Welcome to this review of the Hop Step Jump Energy Bars product. If you are interested in fitness, you undoubtedly have seen the plethora of energy or health bars and perhaps, if you’re anything like me,  have tried some (or all!) of them either before, during or post workout.

The problem with energy bar or energy nutrition bars is that they often are eaten only as a last resort, or, because the carbs  provide a quick energy boost. They rarely are eaten for their taste. I know I am willing to sacrifice taste if I know I’m getting a lot of necessary nutrients pre- and post-workout. And I suspect that feeling is the same for many workout aficionados throughout the world (I know it is with my personal friends and acquaintances).

The ideal scenario is a healthy snack bar that 1) provides energy, 2) is inexpensive, 3) is made with proven healthy ingredients, and, 3) actually tastes great. Finding that combination is about as rare as rain in the desert, unfortunately. But if it is ever met, it will be a large opportunity as the nutritional bar market is over $1 billion dollars a year and growing.

A new entry into this marketplace is a product from the “Sidewalk Chef” Shashank Agtey with his product Hop Step Jump Energy Bars. Chef Agtey believes he has found the right blend of ingredients, which includes five superfoods. After researching him a little bit, I’m very impressed with his resume. He’s an immigrant who came here at the age of 17 and entered the culinary arts. He was going to be a pilot but his eyesight forbade that, unfortunately. He has been a chef for over 40 years and has an impressive resume, achieving 5-star chef status. He was also chosen to cook for two US presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, which is quite an achievement as well. He’s also an entrepreneur, which is something I certainly respect.

He’s also an accomplished marathon runner and that combination, his culinary experience combined with his athletic endeavors, encouraged him to create an energy bar that would combine taste and results. Moreover, he wanted to create an energy bar that was an “All Day Energy Bar System,” which is the product’s USP. But is it? Well,that’s what this review is all about. Let’s discuss the product in depth now.

Hop Step Jump Energy Bars Product Features & Benefits

Let’s first talk about the Hop Step Jump product quality. They are made or manufactured in a GMP audited facility, specifically Element Bars in Chicago, Illinois. GMP standards are rigorous and this is a real indication of product cleanliness and quality. GMP standards comprise everything from sanitation of facilities, product creation guidelines, packaging and more. Its standards are exacting but in today’s hyper competitive supplement environment, it’s necessary.

Chef Agtey says that the product is “clean,” “baked,” and “natural.” Based on its ingredient list, the energy bar is certainly clean and natural. (You can read more about its ingredients below.) As for the “baked,” element, I was at first a little leery of that as baking or cooking anything too long destroys the sensitive enzymes, which are so essential to assimilation and health. The Hop Step Jump bars are baked for only five minutes, Chef Shashank told me in a private email so the nutrient’s enzymes will be intact for optimal assimilation.

Moreover, the creator of the Hop Step Jump Energy Bar products says the health food bars are, “A system” that he has created with the Hop bar (the one in yellow packaging) being the pre-workout bar, which is ostensibly created to supply you with energy for your workouts; the Step bar (the one in red packaging) is to help sustain you with high intra-workout energy levels; and lastly the “Jump” bar (the one in green packaging) is the post workout energy nutrition bar meant to help you recover and refuel.

It is also noteworthy to point out that there are no artificial flavorings or preservatives in any of the three bars. This is important as supplement fraud is, unfortunately, rampant in the industry, which you can read about here: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm246744.htm. This product can be most thought of, in my opinion, as a health and fitness product although it can certainly be of interest to those who want sustained energy for getting through work or as a healthy snack — that’s how I’ve been using them.

The core capabilities of these bars are that they provide genuine energy and proper amounts of protein — especially the Jump bar. All of the bars have protein but the Jump bar is specifically designed for post-workout recovery where protein, specifically the complete pea protein that supplies all the amino acids the body cannot synthesize.

Ingredients of the Hop Step Jump Energy Bar Product

Most notably, the bars have five superfoods in them and other quasi superfood ingredients as well. The five superfoods it has include bee pollen, maca powder, chia seeds, honey and beet powder. (Some say cardamon or cardamom is a superfood, too, but I disagree.)

Here is the list of the ingredients of the product:

• VitaFiber^TM
• Almonds
• Semi-sweet chocolate
• Whey protein powder
• Chick pea powder (also called besan)
• Honey
• Coconut sugar
• Maca powder
• Peanut powder
• Chia seeds

The VitaFiber “is a better-tasting, better-for you, low calorie natural sweetener providing a good source of pre-biotics and non-GMO dietary fiber.” It is made from corn starch or tapioca starch in this “best energy bar.”

One interesting element of the bars is that they all share the same ingredient list. However, the Step energy bar has beet powder added to it while the Jump energy bar has pea protein added to it. Moreover, the Step energy bar doesn’t have pea protein nor does the Jump energy bar have beet powder but both have bee pollen.

