources are already convenient...
Click to expand...

Your argument there is nonsensical. If I need let's say 40-50 grams of carbs in a sitting, you want me to eat how many bananas and how many rice cakes with that Quest bar now? Serious? Now let's say I'm eating the banana, so that's roughly 2 bananas AND a Quest bar, so with all that fiber, that's going to be productive towards me needing to meat my daily caloric and macro needs how?

Because your example, I should just carry protein powder around instead of Quest bars. What would the Quest bars really be for then?

How do you explain the overwhelming amount of high caloric protein bars then (which there's only a limited few for me since the majority are high calorie but not very high carbs as they use mainly sugar alcohols)?

A high cal high carb bar is a MRP essentially. That is their purpose. Not because people want convenient protein.
 
kissdadookie said:
Your argument there is nonsensical. If I need let's say 40-50 grams of carbs in a sitting, you want me to eat how many bananas and how many rice cakes with that Quest bar now? Serious? Now let's say I'm eating the banana, so that's roughly 2 bananas AND a Quest bar, so with all that fiber, that's going to be productive towards me needing to meat my daily caloric and macro needs how?

Because your example, I should just carry protein powder around instead of Quest bars. What would the Quest bars really be for then?

How do you explain the overwhelming amount of high caloric protein bars then (which there's only a limited few for me since the majority are high calorie but not very high carbs as they use mainly sugar alcohols)?

A high cal high carb bar is a MRP essentially. That is their purpose. Not because people want convenient protein.
Click to expand...

Sound like you just need to make your own bars. Would be simple and cheaper than quest doing it for you.
I
 
scope75 said:
Sound like you just need to make your own bars. Would be simple and cheaper than quest doing it for you.
I
Click to expand...

LoL.

What I'm saying is that it's a big market and most certainly one in which if Quest had a SKU for, it would inevitably be a big seller and well received (if they do it with the same quality as their main Quest bars line). I don't understand why people are so resistant to the idea, lulz. It expands the brand whilst not offending their low cal and low carb demographic.

For goodness sakes, the chips they put out seems to be pretty popular, I tried it and they are meh to me, but I bet dat chit still sells like crazy. So if they can sell flavoured cardboard-like snacks and make a killing, I dunno, seems like a great idea to tap into that high cal high carbs bars market as well.
 
kissdadookie said:
Defeats the purpose of using the bars then, LoL.
Click to expand...

Quest is not marketed for higher calorie approaches, it is meant to be "Fit" and more towards general gym goers, hence their apparel selections as well. Its meant to be low calorie, its meant to be healthy, and meant to be for those trying to make a change and help clean up their diets with the "Cheat Clean Mentality"

If you need more carbs nothing wrong with eating on the side, If you want a different bar then look for higher calorie options on the market, plenty to choose from
 
Keeping costs down would be a factor.

Isnt palm oil destroying habitats for a lot of endangered animals?
 
kissdadookie said:
LoL.

What I'm saying is that it's a big market and most certainly one in which if Quest had a SKU for, it would inevitably be a big seller and well received (if they do it with the same quality as their main Quest bars line). I don't understand why people are so resistant to the idea, lulz. It expands the brand whilst not offending their low cal and low carb demographic.

For goodness sakes, the chips they put out seems to be pretty popular, I tried it and they are meh to me, but I bet dat chit still sells like crazy. So if they can sell flavoured cardboard-like snacks and make a killing, I dunno, seems like a great idea to tap into that high cal high carbs bars market as well.
Click to expand...

I don't like the company, but what about the MusclePharm bars? Not completely what you suggested, but closer.
 
Hahah I clearly don't know **** about bars. Bars are too expensive, I buy them once in a blue moon. Seems like we got some millionaires on this board making it rain Quest Bars with the way they are fiending for them!
 
Chips are a cool concept, but not really for me. The powder is expensive... the bars though, perfectly priced and great tasting for such an impressive macro profile.

I'm as happy as Ive been with the bars, just got a box of coconut cashew yesterday. Perhaps my fav flavor, it never gets old even after like ten boxes lol.
 
