ALOHA Bars Review (Plus Protein Powder & More)

Welcome to our ALOHA bars review!

Embodying the spirit of “aloha,” this eponymous brand provides healthy plant-based protein bars, shakes, and powders—all while doing their part as a company to support the farms, people, and environment that contribute to their products.

With innovative flavors made from high-quality ingredients, ALOHA makes it easier—and tastier—than ever to get clean vegan protein.

Considering their ingredients, good value, ample certifications, and more, we awarded ALOHA with an overall grade of A-.

Here’s how they did it.

Pros and Cons

ALOHA Makes Waves in the Plant-Based Protein Space

ALOHA began in 2013 when Austrian-born entrepreneur and yogi Co​​nstantin Bisanz teamed up with Hawaiian friends with a goal of making healthy eating more accessible for everyone.

In its first iterations, ALOHA carried tons of healthy products, ranging from green juice powders and sleepy tea to nut-and-fruit packs, protein bars, and supplements.

However, it didn’t quite pan out the way they’d hoped—and the brand was on the brink of collapse a few years later.

Although originally founded by Bisanz, current CEO Brad Charron is considered the “re-founder” of ALOHA, transforming it from a stagnant brand into the fastest-growing plant-based protein bar on the market. 

With a background working at big brands like Under Armour, Chobani, The Nature’s Bounty Co., and Red’s All Natural—plus a passion for competing, stemming from his college days as an ice hockey goalie at Notre Dame—Brad combined these skills to make ALOHA what it is today. 

As Brad told us, they were “going up against the biggest companies in the world and trying to be different, special, and relevant, with the consumer being the ultimate arbitrator of whether a brand is successful or not.”

And he’s also done his part to study Hawaiian culture and language, ensuring that the spirit of “aloha”—which translates to “the breath of life” but also means community, humility, integrity, and more—is well-represented. 

I can’t personally eradicate world hunger. But what I can do is make sure that our company is acting as a role model that is embodying and espousing the beliefs of what is better for us as the broader ‘ohana’—the community.

Brad Charron, CEO of ALOHA

Along with simplifying the product line—you’ll just find vegan protein powder, bars, and shakes now—the new-and-improved ALOHA is now a Certified B Corp and has just received their Climate Neutral Certification. 

With a focus on sustainability, ethical sourcing, and not taking any shortcuts that compromise on quality or nutrition, ALOHA is leading the pack when it comes to plant-based protein—and they taste amazing, too.

Our Review

Every brand we review is assessed according to this set of universal factors—here’s how ALOHA scored:

• Quality (A)
• Transparency (B+)
• Website Experience (A)
• Customer Service (B-)
• Value (A)
• Brand Value (A)

This combination of factors led us to a solid A- rating for ALOHA—let’s take a closer look at each category, starting with the essential component of quality.

Quality

In this category, we take into account several factors, including: 

• Packaging and labeling
• Quality, sourcing, formulation, and manufacturing of ingredients
• Certifications

Our team received a sample box of ALOHA bars, which came in a recyclable cardboard box, and each bar was well-labeled and attractive. 

The ingredient list and nutritional formulation were also great for a protein bar, with each containing a base of: 

• 220-260 calories
• 14g of protein from brown rice and pumpkin seed protein 
• 6-10g of fiber from tapioca fiber, nuts, nut butter, or pumpkin seeds
• 2-5g of added sugar (from organic tapioca syrup, brown sugar, chocolate, or chocolate chips)
• Organic monk fruit 

Some also contain additional organic ingredients like sunflower butter, cashew butter, coffee, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, brown rice crisps, and coconut flakes. 

As we learned from our interview with Brad, ALOHA will never skimp on quality just to meet the bottom line.

For example, Brad told us, “It all comes down to food design. If the food design is better with a sunflower seed butter versus an almond or cashew butter, that’s what I’m using—not because I have a contract on cashew butter.”

ALOHA also boasts many certifications, including:

• USDA Organic
• Certified B Corp
• Kosher
• Non-GMO Project Verified
• Certified Vegan
• Climate Neutral
• Fair-Trade Certifications (Drinks only)

As Brad puts it, “Don’t trust me—trust the certifications.”

All ALOHA products are also gluten-free (although they aren’t Certified Gluten-Free, they do undergo third-party testing to ensure no gluten is present), soy-free, and stevia-free. 

