Which is better, and are either good value?

In the modern age our lives are increasingly governed by algorithms. Tell your chosen content service you’re interested in one thing and you’ll suddenly get a thousand suggestions for almost identical things. So it was when I clicked through a Snackwize Instagram advert. From then on all I was seeing were companies trying to sell me work-from-home proof snacks. So I decided to compare the two that came up most often: Snackwize and Snackproud. They were both billing themselves as offering healthy solutions to your working from home snack cravings, and both have options at similar price points.

Snackwize

My first order was from Snackwize. I chose the ‘Quarantine Box’, specifically marketed at those of us stuck indoors due to lockdown. I’m slightly suspicious of companies so openly trying to profit from a global health pandemic, but the price was comparable to their usual offering, so I thought it looked acceptable in this instance. This promised 15 snacks for $49.99, plus $10 delivery. Due to a confusion with the postal address, and the general Australia Post delays, my Snackwize box took weeks to arrive, but I don’t think that was any fault on their part. When it arrived I was excited by the selection of goodies. I realised I hadn’t asked for a vegetarian option (I’m not sure there was a way to do this), so I had been sent some beef jerky. Thankfully my partner kindly volunteered to try this, but turned out not to be a big fan. Predictably my favourite snacks from this box have proven to be the least healthy ones: the Snaps, the Carob Bear (almost indistinguishable from normal chocolate), the honey-roasted peanuts (even though I don’t usually like peanuts), and the hickory barbeque crisps/chips.

Helpfully there were also a few things I’d been meaning to try out: the Health Lab Protein Balls, and the Blue Dinosaur Paleo Bars, both of which proved to be delicious. But I think this represents one of the problems with the box: I’m not really sure it was all that healthy. Some of the individual items were healthy, or healthier than the usual alternatives, but overall it wasn’t much better than my normal choices. I don’t quite understand offering protein bars as a work-from-home snack: if you’re living a more sedentary lifestyle, the last thing you need is to fill up on a calorific protein bars. These often have as many calories as a chocolate bar like a Mars. So I found I wasn’t really snacking in the same way as I usually would with the things in the box: I would eat one if I’d done a workout that day. Which is maybe how I should be snacking anyway, but doesn’t really work as a straight swap for my usual habits and choices.

Something else we have to take into consideration is the price. It was definitely more expensive than what I’d usually go for. Protein bars are always quite expensive, and nuts are obviously pricier than potatoes, so the cost does make sense. Including delivery it averaged out at nearly $4 per item. I’m just not sure that’s a price I should be paying very often, especially given there were some snacks I didn’t enjoy, or wouldn’t eat full stop. I don’t normally buy protein bars, as I think it’s better to try to up my natural, dietary protein intake. So it’s not really substituting things I would normally buy in that respect either.

Snackproud

Moving on to Snackproud. I just went for the Sample Box here, which promised a selection of 12–15 snacks for just $25, plus a $5 delivery fee. I got 12 items, so it worked out at about $2.50 each. Not a huge difference in price to Snackwize, but different enough. There is less variety in the Snackproud box, as there were a few things I got multiples of, or in different flavours. This box seemed a lot more directly tied to the healthiness of the options. There were no chips, and the chip stand-ins were healthier options like roasted fav-va beans (not a honey roast in sight). The items also leaned more to the sweet than savoury side of the spectrum, which suited me as I’m prone to snacking on chocolate and chocolate-adjacent foods after dinner. The Snackproud options provided a tasty, healthier alternative.

Having said that, there were some options that were many just a bit too healthy. The No-Bake cookies were just too dry for me, and felt like a bit of a chore to eat. The Wellness by Tess Probiotic Bites were another thing I’d been wanting to try, so that was helpful. I’m not sure I could really tell the difference between the two flavours, but they were tasty enough. There were more vegan snacks in this box too, which I appreciated. I’m trying to fit vegan swaps into my diet where possible, and snacking is certainly an easy place to do this. The selection of foods in the Snackproud box does seem better suited overall (at least in part just because they are smaller portions) to work-from-home snack replacement than the Snackwize ones. If I order again, it’ll be one of Snackproud’s tailored boxes, like their Protein Snack pack, or the Vegan Sampler pack.

Are they worth it?

The questions remains as to whether either of these boxes was really worth it. Though I didn’t love every item in each box, I do actually think that they were a good way to try new things, and find some healthy swaps for things I would normally graze on. Protein snacks particularly tend to get sold by the box, meaning you have to just hope that you’ll end up liking them enough, and it’s a bit of a lucky dip in terms of which flavour to go for. Powering through a box of 12 bars you don’t particularly like isn’t an appealing prospect. Both Snackwize and Snackproud gave me a chance to try a few different protein bars without the initial outlay of buying lots at a time. So if you’re uncertain what bars are for you, these boxes are a good way to explore your options. If you’re not into your protein (or don’t feel you’re working out enough to justify them), the snacks in the boxes, if not necessarily lots healthier, will still be better quality than your average supermarket buys. So if you want to get into the habit of actively enjoying your snacks instead of simply automatically consuming them, one of these boxes would be a good way to go.

In my estimation, pride beats wisdom when it comes to the battle of the snack boxes. Snackproud better suited my needs, and was overall better value for money. Head to their website to get your own sample box, or try one of their tailored options. We could all use a bit of a boost right now, and swapping your Smiths or Thins for a more rounded, healthier option is a change you won’t regret.

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Have you tried any snack delivery boxes? Years and years ago I used so spend some of my weekly pocket money on a Graze subscription, but younger me soon got tired of that much healthiness, and went back to crisps and ice cream! Now I’m a ‘grown-up’, I’m taking a more realistic approach, and trying to balance of a bit of unhealthy with a lot of healthy. What are your favourite healthy snacks, and which do you think I should try next? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below!