Earlier this year the Mars candy company launched a limited edition version of its high protein Mars bar called Mars Xtra Choc Protein. The product is said to pack more chocolate flavor and compared to the original Mars Protein bar, it also actually has fewer calories with a gram less protein.
After previously trying all of the Mars protein snacks on the market and finding them to be not too bad, we felt we had to give the Mars Xtra Choc Protein bar a try. The brand did get our attention pretty quickly with just the name Xtra Choc, and to be honest we did feel the regular Mars Protein bar could do with exactly that, extra chocolate.
Macros
As far as its nutrition profile goes, the Mars Xtra Choc Protein bar is a lot like the original Mars Protein bar. Each bar provides 18g of protein, 21.8g of carbohydrates with 8.1g of that sugar, 4.2g of fat (2.7g saturated), for a total of 188 calories. It’s as lean as most protein bars on the market and definitely passes as a clean treat.
Review
The Mars Xtra Choc Protein bar is surprisingly smooth to bite into, and it is right from that initial bite that you know why it’s called the Xtra Choc version. The product is filled with chocolate flavor, featuring a realistic chocolate outside, a chocolate infused caramel layer, and a typical doughy center that also feels like it has a bit of a chocolate taste to it.
While there are three parts to the bar — outer, caramel and middle — when you bite into it they do all mesh together rather quickly. The solid chocolate outside brings a realistic chocolate flavor, then you get the sweet chocolate infused caramel, with both making up for the classic chewy protein bar center that’s nowhere near as enjoyable as the other parts.
Summary
Altogether the Mars Xtra Choc Protein bar is a lot better than the original, regular Mars Protein bar. It steps up the amount of chocolate as its name suggests, and comes through with a delicious combination of a somewhat rich, but strong chocolate flavor and a smooth enjoyable consistency.
Unfortunately it doesn’t quite match the actual sugar filled Mars candy bar, although it’s a solid attempt. The consistency is about the same, and it has almost the same amount of chocolate flavor however it isn’t that real deal chocolate.
