Gear Test Giveaway – Greenbelly

Make it biodegradable, please.

Did I miss it on the website?

That will definitely be the goal for this next go round. Thanks Kevin.

Hey Carol. Please check the product images on the site. The back labels list out the ingredients here: http://greenbellybar.com/products/12-variety-box.

Thanks for the help everyone. Ill close the entries and post the winners tonight.

Thanks so much for all of the interest! Ill definitely plan on doing more of these giveaway-for-feedback posts as the business grows.

But for now, congrats to:

Nathan Meyerson (NathanMeyerson)
Tad Englund (bestbuilder)
John Davis (billybooster)

Ill email you tomorrow for addresses and look forward to your thoughts and suggestions!

I didn't even win the free bars, but I got a nice note from Chris yesterday, including a 15% discount code.

I bit, and oredered a sampler pack; $11.50 for one each of the three flavors. $3.85 or whatever-it-is seem slike alot, but thewse puppies are >600 calories each, which really is sort of like a meal. The nutrient profile is way more carb-centric than I'd like (95-100 g. vs. 18 g. protein), but worth a shot.

The web site is good, the transaction was easy; the only downside so far is that shipping was over $5.00 on a <$10 order…

I'll check back in when they arrive to share my impression.

Thaks again!

I bit on the discount also. If the taste is good, I can see this being a great solution to no cook trips.

Hopefully they will.

Ben

@Richard Anytime! I hear you on the shipping – it is expensive. We currently use USPS small flat rate boxes which run more than $5 per shipment on those 3 packs though. The upside to flat rate USPS is the order arrives within 2 days and we can track all shipments (which was nice around xmas time). As our orders continue to increase, we will probably look into more economical shipping options for those small, 3 pack orders. Thanks for your thoughts!

@Ben Rock n roll. Yea – who likes to cook?!

I also received a 15% discount so I ordered the 12 bar sampler. Just arrived home from a 3 day trip. While I would like more protein and a bit more flavor, these bars sustained me much longer than I anticipated. I really like the natural ingredients and wholesome fats. I think Chris is on to something here. To get more flavor would mean adding more bad stuff…so I am totally fine with the ways these bars taste.

My usual meal plan calls for a hot breakfast then I simply munch about every 2-3 hours on the trail then have a hot dinner. I noticed with GreenBelly that I didn't feel the need to snack as often. My routine on this trip was this:
Breakfast about 7:00 AM then a Clif Builder Bar about 9:30. About 12:00 I would have 1 of the 2 bars in a GreenBelly package. About 3:00 I'd have the other bar. Then about 5:00 – 5:30 I'd have a hot dinner and then a snack before bed. Usually in the middle of the day I'd grab a handful of trailmix between the bars… didn't feel the need to do that on this trip.

Temps were between 18 and 55, and I was on the Ozark Highlands Trail.

Oh, I the day these arrived I had one for lunch and was surprised how long it held me over.

Great ingredients and I totally support DIY start ups like Chris has going. However, what's the deal with all the sugar? I mean, the first ingredient is tapioca syrup aka sugar, albeit a healthier one. I think these would best be suited if you're on the go, however, if you have 3 of these a day that's over 100g a day. Looking at the bars, sugar comprises of about 15% of the calories while protein is only 5% and carbohydrates 50%.

Anyway, I love the natural ingredients, except for the agave nectar which is more of a buzz word sugar that has been shown to have the same glycemic effect as high fructose corn syrup.

I thought you might appreciate this feedback for whatever it's worth.

Cheers

I agree on the sugar. I would eat only 1 a day. But love the natural ingredients. I'd get my protein from another source.

Hey Chris,

Have you had any luck finding a biodegradable and compostable option? As far as I know, we are the only company manufacturing biodegradable and compostable film packaging. It's been a long, long process. You'd be amazed how many companies (and consumers) say they want eco packaging but aren't willing to pay for it. We've started a coalition of companies that are passionate about compostable/biodegradable packaging and are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

As with any "new" process, things take time. There is really only one company at Whole Foods that is using our biodegradable and compostable film for stand up pouches (gusseted bags with zippers).

I'd be happy to review your packaging and let you know my thoughts and perhaps I can help you on future projects – whether they are compostable and biodegradable or recyclable and traditional.

Feel free to PM me and I will send you my contact information.

Sorry for the delay, just now seeing this guys.

@Reggie. Glad they filled you up!

@Brian. Great question on the sugar. There were two main considerations here.
1) Fuel. For the other nutrients, we simply took the FDA's daily values and divided them by three. But, there is not any recommended amount for sugar. Sugar can be a very powerful fuel and we wanted to provide enough to keep people going.
2) Taste. A criticism when we first started sampling (actually at Trail Days in Damascus) was that people wanted the bars to be sweeter. After many more formulas, we hopefully created a good, not too sweet, not too salty balance.

@Tyson. Haha – no doubt. Well aware that the biodegradable packaging will be more expensive. Id love to discuss in the coming months as we prepare our larger runs and can get a cost breakdown analysis. I am hopeful the biodegradable will work out though. Sending you a PM now.

Chris

Hey everyone. Thanks so much for your support on BPL. We just launched our Kickstarter campaign this morning if you cared to check it out!

bit.ly/bellykick

I look forward to tasting these bad boys. Good luck with the Kickstarter project.

Thanks Colin!

Chris,
Just a heads up and no big deal, but you need to disclose your affiliation/interest in products you recommend, sell, offer, etc.

Consider changing your profile "Locale" to your company name or web site, or your avatar to your company logo.

Good Luck with the project.

Sure thing Greg. Will do. Thanks for the heads up.

Looking forward to trying these, may turn out to be the soylent replacement for me.

Edit: Feedback on the KS page, the $ per oz thing is pretty confusing and to me useless. I rather see $ per calorie.

Thanks so much for your support Ricky. Its funny you mention that – we actually talked about that exact thing. The thought was that, while many of our customers prioritize calories, more probably prioritize the overall nutrition (calories included). In which case listing every nutrition amount (calories, fats, protein, etc) per oz would be too complicated. We also wanted people to see that while these are expensive for a "bar", they are relatively inexpensive considering amount of food they provide. Therefore, we opted for the $/oz.

Thanks for the feedback. Always good to hear.