Built Bars: new protein bars (and other products) honest review

​There are affiliate links throughout this blog post for your convenience, where I can earn a small commission. I never support a product or brand I don't personally use and enjoy, but if you'd like to learn more, you can head to this page on my blog!
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Update 8/18: Built Bar's new website should be live and ready to go at 11:00 a.m. MST (1:00 p.m. EST) today! You should now be able to access it through the links in this post.
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A lot of you on Weight Watchers know and love Built Bar because they're one of the lowest SmartPoint options out there for protein bars. I also recognize that a lot of you were introduced to Built Bar through me! They just released their brand new formula of bars and also some new products (including revamped Built Boost and a new flavor, BuiltGo).

As some of you may know, I stepped away from Built Bar for a little while after their big sale this summer because of some mold issues with their old formula. If you saw my Instagram stories then, then you know whats up. But I want to be completely honest and transparent from the get-go instead of sugar-coating anything! If you don't know what happened, feel free to send me a message and I'd be more than happy to explain in more depth, but I don't want to beat a dead horse here. There were also, on top of this, a lot of issues with bars not being the size listed on the label. 

But, I wanted to give Built Bar a fair shot at redemption. With a new product, new formula, and promises to have no more issues with inconsistency - especially in terms of sizing - I thought it would be unfair of me to not at least give them a try and see if they've improved. They offered to send me (as well as other ambassadors) samples of their new products, and I accepted with cautious optimism. So, I'll be providing my honest thoughts and feedback here, even if it isn't all sunshine and rainbows - yes, even as an affiliate!  

So, that all being said, let's get to it, shall we?

Built Bars

Like I said, I went into this cautiously optimistic, but I wasn't disappointed. If anything, I was actually really pleasantly surprised! The new bars have a really nice consistency. They're significantly less chewy than the last ones, so they stick to your teeth less but still have a really soft texture. The best way I can describe it is "almost airy." 

The flavors are still really nice (sweet but not too sweet) and they're still coated with dark chocolate. You'll notice that the calories on these bars have increased, but for the most part, the SmartPoints values should still be pretty low since they increased the protein per bar as well. I've also noticed now with the bars I have had from my mixed box that the sizing has been consistent, and just based on eyeballing them, they all look to be about the same (whereas before, I could visually see which bars were smaller than the last). I've also noticed that the flavors with nuts actually do have little tiny bits of nuts in them like they claimed too (in the past, this was kind of hit or miss for me).

All in all, I'm really grateful that I gave Built another chance. They have some new flavors that are exciting, too, such as cookies-n-cream (a limited flavor that I used to love!), Apple Almond Crisp, and Lemon Almond Cheesecake.

If you're looking to trying the new bar, you can order them on Built's website and get 10% off when you use the coupon code MagicallyFit.

Built Boost

I almost didn't try these (and I'll explain why in a moment) but one thing I will point out is that the flavors have a new naming convention. Other than the Root Beer Float and Tropical Twist, there's really no indication as to what these taste like. Even the new packaging eliminates any pictures to show you what it could have in it (it used to have pictures of the fruit that it was flavored like), and the ingredients list is pretty vague.

​This was a red flag for me since cherry flavoring makes me sick, and it took quite a bit of back and forth via emails to convince the staff that cherry flavoring making me sick is not just me being dramatic with my preferences... but I finally found out the only one with that flavor is Cool Breeze (so I'll be giving those to Anthony to try). Phew! I've cut out soda entirely since I'm trying to reduce my intake of things that make me bloated, so I'm looking forward to trying the new Root Beer Float flavor in case I'm ever craving it. So far, I like the Cloud Nine (grape-y!), Red Ruby (strawberry lemonade-y), and Tropical Twist a lot.

*Update 8/18: Looks like now that the site is live, there's no wondering what the flavors are - they have descriptions on each individual item on the website! 

If you're looking to order these, you can stock up on the Built Bar website and get 10% off with the coupon MagicallyFit.

Built Go

I haven't tried Built Go yet and honestly am not sure I will any time soon. They included a little card with this saying what it could be used for, and it included "at home" and "gaming" as some of the times you could enjoy it, but this reminds me a lot of Gu Energy Gels. I don't know that I'd have this unless it was to pick on while running a half marathon (which isn't in my future to do another one any time soon! I'm focusing on speed for shorter distances, so don't know that I'll need this). 

However, it does remind me a lot of the energy gels you can get for runners, so I would probably recommend it for that. But, like anything, try it before you're out on your run in case it bothers you! Nothing worse than trying something new on race day and regretting it.

Also, I would not recommend having this and Built Boost at the same time. Both contain 10,000% of your daily recommended intake of B12, and there is such a thing as too much B vitamin in your system. You'd likely be fine (though if you do have concerns for your specific needs, please check with your doctor before taking any supplements), but if you notice your skin start to break out a little bit, that is likely why.

​If you're looking to order these, you can stock up on the Built Bar website and get 10% off with the coupon MagicallyFit.

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Final Thoughts

Overall, I think Built is definitely on the right path. I think the new bars have a great new formula, and I hope that their new processes allow for the issues people had in the past to stay in the past. I'm a little on the fence about Built Go being a great product for everyone, but I do think it has its purpose for athletes putting in a lot of physical exertion who need to fuel up quick and during exercise. I'm looking forward to the future of this product and definitely feel comfortable recommending it again!