The mind boggling thing about it is that people pay $2(?) for 10 small nuts and two dates. (Who really needs 3 egg whites at random times in the middle of the day?)
Buy nuts and dates in bulk for less than half the price, put a few of them in a small bag in your backpack at the beginning of each day, and the problem is solved.
People who run and work-out believe they need a ton of protein. There's never enough. These bars likely are a bit more expensive than the competitors but are deemed worth it because they are simple, natural ingredients, which might be pretty hard to come by from any of the competitors.
I think that most people need less protein than they believe. Nutrition marketing plays on the idea that if a little bit is good, then more is better -- but sometimes less is better. Apparently, the average person in the US already gets twice as much protein as they need.
I'm really skeptical about the nutrition bar industry (and supplements in general).
Alternate solution for the eggs: make a lot of hard-boiled eggs. Store them in the refrigerator. Put three of them in the backpack each morning. Or just eat them at breakfast. Including the yolks adds another ~8 grams of protein. It's quick and easy, and frees one's mind from marketing manipulation.
If people want to pay for the convenience of a product that doesn't need to be prepared, has a long shelf life, and can be thrown in a purse and survives bumpy rides...then let them.
There is real value in this kind of convenience and it shows because people are clearly willing to pay for it. Yes, absolutely you can just boil a bunch of eggs every few days and take them with you in relatively large hardshell containers everywhere....but when you're running to the gym, going to meet a friend, riding public transportation, running from meeting to meeting at work, going to a concert....I mean...you've got to admit that the RXBar starts sounding better than having $2.
Except for the eggs (which I would argue are not necessary at all but are due to a false demand created by marketing) it isn't really a convenience. Most people don't need or normally want three egg whites at random times between meals, but they have been trained to "need" it via thought manipulation (a.k.a. marketing).
If people want to know what their diets really need, it usually isn't something like protein or supplements -- it's to stop eating things that contain refined, added sugars and to start eating more fresh vegetables. :)
I don't think that buying a few bags of nuts and dates is more difficult than buying a "nutrition" bar -- it's just a different kind of habit, and one that a person has to actively self-train (rather than be trained in by external manipulations).
It isn't worth debating it too much -- I just find it interesting. I lean towards DIY with food in general.
Anything sold is sold for the sake of convenience. Most of the problems we seeing being advertised today are marketed as solving real problems, when in fact its being sold a convenience. Spending 10 minutes boiling a few eggs, then putting them into a container isn't really that difficult, time consuming or inconvenient we've just been sold that it is thus the market for nutritional bars.
For active people trying to build muscle or lose fat while preserving muscle mass, studies have shown benefits for up to 2.2g protein/kg bodyweight. Which is a lot of protein and can be hard to come by. Sure, if you're sedentary and not trying to change body composition you don't need anywhere near that much.
> the average person in the US already gets twice as much protein as they need
The average person consumes twice as much as the minimum recommendations, but still far less than the maximum recommendations. If anything, americans eat too little protein.
I don't think RDAs are "minimum recommendations" but rather what's considered healthy (1)
Also, from the report you linked, the conclusion seems to be "efforts should be undertaken to ensure that Americans consume the recommended amount of protein" and that "The percentage of the male population who consumed less than the estimated average requirement was very low". So, I'm not sure how you're getting to the conclusion that we ought to be eating more.
Albumin deficiency is a real risk from some digestive disorders. Eggs are a great source of protean, but get really old. So, there is a significant portion of the population that legitimately seeks a very high protean diet.
> People who run and work-out believe they need a ton of protein.
As a recreational runner I find people are more obsessed with carbs except for the post-run recovery phase, unless when they are trying to lose weight and that is the reason they are running. High-protein low-sugar foods take longer to digest so sate your hunger for longer reducing the willpower required to eat less. They are getting it a little wrong as "low-sugar" is the key part there and more complex carbs will do the same job and probably be cheaper (though obviously an amount of protein is vital too and having a bit extra does no harm).
The funny thing is that calorie intake in general scales more with physical activity than protein need. Like, a vegan diet is easier if you're very physically active.
I'm an occasional buyer of (egg-free) granola bars. Frankly, eating from a bag is not nearly as practical or enjoyable (a good mix doesn't taste the same as individually eating ingredients), especially at work or on the move. An alternative would be to make our own bars, but that's often messy, and you need an oven to get a good result. My experiments didn't go well :|
I think that there is a significant difference between granola bars and mixed nuts -- granola bars usually have sugar and other unhealthy ingredients added to them.
Buy nuts and dates in bulk for less than half the price, put a few of them in a small bag in your backpack at the beginning of each day, and the problem is solved.