Protein bars come in handy when you need a snack in a pinch. Whether you’re hiking, playing ball, chasing toddlers, or need a quick breakfast, we all reach for a protein bar from time to time. Most of us have a favorite brand or flavor, or a list of requirements a protein bar should meet before we choose to indulge: high in protein, of course, as well as fiber, and low in sugar. Quest protein bars check those boxes in flavors like chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate brownie, and cookies and cream.
At Costco, you can find all sorts of copycat products, like peanut butter you’d swear came from Trader Joe’s, chicken nuggets that taste like McDonald’s, and butter that mimics the Kerrygold brand. These foods are near-to-identical to the name brand, higher priced items found elsewhere. Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand offers a similar option for protein bars — even if they’re not an exact dupe.
When compared to its Quest counterpart, Costco’s protein bars were lower in fat, equal in calories and protein, and similar in sugar content. The two bars also offer the same flavors with similar nutritional profiles. For instance, the chocolate chip cookie dough bars of both brands have 21 grams of protein and are made with a whey protein blend. However, Quest’s version has 1 gram of sugar, and Kirkland’s version has 2 grams of sugar. The chocolate brownie bars from both companies have the same amount of sugar, just one gram, but Kirkland Signature’s chocolate brownie bar has 1 gram more protein.
Are the two bars the same?
With similar flavors, nutritional profiles, protein content, and texture, it’s easy to think Costco’s Kirkland Signature protein bars are a Quest bar dupe, a copycat bar sold at a lower price. The Costco version is also sold in higher quantities, and for a lower price than its Quest counterpart. You’ll pay between $2 and $2.88 for a Quest bar, while Kirkland Signature protein bars are sold in a package of 20 for $26.49, which breaks down to $1.36 per bar. These two bars are made by different companies, however.
Quest Nutrition is a food processing company that makes its own protein bars, as well as a slew of other products. The company was acquired in 2019 by The Simply Good Foods Co. under the Atkins Nutritionals parent company and still manufactures Quest brand products, including its protein bars. It’s a little more difficult to nail down who actually makes Kirkland Signature protein bars. Kirkland Signature has distribution and manufacturing rights for the bars, but the private label doesn’t always manufacture its own products. While we couldn’t confirm the exact manufacturer, brands like Leclerc Foods USA, the manufacturer that makes Kirkland Signature nut bars, also make some Kirkland snack bars. Even though the two brands are separate, the similar nutritional offerings mean you can pick and choose which bar fits your needs — and budget — the best.
