Sunrise Energy Bars Review (2023)

As someone who loves to try out new vegan products – I was intrigued by this new find at Costco! Keep reading for my Sunrise Energy Bars review, from the perspective of a vegan and dietitian!

Disclaimer: This article is just providing education, and the writers personal opinion. It is not a substitute for medical or dietary advice. Always talk to your doctor about any health concerns, if you want to make major dietary changes, or take a supplement. Please note that prices, ingredients, and nutrition facts may change. See our Disclaimers for more details.

Quick Summary

Overall I enjoyed these bars, and would probably buy them again!

Here’s a quick breakdown of some key pros and cons:

Pros:

• A sweet and tasty snack
• Low sodium
• Decent amount of fiber
• Includes whole food ingredients like fruit, seeds, oats and nuts.
• Costco price seems good for a organic bar

Cons:

• Some might find these expensive
• Looking for a protein bar? (this isn’t it)

Check out my YouTube Short for the taste test!

What are Sunrise energy bars?

Sunrise Energy bars, are bars made by the brand: Universal Bakery which is under Best Express Foods, Inc(1).

Energy bars are dense like protein bars, but typically have less protein than bars advertised as protein bars.

As shown on the front of the box above, they are advertised as organic, vegan, containing zero trans fat per serving, and have omega-3 fatty acids (this comes from Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) )

These aren’t to be confused with the Aussie Bites – as those have dairy and honey (not vegan)!

Where Can I Buy Them?

I bought a big box at Costco!

Here’s some other places where you can potentially get them in the US as listed on brands website:

• Costco
• Aldi
• Sprouts
• Safeway
• Publix
• Nob Hill Foods
• Fresh Thyme
• Albertson’s

Sunrise Energy Bars Review

Taste

These bars are very sweet despite having only 6 grams of sugar (only 3 grams are added sugar).

The crunch from the seeds and quinoa help to balance out the sweetness.

Texture is similar to to a Clif bar, but more pliable seedy. It was also a bit crumbly, but not excessively crumbly. It might not travel the best.

Husband says he was happily surprised at how good they taste!

Portion

These rectangle shaped bars were about as long as my pointer finger (mind you, I have a fairly small hand), and about as thick as a clif bar.

I thought they were a fine size for a snack, but of course, this is extremely subjective.

This box was huge and bulky, and states there are 32 bars in total as noted in the picture under the nutrition section.

Ingredients

Here’s the ingredients listed on the back of package as shown in the picture above (please note, ingredients may change- check your own package).

Ingredients: Organic rolled oats, organic sunflower oil, organic evaporated cane juice, organic tapioca syrup, organic dried apples, organic dried cranberries, organic raisins, organic tapioca flour, organic quinoa, organic sunflower seeds, organic flax seeds, organic flax meal, organic shredded coconut, organic oat flour, organic pumpkin seeds, organic olive oil, organic sugar, organic chia seeds, organic cashews, organic cinnamon, vanilla extract, sea salt, baking soda.”

I appreciate that oats are the number one ingredient!

The higher the ingredient on the ingredients list, the more weight that food contributes to the whole product.

This bar is sweetened with both actual fruit (ie: cranberries, dried apple, raisins) and sweeteners, such as evaporated cane juice. While it would be healthier to just include the whole fruit, many consumers are probably looking for more sweetness.

I love that several seeds are included! Chia and flax seeds contribute most to the omega-3 content in the form of Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

I would have liked to see only flax meal instead of flax seeds as flaxseeds may pass through your stomach undigested and so all their nutritional goodness isn’t well absorbed.

Nutrition

Here’s some information pulled from the nutrition facts in the picture above! (as a reminder, ingredients/nutrition info may change).

These nutrition facts are for a one bar (28 gram) serving of the Sunrise Energy bars:

• Calories: 150
• Fat: 8 grams
• Saturated Fat: 1.5 grams
• Trans Fat: 0 grams
• Sodium: 75 milligrams
• Carbohydrates: 17 grams
• Fiber: 3 grams
• Total Sugars: 6 grams (3 grams of added sugar)
• Protein: 2 grams

I love that this snack provides 3 grams of fiber- (most Americans aren’t getting enough fiber! (2)and mostly healthy fats.

These come from the various whole food seeds like pumpkin, chia and flax seeds. The oats, dried apples, cranberries and raisins contribute a little fiber as well.

At 75 milligrams of sodium per serving, it’s also a low sodium snack(3)!

The small amount of saturated fats likely comes from the shredded coconut and sunflower oil. And evaporated cane sugar and tapioca syrup contribute a small amount of added sugars.

If you are watching your saturated fat and added sugars, these numbers can add up if you eat a couple bars- so keep that in mind!

Finally, it’s important to note that this is not a protein bar! That’s not necessarily a bad thing! Just consider keeping an overall healthy dietary pattern in mind.

Price

I got a big package (net weight of 2 pounds (32 ounces)!) at Costco for $10.99 USD.

This translates to about about 32 cents per ounce.

Now, it would be pretty hard to compare this to other prices when you factor in the membership price for this item at Costco.

So I tried to compare it to another oat centric snack available in bulk at Costco- Bobo’s oat bites(4).

These are $15.99 USD for 31.2 ounces- about 51 cents per ounce (please note these items are very different, and the bob’s oat bites are individually wrapped whereas the Sunrise Energy bars are not).

I was a bit surprised though that the organic Sunrise Energy bars are cheaper!

Would I Buy Organic Sunrise Energy Bars Again?

Based on the overall value (price, count, nutrition etc), I personally would buy organic sunrise energy bars again!

Here’s quick recap of the pros and cons (remember, this is based on my opinion, things like price and taste can be subjective).

Pros

• Sweet. Doesn’t have a protein-like flavor.
• Focus on whole food ingredients
• Organic ingredients
• Decent amount of fiber
• Low in sodium
• No trans fat
• Vegan friendly (pro for me as a vegan!)
• Organic (if that’s important to you!)
• Decent price for a organic product

Cons

• Price
• If you are looking for a high protein bar, this ain’t it.
• Buying the big box form Costco? It’s a bit bulky!
• The saturated fat and added sugars can add up especially if you eat a few a day.
• A bit crumbly.

I hope you found this article helpful! If you’ve tried these bars, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
If you enjoyed it, you might like to view some of my other posts about vegan food/reviews including:
-Tattooed Chef Acai Bowl Review
-Aldi Vegan Meatballs Review
-Do Vegans Eat Cheese?
–Is Tofu Vegan?
If you want to keep up with our helpful content for vegans/veg curious folks: sign up for Plant Powered You’s e-mail subscribers list and let me know what vegan food item I should review next time!   ❤✌