The bee pollen version of the health bar, the Hop bar is purposefully built with bee pollen as its energy-giving ingredient.

Nutritional Profile

The nutritional profile of the energy bars is as follows:

• Serving size: 1 bar 40 grams
• Amount per serving:
  • Calories 140
  • Total fat 6 grams (saturated fat 1 g)
    • Trans fat 0 g
  • Cholesterol 0 mg
  • Sodium 20 mg
  • Potassium 160 mg
  • Total carbs 20 g
  • Fiber 13 g
  • Sugars 5 g
  • Protein 8 g
  • Vitamin A 0% DV (daily value)
  • Vitamin C 4% DV
  • Calcium 6% DV
  • Iron 4% DV
  • Thiamin 6% DV
  • Riboflavin 15% DV
  • Niacin 2% DV
  • Folate 4% DV
  • Phosphorus 15% DV
  • Magnesium 10% DV
  • Copper 10% DV
  • Manganese 15% DV

As you can see, it is definitely a low carb and a low fat product. It is also low protein as compared to some of the other more notable protein bars I’ve reviewed. However, this is not per se a protein bar product, it’s an energy health bar — that is its niche and category.

Flavors

The flavors are bee pollen, beet powder and pea protein. The taste of all are excellent. While I’m not a chef like the product’s creator, I understand presentation is the first element of a dining experience. The bars have a nice drizzle of chocolate on top are about 40 grams in weight and taste good.

The beet flavored one, the Step energy bar (the red packaged one) if you want to call it that, is not overpowering at all. (It’s actually my favorite of the three.) Beet powder is fantastic for your health with clinical studies proving beets lower high blood pressure.

As I wrote on my CayennePepper.info website, “In his bооk, Cаn Wе Lіvе 150 Yеаrѕ?, Mіkhаіl Tombak, Ph.D. (2005), ѕауѕ thаt nоn-раѕtеurіzеd, frеѕhlу made bееt juісе drunk оnсе a dау bеаtѕ hіgh blood рrеѕѕurе. It also hе ѕауѕ it hеlрѕ dissolve kіdnеу, blаddеr аnd liver stones аѕ wеll. Mоrеоvеr, іt also іmрrоvеѕ the blооd ѕtruсturе аѕ wеll hеlріng to dеtоxіfу blооd, аnd aids іn thе сrеаtіоn оf red blооd сеllѕ. In addition, a 2008 ѕtudу discussed іn the Mаrсh 2008 іѕѕuе оf Hуреrtеnѕіоn found thаt drіnkіng just twо сuрѕ оf freshly made bееt juісе rеduсеd blood рrеѕѕurе bу uр tо 10 роіntѕ fоr 24 hоurѕ. Thеrе are nо ѕіdе effects еіthеr. Compare thаt tо hіgh blооd pressure mеdісаtіоnѕ, whісh саuѕе arrhythmias, dіzzіnеѕѕ, heart аttасkѕ, muѕсlе cramps, аnd even ѕtrоkеѕ.”

Yes, beets are fantastic and under appreciated. They also provide valuable nutrients that boost the immune system and have a nutrient called betaine that helps protect cells, proteins and enzymes from various external stresses. Betaine also improves the all-important vascular health.

The Hop bar, the yellow packaged one, is ostensibly the pre-workout bar, but I find it is fantastic if you just need an energy boost throughout the day. The first taste one gets of it is that of chocolate, which everyone loves. I think this is noteworthy as while I love bee pollen, I don’t like its chalky taste, which is why I put mine in capsule form myself or into herbal tea with honey. With the Hop bar, the taste is of granola-like chocolate flavor essentially.

I am a big fan of bee pollen have been for years. I’ve been using bee pollen since 1982. Bee pollen is a superfood that has every vitamin, amino acid, mineral and enzyme necessary to sustain life. It is amazing for your health with a full array of health benefits including increased libido, energy, improved sleep, etc. — trust me this is a short list!

Continuing, the Jump bar, the green packaged one, is the post-workout bar. It’s one additional ingredient is pea protein, which is a complete source of protein that provides all the amino acids the body can’t synthesize on its own. It’s also an excellent of arginine, a critical amino acid necessary in protein synthesis. How does it taste? Good with a slightly different pungent taste as compared to the others. When I say “pungent” I don’t mean that it’s unpleasant. It’s a subtle but noticeable difference.

In essence, all taste good and are a step above most nutrition health bars on the marketplace, in my opinion.

