Nutrition Facts: 190 Calories, 4.5g Fat, 13g Carbs, 24g Protein
Barebells protein bars are hands down the best protein bars on the market today. In terms of taste and texture, nothing comes close.
Whether it’s the original Barebells protein bars or the soft bars, I’ve yet to find anything that can compete on the same level.
So when I found out that Barebells made ready-to-drink protein milkshakes, I needed to get my hands on them immediately.
These Barebells protein milkshakes are not available in the US at the time of writing this, and I purchased these from the UK and had them shipped to me.
Shipping was expensive, of course, but I needed to get my hands on these shakes (for what it’s worth, I ordered through The Skinny Food Co).
If these protein shakes are anything like Barebells protein bars, they’re going to be a huge hit. I have no insight as to whether or not these are coming to the US, but considering how Barebells continues to bring new flavors to market from the UK, I would bet good money that these will be coming too.
I was able to snag three “flavours”: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. These are the standard milkshake flavors, so let’s see how these compare to a true milkshake.
Barebells Chocolate Protein Milkshake
Chocolate is generally the safest protein shake flavor to try, so that’s where I started.
The shake itself is thick yet smooth, so the milkshake title seems appropriate. And while I was hoping for the taste of rich milk chocolate similar to Fairlife, what I got was, well, a pretty average protein shake.
The flavor itself is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a chocolate protein shake. The chocolate flavor is prominent, but it very much tastes like chocolate protein powder rather than chocolate milk.
The consistency is slightly filmy and slimy, which is all too common with ready-to-drink-protein shakes.
Overall, the flavor reminds me a lot of Premier Protein shakes, although I do think this is one step down from those.
This is drinkable, but a far cry from Fairlife shakes, and certainly not on the same level as Barebells protein bars.
Barebells Vanilla Protein Milkshake
With the vanilla protein shake, the experience was mostly the same as the chocolate flavor. The slimy mouthfeel was a bit more prominent in this case, which I could certainly do without.
In terms of flavor, you won’t get the same vanilla milk experience you get from Fairlife. Much like most other ready-to-drink protein shakes out there, this tastes like vanilla protein powder mixed with water.
I’ve had much worse-tasting protein shakes before, so it’s not all bad, but certainly not as delicious as I was hoping for.
When a protein shake is a smooth, subtle vanilla, I love to use it as cereal milk, but this Barebells protein milkshake didn’t pass the cereal taste for me. While it’s not artificial tasting, the protein taste is very prominent.
Barebells Strawberry Protein Milkshake
I was fully expecting strawberry to be the worst of the bunch because strawberry flavor typically tastes very artificial, but this one was surprisingly my favorite.
While still a little slimy, it was not nearly as bad as the other flavors and didn’t leave my mouth feeling as filmy.
The strawberry flavor itself is great, and while it still tastes like a protein shake, it’s definitely the closest to a milkshake of the three options. I was iffy about the other two flavors, but I happily drank this entire protein shake on the spot because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you’ve ever had the Premier Protein strawberries & cream shake, this is very similar.
Barebells Protein Milkshakes: A bit of a letdown
Maybe my expectations were too high for these protein shakes, but that’s the kind of bar that Barebells has set for themselves.
Barebells protein bars are on an elite level above all others, but their protein shakes are very much middle of the pack. If you’re wondering how these compare to Fairlife, it’s no competition: Fairlife wins by a mile.
Putting these protein shakes into my own personal ranking, I’d put these somewhere between Premier Protein Shakes and Quest protein shakes. All of these options taste like your standard protein shakes, but the main differences come down to the protein and/or artificial tastes that come through.
In the case of Barebells, the protein milkshakes don’t taste artificial, but the prominent protein taste and slimy mouthfeel leave a lot to be desired.
If these make their way to the United States, I’d imagine that they will sell like crazy because of the reputation that Barebells has built for itself. But just know what to expect before you run out to stock up: an average protein shake.
