We can't think of any other energy bars that can lay claim to being based on a recipe used to fuel Roman Legions so, as USPs, go Veloforte already has a head start with its three strong range.
The Roman connection is down to the fact that Veloforte's bars are based on panforte, a blend of fruit, nuts and spices that dates back to the 13th century. According to Veloforte's founders Marc and Lara Giusti - an accomplished long distance rider and award winning chef respectively – panforte originally contained brandy, which they've replaced with citrus juice. Oh well, can't have everything…
Anyway, Veloforte says its bars are made with 100% natural ingredients making them easy to eat and digest on the road. The chunky 70g bars certainly have a nice slightly homemade feel to them - right down to the foil wrapping that's reminiscent of the way pros get their snacks prepped for them.
Okay, that wrapping looks great but we would say that it's not quite as user friendly on a ride as some wrappers we've used but, to be fair, we don't care too much because in our opinion Veloforte's snacks taste bloody lovely!
Personally I'm a massive fan of the almondy Classico, it's a marzipanny/Bakewelly delight that I'd probably eat as pudding if it came covered in custard. From an energy delivery point of view you'll get 50g of carbohydrate from a 70g bar, all of it pretty simple - unrefined caster sugar, honey and fruit peel.
It's worth pointing out that Veloforte bars also contain more fat than some others – a Di Bosco has 8.9g compared to, for instance, the 1.4g in a Chewy Banana SiS Go Bar. (Only 0.8g is saturated mind…)
It could also be argued that they're also a little bit of a luxury at £49.99 for a box of 24 compared to £35 for the same number of SiS bars. That said, they are a handmade, smaller volume product. Artisan even. Oh, and did we say? They really do taste good!
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