Health Lab Mini Mix
Posted: July 25, 2023 Updated: August 8, 2023
I had been eyeing off the Health Lab Mini Mix for ages, months, but the price tag is so off-putting! It’s $14 dollars for 150g of chocolate, yikes! Anyway, I was never going to spend that much on myself. So instead I bought it at Easter time, on sale for $10 and shared it with my vegan brother and vegetarian nephew.
The main reason I bought them was to taste test and review their chocolate bar knock offs of Bounty and Cherry Ripe. Because we all want a gluten free Cherry Ripe in our lives.
Oh and if you are wondering about the names of the bars – they are all named after characters from Sex and the City.
About Health Lab
I wanted to write about Health Lab’s origins but it’s actually a bit hard to track down. They are an Aussie brand and they started in Melbourne about ten years ago.
I dunno howI feel about Health Lab as the name for this brand. I feel like “health” gets slapped on anything gluten free or vegan and it’s just not accurate. Gluten free foods are quite often higher in salt and sugar. Vegan foods can be super high in fat thanks to fats from products like coconut.
These days, Health Lab is a brand focused on low sugar products. But, while they are low in sugar they are high in fat. I recently had their peanut butter envy ball, absolutely delicious, but it has a whopping 11.7g of fat in a 40g ball.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, just because it’s called Health Lab, doesn’t mean it’s something you’re eating every day!
Big Caramel
I’m not sure if this bar is meant to be impersonating any of the mainstream bars. Peanuts and caramel I guess closest would be a Snickers bar – which sadly are no longer gluten free in Australia due to a may contain statement.
The first thing I thought of was Snickers and the second thing I thought of was dates. Yep, dates are in the ingredients for this one. Though I think they’ve used dates well here, it is more of a caramel vibe than one of dates. I would say the aftertaste, the sweetness that lingers has a date flavour to it.
Gluten free: Legit, not detected.
Vegetarian / vegan: Vegan.
Allergens: Soy, peanut. May contain: Milk, tree nuts, sesame, lupin, sulphites.
Carrie’s Coconut
I honestly can’t recall what a bounty tastes like as it was forever ago. but my first thought would be that it’s perhaps not as sweet as a Bounty. I feel like the coconut mix inside a Bounty was almost sickly sweet.
Now that I think about it, does Bounty still exist?
There’s nothing weird or odd about this bar, just a fairly neutral coconut mix and some chocolate outside. The coconut mix is moist, not dry so it is easy to eat. The chocolate is made with real sugar, its fairly dark chocolate (55%) but because it’s so thin you don’t ge a strong dark vibe. What I’m saying is, a kid would probably be happy with this.
Gluten free: Legit, not detected.
Vegetarian / vegan: Vegan.
Allergens: Soy. May contain: Milk, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, lupin, sulphites.
Samantha’s Cherry
So in terms of ingredients the only difference between this bar and the coconut one is freeze dried cherry powder and some natural flavours and colours. It does have quite a similar aroma to Cherry Ripe – if you really put your nose up to it. But it’s not as strong as the real deal. Like the coconut bar the consistency is nice and it’s enjoyable to eat. The dark chocolate is somehow more noticiable here, perhaps because it nicely complements the subtle cherry flavour.
But, there’s no cherry pieces inside. I think they’ve missed a trick here, having some little cherry chunks would have delivered more flavour, a bit more interest in the texture and a closer vibe to what we’re all thinking of.
I do love the colour though, it’s a rich pink hue that is clearly natural.
Gluten free: Legit, not detected.
Vegetarian / vegan: Vegan.
Allergens: Soy. May contain: Milk, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, lupin, sulphites.
If this Cherry Ripe alternative doesn’t appeal to you, check out my list of other gluten free Cherry Ripe alternatives. It includes dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options!
Where to buy Health Lab Mini Mix
Health Lab products can be found at both Coles and Woolies. You can also catch their products at independent grocery stores.
Do you need more gluten free, plant based sweet treats? Check out these Coles chocolate cupcakes and the We Love Cake salted caramel tart.