Plus, you won’t find any ingredients made with synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, or artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors in the products. 

Most ingredients are sourced in the United States from organic farms or reputable vendors certified for GMP, but some superfoods, spices, and sweeteners (like monk fruit) are sourced from the regions where they are traditionally grown. 

One bar in particular—the Kona Bar—is highly traceable, made with local ingredients from Hawai’i, like 100% Kona Coffee, 100% Hawai’i-grown Macadamia Nuts, and Ponova™ oil from O’ahu’s North Shore. 

Lastly, manufacturing occurs across the United States—the protein bars are made in Colorado, the protein powders are made in Georgia, and the protein drinks are made in New York.

ALOHA Product Catalog

Protein Bars

ALOHA has about a dozen flavors of their iconic plant-based protein bar, with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip consistently being a top seller.

Other fan-favorite flavors include Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Espresso (with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee!), Peanut Butter Cup, and Lemon Cashew.

They also carry seasonal flavors, like Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint White Chocolate—which was designed by Brad’s 11-year-old daughter, by the way—and limited edition flavors like the Kona Bar. 

Protein Drinks

With four flavors—Vanilla, Chocolate Sea Salt, Coconut, and Iced Coffee—ALOHA’s protein drinks contain 20g of pea and brown rice protein, prebiotic fiber, 4g of added sugar, and a creamy coconut milk base.

Protein Powder

ALOHA’s smooth vegan protein powders come in Vanilla or Chocolate flavors, providing 18g of plant-based protein—plus they are stevia-free, which can be hard to find.

Transparency

While the website has plenty of helpful and accessible product information, details about sourcing—with the exception of the Kona Bar—and brand backstory were a bit lacking.

We did learn quite a bit more during our interview with Brad about where ingredients are sourced from and where the products are manufactured, but consumers also like to know these details. 

In an ideal world, all of the product pages would be modeled after the Kona Bar, showing as much detail as possible about where each ingredient comes from.

For example, the Kona Bar sources: 

• 100% Kona Coffee from Greenwell Farms
• Macadamia nuts from Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company 
• Terviva Ponova Oil™ (a regeneratively-farmed oil from the Pongomia tree that is similar to palm oil) from O’ahu’s North Shore

While we absolutely loved this level of transparency for the Kona Bar, we just wished it applied to all of the products. 

We also couldn’t find any information about the brand’s backstory—either about the original founders or the current leaders, as there isn’t an “About Us” page.
Lastly, the shipping and return policies were a little hard to find—there is no separate footer link, but rather you have to scroll through the FAQs to find this information.

Website Experience

With just a handful of products to choose from (in many flavors), ALOHA’s website is simple, clean, and easy to navigate. 

Plus, it contains much-appreciated adjustments to increase inclusivity and accessibility—just click the little blue man in the bottom corner—including for those with vision impairment, ADHD, seizures, cognitive disabilities, and more. 

ALOHA also has a blog with recipes, sustainability tips, and educational articles about their ingredients.

We also loved the “Compare Us” section, where they make it easy to compare and contrast dozens of factors between ALOHA products and similar brands. 

Overall, ALOHA’s website left little to be desired—except, as mentioned in the Transparency category, we wished to see an “About Us” section.

Customer Service

ALOHA provides just one readily accessible customer service channel—chat is the only available option on the “Contact Us” page, although some digging in the FAQs section also led us to an email address. 

However, while the chat feature quoted a reply in 1-2 business days, we received a helpful response within 20 minutes. 

As far as shipping goes, you’ll get free shipping with orders over $40 (this would require getting two 12-bar boxes, which is reasonable). 

While these two aspects are good, we had to give a ding for the return policy—or lack thereof. 

As ALOHA states on their site, “Unfortunately, once an order is shipped from our warehouse, we are unable to make adjustments or offer a refund. In order to maintain the integrity of our product and ensure the health and safety of our customers we do not re-use or resell anything once it has been shipped — due to this practice, we are not able to accept returns.”

However, we also noticed on the product box a contradictory remark, which states, “If for any reason you’re unsatisfied, we’ll make it right. Hands down.” 

Although this sounds like you can get a refund for dissatisfaction for any reason, the contradictory policies led us to award ALOHA with a B- grade here.

Value

The value of a product is not just based on the sticker price—we also take into account the quality of ingredients relative to the price and how similar products are priced by competitors.