SwolenONE said:
Chips are a cool concept, but not really for me. The powder is expensive... the bars though, perfectly priced and great tasting for such an impressive macro profile. I'm as happy as Ive been with the bars, just got a box of coconut cashew yesterday. Perhaps my fav flavor, it never gets old even after like ten boxes lol.
Click to expand...
chips are gross

I've had a few different kinds of protein chips

Haven't had quest but If I were going to eat chips, ****ing Doritos all day. Don't want to ruin a good thing lol
 
Chef Irvine or new Met-Rx bars are my go to.
 
The Solution said:
Quest is not marketed for higher calorie approaches, it is meant to be "Fit" and more towards general gym goers, hence their apparel selections as well. Its meant to be low calorie, its meant to be healthy, and meant to be for those trying to make a change and help clean up their diets with the "Cheat Clean Mentality"

If you need more carbs nothing wrong with eating on the side, If you want a different bar then look for higher calorie options on the market, plenty to choose from
Click to expand...

Not really a lot of options on the market for high carbs tbh. Majority of the high cal bars don't have a lot of carbs and their calories are mostly coming from fats. The carbs they do have tend to be sugar alcohols. Including Fit Crunch.

That's why I've been eating just MetRX 100 bars. But I've been through like 7 boxes now, there's only so much of the two readily available flavours I can handle. LoL.
 
kissdadookie said:
Not really a lot of options on the market for high carbs tbh. Majority of the high cal bars don't have a lot of carbs and their calories are mostly coming from fats. The carbs they do have tend to be sugar alcohols. Including Fit Crunch.

That's why I've been eating just MetRX 100 bars. But I've been through like 7 boxes now, there's only so much of the two readily available flavours I can handle. LoL.
Click to expand...
Do not eat real food or have something against real food. Lol
All this bar talk makes it seem like you just bars because you either hate food or can't cook. ;)
 
scope75 said:
Do not eat real food or have something against real food. Lol
All this bar talk makes it seem like you just bars because you either hate food or can't cook. ;)
Click to expand...

Desk job. I already wake up at 4:20 in the morning and sleep at around 8:30 at night. Honestly don't have time to seriously cook. I use to cook though when I didn't train so much (I'm basically doing the amount of work as 2 a days every morning, then work, then home, eat, clean the place a little, shower, and hour or so later, sleep).

I also work Saturdays. Sundays are reserved for chores.
 
kissdadookie said:
Desk job. I already wake up at 4:20 in the morning and sleep at around 8:30 at night. Honestly don't have time to seriously cook. I use to cook though when I didn't train so much (I'm basically doing the amount of work as 2 a days every morning, then work, then home, eat, clean the place a little, shower, and hour or so later, sleep).

I also work Saturdays. Sundays are reserved for chores.
Click to expand...
So when you you actually live then??
Sounds like a hectic schedule.
 
kissdadookie said:
Desk job. I already wake up at 4:20 in the morning and sleep at around 8:30 at night. Honestly don't have time to seriously cook. I use to cook though when I didn't train so much (I'm basically doing the amount of work as 2 a days every morning, then work, then home, eat, clean the place a little, shower, and hour or so later, sleep).

I also work Saturdays. Sundays are reserved for chores.
Click to expand...

No excuse I wake up at 3 and work 11 hours a day 6days a week do all my cooking on my day off and reheat in the microwave.
 
scope75 said:
So when you you actually live then??
Sounds like a hectic schedule.
Click to expand...

When I take time off from work :D

Oscar said:
No excuse I wake up at 3 and work 11 hours a day 6days a week do all my cooking on my day off and reheat in the microwave.
Click to expand...

You seem to have completely ignored the part where I said Sundays are reserved for chores. This includes doing my laundry, shopping for supplies, time to eat, clean the house, etc.

Yeah, I'd cook on Sunday... if I wasn't so damn exhausted all said and done.

Back on subject though, if the argument is going to be made for Quest to not put out a high carbs SKU because one can just eat actual food, why the heck even argue that point then? The only argument then should be Quest bars are pointless, just eat real food. Seems to be some sort of unnecessary defending or being apologetic on behalf of Quest. Which brings me back to my original point, the main stream consumers in which Quest makes most of their money from, likely only bought the effen things based on the brand recognition, not necessarily because it's the low carb low cal company. So it would appear to be a very good idea to expand the line with a high car high cal line of bars as well. For goodness sakes, they sell effen apparel now.

