With a low sugar content, Smart Bar Plant has up to double the amount of protein compared with plant-based competitors and is designed for gym goers and sports enthusiasts following any diet including vegans, flexitarians and others seeking a great tasting, high protein bar. Smart Bar Plant is approved as vegan by the Vegetarian Society and contains 100% natural and gluten-free ingredients.
Smart Bar Plant is addressing a rapidly growing market. The number of vegans quadrupled in the four years to 2018 (source: Vegan Society); the meat-free nutrition market is forecast to grow 44% to £1.1 billion between 2018 and 2023 (source: Mintel); and one in five UK adults are now following a flexitarian diet (source: Waitrose).
PhD, which has used plant proteins for nearly a decade in some of its existing range of performance nutrition products, is using pea, soya and nut protein in Smart Bar Plant, which is available in four flavours: Dark Choc Brownie, Choc Peanut Caramel, Choc Toffee Popcorn and Choc Coconut & Cashew. The bars contain 20-23g of protein, only 2-3g of sugar and only 6-9g of total carbohydrates.
Smart Bar Plant, which officially launches at the BodyPower fitness exhibition in Birmingham on 10 May 2019, is being made available through PhD's retail channels including Holland & Barrett and Amazon. It is also available at PhD's newly launched website, www.phd.com, which has a dedicated section for plant-based sports nutrition products.
Stephen Moon, Science in Sport's Chief Executive Officer, said:
“The PhD brand, which has worked with plant proteins for almost a decade, has overcome the traditional weaknesses of plant-based bars – namely low protein, high sugar and poor taste – to create a highly differentiated plant protein bar which offers very high protein and low sugar without compromising on taste. Demand from gym goers and sports enthusiasts for plant-based products continues to grow rapidly from vegan, flexitarian, environment-conscious and other consumers. We see PhD's Smart Bar Plant as a highly innovative product in this market.”