Side Effects

These energy bars are safe to eat for almost all. However, if you have an allergy to bee pollen or bee honey, you need to consult with your doctor first before eating this product. While it is exceedingly rare for a person to experience a reaction to bee pollen, it has happened. If a person is allergic to bee pollen, they can go into anaphylactic shock. Anaphylaxis is a sever reaction to a food, which requires immediate medical attention or the person so afflicted could die. That is a worse case scenario, of course, with the vast majority not having to worry about such an outcome. Nevertheless, if you suspect you have such an allergy, you would need to talk to your doctor first. I do think that a severe reaction would be absolutely minimal as the amount of bee pollen in each bar is .05 grams.

The ingredient profile also has peanuts in it and if you have a peanut allergy, you shouldn’t eat this product as well, unfortunately.

Price

It appears at this point in time they are only selling directly from HopStepJumpEnergyBars.com here. Currently, they are being sold in a few different options:

• Mixed Case with five of each bar is $41.25 USD (United States Dollar)
• A 15-pack or box of either the Hop or the Energy or the Jump energy bars go for $37.50 USD
• The three bars per case option (a tester option) is $5.00 USD
• The product price for an individual bar is basically $2.50, or with the mixed case $2.75, which is comparable to other products in the marketplace.

Guarantee?

I see no product guarantee if the product is bought online. As this is a new company, I suspect if someone is really dissatisfied with their purchase, the company would honor a return request.

Customer Reviews of the Hop Step Jump Energy Bars

This a new product that has, as of this writing, barely hit the market. Thus, they haven’t really gotten their legs with the ever-growing nutrition bar market. In the video contained at their site and here in this review article, you can see five people who give the product good comments.

Pros?

• It is made in a GMP-compliant facility — a real mark of product quality
• Each of the bars has in its ingredient list superfoods including bee pollen (a true preeminent superfood), maca flour, chia seeds and honey
• There are no artificial flavorings or preservatives; the bars are all natural with nothing artificial contained in them

The bars are also:

• Non-GMO
• Vegetarian
• Caffeine-free
• Low calorie
• Gluten-free

In addition:

• The flour base is chick pea flour
• An excellent source of fiber with about 13 grams
• Formulated by a 5-Star chef

Cons?

• It has sugar (sucrose) in it (albeit a very small amount — 5 grams)
• It has a small amount of soy in it

Miscellaneous

I find it interesting that the naming of the bar is Hop Step Jump. Chef Agtey said he named it thus as it comes from his track background. I think it would’ve been better to name it as Hop Skip Jump as that is idiomatic English. Naming it Hop Skip Jump Energy Bars would’ve served to give instant mindshare somewhat in the minds of consumers and that kind of recognition could be invaluable as every native English speaker has heard the phrase, “Hop, Skip, and Jump.” Of course, if there are legal ramifications forbidding it, I understand the naming. But as a marketing professional who has significant copywriting experience, I would’ve named it Skip and not Step.

Conclusion

Is the Hop Step Jump Energy Bar product the best energy bar on the market? That is, of course, debatable. After personally testing and tasting this bar, I do think this bar will garner some attention in the marketplace. When I used the bars before and after workouts, I felt a good, tangible energy stream. I can tell you my aerobic workouts are intense and I could feel no diminution of energy during or after the workout — I felt great and I attribute that to the Hop Step Jump bar I ate pre-workout.

What about flavor? I do like the flavors and as I said, my favorite is the Step option. There is a very subtle difference between the Hop bar (the yellow-colored paper or bee pollen one) and the Step one (the red-papered one or beet powdered one). Truthfully, all three taste very comparably but there are differences. Overall, I do think the Quest Bar products, in particular the cookie dough one, taste better. (Not all of the Quest Bar products are good tasting, though, to be honest.) However, the fiber and energy these bars give is something that I really like. I also like the fact that the Hop Step Jump bar product has superfoods in it. Its competition does not. That is a key, distinguishing factor.

Another point: The consistency is solid. That sounds odd, I know. So, what do I mean? Some energy bar recipes seem to call for too much of one particular ingredient thus making them either too hard or too soft. This product is definitely solid in its constituency although it doesn’t hurt the teeth to tear into them. It’s chewy and leaves one with a full feeling after eating the bar.

Overall consensus? I happily recommend this product and I like this product as well, which is why I give it a 5 star out of 5 star rating. It is certainly in the top two or top three of energy bars I’ve tried in the past three years — and I’ve tried them all! So, yes, in my opinion, it’s one of the best nutrition bars on the market today.

Where Can I Buy the Hop StepJump Energy Bars?

As of this moment in time, you can buy the Hop Step Jump Energy Bar product online at HopStepJumpEnergyBars.com. You can also see the retail establishments where you can buy them here. Currently, they are in multiple locations in Florida, one in Brooklyn, NY, and one in the Virgin Islands. Your best bet would be to buy them online. The company that makes this product does not have an affiliate program so you can be assured my review is as honest and unbiased as I can make it  — although I try to do that with any review I write.

I hope this review of the Hop Step Jump Energy Bars has been useful to you.

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