Clif’s introducing Chocolate Cherry Shot Bloks flavor. It has 50mg caffeine per serving, two servings per pack. Clif’s PR man Chris Randall’s says Black Cherry is their top selling Bloks flavor, so they wanted to expand on that.
It’s more of a dark, slightly bitter chocolate flavor, not milk chocolate. Available in the fall, likely just before Interbike. We tasted one and the chocolate is very subtle, mostly a cherry flavor and pretty decent.
Route Blanc, new Sauvignon Blanc from the Clif Family Winery. Supposedly pairs very well with their Panforte bars.
ABOUT THE SOY
We’re not the only ones that hear about soy protein’s not-so-wonderful processing. Clif Bar is well aware of the complaints and concerns.
Randall says the soy protein isolate in the bars does use a hexane process for now, but it’s something that’s a priority for them to find a better alternative. The hexane allows more protein to be extracted from the raw ingredients, deriving the most benefit from the plant and making the process more efficient.
Why soy? It offers a good amino acid profile and works for vegetarians without (generally) offending others. If you’re averse to it, you’ll be happy to know the new Panforte bar doesn’t have soy in it. And it’s delicious.
Another priority project is developing a recyclable and/or compostable package.
On the flip side, they used more than 65 million pounds of organic ingredients last year, their Rox use rBST-free whey protein and they employ numerous other practices that are more expensive but the right thing to do.
