Jigaw Bars: Them's Some Tasty Eatin'
***Coupon code at the end of the post***
Franki and I take Focus Factor daily. It's a supplement we take because we feel it works for us, but not everyone feels that way. I was curious about what other people thought about the supplement, and search turned up the site of Pat Sullivan, a health and wellness blogger who markets a variety of health products, including Jigsaw bars a variety of supplements.
I left a comment on Pat's blog, describing our experiences with the product, and Pat engaged me in an e-mail conversation based on that comment, and asked me if I would review his Jigsaw bars if he sent a couple of boxes over.
I agreed to them, and a few days later a box of chocolate, and a box of coconut-almond bars appeared.
The Taste:
They're great. I can say that Pat definitely hit the bar on tastiness and freshness. The lack of sugars, and the lack of the typical flavor of peanut butter and dark chocolate masking soy protein was a welcome change.
The chocolate bars taste like a good chocolate cake, moist and not overpowering, and the coconut almond bars, if you like those flavors, (which I do), offer something that you don't get with other bars - the actual taste of coconut and almond. There's no bitter aftertaste (my biggest complaint about bars), and you're not hungry when you finished.
On the Taste level, the bars totally rock.
The Cost:
One big concern I had was cost. I'm not a health bar expert. I've switched off candy bars, and now eat the Balance Gold energy bars you can buy at Trader Joe's or Walmart, and to be honest, I only eat them because they're like Diet Coke - once you force yourself to drink it for the health reasons, it's not that bad. In fact, I used to smear real peanut butter on them to improve their taste, ruining the health effect I was trying to create.
So I'm not Pat's target audience, because I'm used to paying about a buck a bar for food I don't really like. I asked Pat about this - and he directed me to several other bars he competes with, and they are all the same prices - a box of 12 runs about $35 dollars.
You do get what you pay for - and if you're buying energy bars, it's better to buy good ones, than stale ones bulk.
So I'm giving my approval to the Jigsaw bars - I'm eating enough of them - and I plan on interviewing Pat on this blog, because he has a fascinating story (he created ACT!, the contact software), and he's all over this blog thing - (small business blog marketing, baby!).
If you are considering buying the bars - there's a Buy 1 Get 1 Free Special, and if you have read this far - send me an e-mail and I'll give you a special coupon code to enter for an additional $5 off your order.
At the very least - consider linking Pat's blog as an example of good blog marketing.
Franki and I take Focus Factor daily. It's a supplement we take because we feel it works for us, but not everyone feels that way. I was curious about what other people thought about the supplement, and search turned up the site of Pat Sullivan, a health and wellness blogger who markets a variety of health products, including Jigsaw bars a variety of supplements.
I left a comment on Pat's blog, describing our experiences with the product, and Pat engaged me in an e-mail conversation based on that comment, and asked me if I would review his Jigsaw bars if he sent a couple of boxes over.
I agreed to them, and a few days later a box of chocolate, and a box of coconut-almond bars appeared.
The Taste:
They're great. I can say that Pat definitely hit the bar on tastiness and freshness. The lack of sugars, and the lack of the typical flavor of peanut butter and dark chocolate masking soy protein was a welcome change.
The chocolate bars taste like a good chocolate cake, moist and not overpowering, and the coconut almond bars, if you like those flavors, (which I do), offer something that you don't get with other bars - the actual taste of coconut and almond. There's no bitter aftertaste (my biggest complaint about bars), and you're not hungry when you finished.
On the Taste level, the bars totally rock.
The Cost:
One big concern I had was cost. I'm not a health bar expert. I've switched off candy bars, and now eat the Balance Gold energy bars you can buy at Trader Joe's or Walmart, and to be honest, I only eat them because they're like Diet Coke - once you force yourself to drink it for the health reasons, it's not that bad. In fact, I used to smear real peanut butter on them to improve their taste, ruining the health effect I was trying to create.
So I'm not Pat's target audience, because I'm used to paying about a buck a bar for food I don't really like. I asked Pat about this - and he directed me to several other bars he competes with, and they are all the same prices - a box of 12 runs about $35 dollars.
You do get what you pay for - and if you're buying energy bars, it's better to buy good ones, than stale ones bulk.
So I'm giving my approval to the Jigsaw bars - I'm eating enough of them - and I plan on interviewing Pat on this blog, because he has a fascinating story (he created ACT!, the contact software), and he's all over this blog thing - (small business blog marketing, baby!).
If you are considering buying the bars - there's a Buy 1 Get 1 Free Special, and if you have read this far - send me an e-mail and I'll give you a special coupon code to enter for an additional $5 off your order.
At the very least - consider linking Pat's blog as an example of good blog marketing.
posted by James Durbin @ 9:47 AM PERMALINK
1 Comments:
Thanks for the post Jim. Looking forward to the blog interview.
I do have to comment on "healthy" Balance Bars. Are they really better than a Snickers bar? Well, the name sure sounds like it's better (hooray for marketing), but by no means are these "health bars" when you get past the marketing and look at the ingredients.
Protein Blend (Casein Many people do not effectively break this down during digestion, and it's the cheapest form of protein you can use, Whey Protein Isolate This is good, Milk Protein Concentrate Lactose-intollerant? Look out!, Soy Protein Isolate Increase my estrogen levels? As a 30 year old man, no thanks, Calcium Caseinate another form of Casein) | Corn Syrup Sugar | Sugar More sugar | Glycerin | Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil | High Fructose Corn Syrup MORE sugar | Roasted Peanuts | Gelatin | Maltitol Sugar alcohol | High Maltose Corn Syrup Sugar alcohol, but I've never heard of this one | Contains 2% or less of...the lowest quality forms of random vitamins and minerals.
Balance Bars aren't even in the same league as Jigsaw Bars. And knowing what I've learned about the cost of manufacturing these, I would estimate that Jigsaw Bars are 7 to 9 times more costly to build.
Now, onto "healthy" Diet Coke... Among other things, the sweeteners are excitotoxins that cause horrible neuro damage, the phosphoric acid depletes the body of minerals, namely magnesium, etc. etc. etc.
I know. It's a PITA to figure out what is REALLY healthy and what isn't because these damn marketers know how to spin everything. ;-) Stick with Vitamin P. :)
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