Back to the GNC example. They are practically selling only Quest bars as the only third part protein bar brand in their stores now. Is this because their clientele have magically become carb-a-phobes? No, because they still sell plenty of weight gainers. It's strictly due to brand recognition (and Quest probably throwing a lot of marketing dollars their way).
 
kissdadookie said:
It's not about making the bar just taste good. It's also about providing QUALITY carbs instead of just straight up sugar.

Let's be realistic here, PLENTY of folks whom consume MANY Quest bars whom actually do need extra calories and carbs. MANY. There's a LARGE customer base whom are not cutting and would do well with more carbs and what not in their bars. They are consuming plenty of Quest bars, the main reason? Mainly due to brand recognition. Plain and simple. At this point, it's the brand that is the main selling point for the products, not necessarily the products themselves. For goodness sakes, go walk into a GNC, they essentially no longer carry any other bars apart from chitty house branded ones and the rest being pretty much all Quest.

What would I expect from a Quest High Carbs bar? QUALITY INGREDIENTS. It's not that easy to find a high carb bar with excellent quality ingredients and protein sources. There's plenty of high CALORIES bars but a large portion of their calories are coming from fat sources, not necessarily carbs. Even Fit Crunch which is high calories, there's barely any carbs in those, they are mainly sugar alcohols.
Click to expand...

You're actually totally and completely wrong about this. This argument actually had me laughing out loud dude. Quest caters to a healthfood crowd that is extremely conscious of caloric intake. Most of their consumers are dieting, this is their manta ("on a quest"), and most select Quest BECAUSE it is low in calories relative to protein content.

If Quest followed your advice, it would be the end of their company.
 
kissdadookie said:
Desk job. I already wake up at 4:20 in the morning and sleep at around 8:30 at night. Honestly don't have time to seriously cook. I use to cook though when I didn't train so much (I'm basically doing the amount of work as 2 a days every morning, then work, then home, eat, clean the place a little, shower, and hour or so later, sleep).

I also work Saturdays. Sundays are reserved for chores.
Click to expand...

I work 4 am-8pm 7 days a week (those are work hours, not waking hours) and make time to cook. It's quick and easy unless you're preparing meals for a whole family or something.
 
mr.cooper69 said:
You're actually totally and completely wrong about this. This argument actually had me laughing out loud dude. Quest caters to a healthfood crowd that is extremely conscious of caloric intake. Most of their consumers are dieting, this is their manta ("on a quest"), and most select Quest BECAUSE it is low in calories relative to protein content.

If Quest followed your advice, it would be the end of their company.
Click to expand...

They started out as such, now they are full throttle mainstream. Go into GNC, please explain how inexplicably that virtually the only 3rd party protein bars they carry now are Quest bars.

Did GNC's clientele magically all become calories and carbs conscious? Highly unlikely.

This thing at GNC btw is something that only started happening in the past few months. It appears that Quest **** blocked all other protein bar brands from GNC. Is this because carb consciousness has all of a sudden gained mass hysteria status in the past few months or is it actually because Quest has outgrown the low carb market and now fully targeting the mainstream market?
 
mr.cooper69 said:
I work 4 am-8pm 7 days a week (those are work hours, not waking hours) and make time to cook. It's quick and easy unless you're preparing meals for a whole family or something.
Click to expand...

You sir are a machine

Thank god for stims
 
The Solution said:
i would opt for Chef Irvine, or Krave > MP
Click to expand...

Irvine bars were decent.
Have to admit, the Combat Crunch bars taste good, I was surprised by them.
 
kissdadookie said:
They started out as such, now they are full throttle mainstream. Go into GNC, please explain how inexplicably that virtually the only 3rd party protein bars they carry now are Quest bars.

Did GNC's clientele magically all become calories and carbs conscious? Highly unlikely.

This thing at GNC btw is something that only started happening in the past few months. It appears that Quest **** blocked all other protein bar brands from GNC. Is this because carb consciousness has all of a sudden gained mass hysteria status in the past few months or is it actually because Quest has outgrown the low carb market and now fully targeting the mainstream market?
Click to expand...

Quest doesn't sell that much volume at GNC. They operate through health food stores like Whole Foods
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top