The Costco Kirkland Brand Snack Bar We Won't Be Buying Again

From whiskeys to wines and whole bean coffees to cheese, Costco's private label, Kirkland Signature, brings you familiar items at prices that you can't get anywhere else — and it's anything but a cheaper, knock off brand. Still, while we do have our favorites (the Parmigiano Reggiano is a pretty big deal, as is the grass-fed butter), there are certain things from the Kirkland Signature brand that we won't be buying again. One of those things is the Kirkland Signature Protein Bars.

In Tasting Table's worst-to-best ranking of 5 snack bars at Costco, our testers found that their taste buds paid the ultimate price for these snack bars. Sold in a pack of 20 for just $24, the protein bars come in a variety of flavors, including your choice of a chocolate peanut butter chunk and cookies and cream pack, or a chocolate chip brownie and chocolate chip cookie dough pack. They certainly sound tasty, but our taste testers equated them to eating bricks of protein powder — and not in a good way.

Customers have reported similar experiences with these bars, stating that they felt as if they were eating solid rocks and going as far as to call them inedible. The Kirkland Signature Protein Bars have been called everything from chalky and gummy to chewy and tough — there's even an extensive Reddit thread warning people not to buy them.

It might seem like the expectations are virtually on the ground if Kirkland Signature's protein bars are the standard for comparison, but you really can find much better snack bars at Costco. For instance, Kirkland Signature's Dipped and Chewy Granola Bars were our taste tester's favorite. Made from a base of rolled oats and crisps and coated in a layer of creamy milk chocolate, they might not deliver the same amount of protein as the Kirkland Signature Protein Bars, but they definitely taste better — and at $24 for a 48 pack, they're certainly more economic.

If you're looking for something that's more of a protein bar than a snack bar, our taste testers also ranked the Kirkland Chewy Protein Bars above the regular ones. These bars are sweet and chewy (in a good way), with a layer of dark chocolate on the bottom that lets you get it in every single bite while delivering 10 grams of protein per serving. It's a good in-between option, providing a similar flavor to the Dipped and Chewy Granola Bars with a higher amount of protein.

But if you're looking for more than that, you're going to want to venture away from the Kirkland Signature options to another brand. Costco also carries Pure Protein and Simply Protein snack bars, which both provide 15-20 grams of protein per bar. While you might not get as many for the price, your taste buds will surely thank you.