To put it succinctly, ALOHA’s bars, shakes, and powders are all of great value. 

Despite having organic, vegan, Kosher, and non-GMO certifications under their belt, ALOHA has not jacked up the prices of their products. 

The prices are very reasonable, at $2.75 per bar and $1.59 per serving of protein powder—let’s compare to some similar brands. 

Vegan Protein Bar	Price	N/A
ALOHA	$32.99 for 12 bars ($2.75/bar)	–
GoMacro	$38.49 for 12 bars ($3.20/bar)	–
Good! Snacks	$25.99 for 12 bars ($2.17/bar)	–
Vegan Protein Powder	Price	Protein Per Serving
ALOHA	$23.99 for 15 servings($1.59/serving)	18g
Garden of Life Organic Vegan Sport	$54.95 for 19 servings($2.89/serving)	30g
Orgain	$29.99 for 20 servings($1.50/serving)	21g

Plus, ALOHA offers a generous subscription model—buying one box will get you 10% off, two boxes gets 15% off, and purchasing three or more boxes will mark it down 25%. 

Weighing these prices against the quality of ingredients, we award ALOHA with an A for value.

Brand Value

Lastly, brand value scores are considered by a combination of product innovation, impact on public nutrition, and philanthropic or sustainability efforts. 

ALOHA is definitely doing things right when it comes to focusing on the environment—their recent Climate Neutral Certification perfectly exemplifies that. 

As ALOHA is the first plant-based protein brand to get a Climate Neutral Certification, you could say it’s a big deal. 

The Climate Neutral Certification means that ALOHA uses carbon offsets to remove the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere as they produce—to be specific, they’re offsetting 5,828 metric tonnes of CO2 in 2023 to neutralize their 2022 carbon footprint.

Some other environmental measures on the “ALOHA Reduction Plan” include:

• Home Office Energy Management—establishing energy management practices to become more energy efficient when working remotely. 
• Sustainable Agriculture Investments—continuing to partner with farms that use regenerative farming practices and ingredients (like they did with the Kona Bar). 
• Product Packaging—Actively researching opportunities and partners to source alternative sustainable packaging options.

ALOHA is also a Certified B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation—this means they prioritize both environmental and social good in addition to their business. 

On the philanthropy side, ALOHA donates 10% of proceeds from the Kona Bar to their non-profit partner Kupu™, which supports agricultural and environmental education programs in Hawai’i. 

They also give back to Conscious Alliance, a hunger relief non-profit, by donating over 173,000 meals in the past two years. 

Lastly, ALOHA provides a benefit to public nutrition, as clean, low-sugar, plant-based protein bars are hard to come by. 

Brad summed up ALOHA’s impact well, stating, “We have to do our part. I can’t personally eradicate world hunger. But what I can do is make sure that our company is acting as a role model that is embodying and espousing the beliefs of what is better for us as the broader ‘ohana’—the community.

And being Climate Neutral, being a B Corp—that does that. It puts our money where our mouth is and shows people our cards.”

Our Experience with ALOHA Bars

Although we haven’t tried every flavor yet (we can’t wait for Peppermint White Chocolate season!), our team is in consensus that every bar we’ve tried so far has been excellent.

A few fan favorites from our editorial team include the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Lemon Cashew, and Chocolate Mint—which, according to our managing editor, gives “straight-up Girl Scout cookie vibes.” 

Although the bars are made from whole-food ingredients, they are blended up (rather than a granola bar, where you can see the individual ingredients), providing a dense yet soft and not overly chewy texture.

Overall, the ALOHA bars are a delicious and filling vegan bar that works well for a small breakfast, pre- or post-workout snack, or even a dessert. 

We have not yet had a chance to try the ALOHA shakes or protein powder.

FAQs About ALOHA

Final Thoughts

High-quality ingredients, competitive value, and impressive environmental and philanthropic initiatives earn ALOHA a solid A- from our team. 

A few details, like unclear return policy and missing information about the company’s backstory and sourcing, could be improved upon, but overall, we loved the ALOHA bars and the brand behind them. 

As we closed out our interview with Brad, the one thing he wanted to share with our audience was that we should all “Continue to demand better out of food. Better macronutrients, better certifications, better transparency, better taste and texture, and better brands that stand for something they believe in.” 

We couldn’t agree more.