Vilgain — Double Trouble Protein Bars
Chocolate-coated protein bars built on milk protein with a soft base and a flavoured filling, without the palm oil and syrup that fill most of the category.
Why we love it
So many "protein bars" are really chocolate bars with a marketing makeover. Look at the ingredients on a typical one and you'll find a blend of lower-cost soy proteins, glucose-fructose syrup, and enough palm and shea oil to make the "high protein" claim feel a bit beside the point. Vilgain's Double Trouble and Trouble bars are a proper exception, and that's what won me over.
The protein here is mostly milk protein with a little pea protein and hydrolysed collagen. The fat comes from coconut oil rather than palm kernel or shea, there are no synthetic colours or flavourings, and it's sweetened with steviol glycosides and only a small amount of sugar. Each bar has a soft milk-based centre with a flavoured filling running through it, all finished in real chocolate rather than a compound coating.
There's salted caramel peanut, hazelnut cream, blueberry cheesecake and a few more besides, and the format makes it easy to work out which ones you'll actually reach for again.