Starbucks is introducing Evolution Harvest snack bars and freeze-dried fruits: Starting this month, you’ll see the Evolution Harvest snacks appear in Whole Foods stores, and by the end of September, Evolution Harvest snacks should be available in Starbucks stores across the U.S. The Evolution Harvest snacks represent growth of the Evolution Fresh juice brand which Starbucks purchased in November 2011.
I have tried some of the Evolution Harvest snack bars and Evolution Harvest freeze-dried fruit, so I thought I’d pass on a few pictures and share my thoughts. I have to disclose that Starbucks sent me free samples early. There are three flavors of the snack bars, and three flavors of the dried fruit.
Evolution Harvest freeze-dried fruit snacks:
- Mango Pineapple Kiwi
- Mandarin Orange Strawberry Cantaloupe
- Strawberry Blueberry
One thing I noticed is that these are very low calorie. A bag of these freeze-dried fruits is only 40 calories. The Mandarin Orange – Strawberry – Cantaloupe combo was the sweetest to me. The dried Mandarin Oranges definitely are packed full of sweetness – they could be a little too sweet for some! By the way, I noticed when you open the bag, there is a ton of wonderful citrus aroma. I really liked the dried cantaloupe – not too sweet at all, and delicious.
I liked the Strawberry Blueberry second best. I already am a fan of blueberries, so those were quite a treat. Though, as I was nibbling from the two bags, I kind of wished for a Cantaloupe – Blueberry combo bag!
The pineapple Kiwi one really is a bit tangy. I expect Kiwi fruit to be very sweet, yet somehow the freeze-dried Kiwi fruit taste a little tart to me.
I am looking forward to hearing what others think of the freeze-dried fruit.
Evolution Harvest snack bars:
- Pepita Almond Raisin Cranberry
- Almond Cocoa
- Roasted Soybean Pepita Almond
I only tried two of the three snack bars, mostly because I was starting to get pretty full. Each snack bar is somewhere in the range of 180 to 200 calories. The Almond Cocoa is pretty good, and not too sweet. The chocolate flavor is almost an afterthought. The two snack bars that I tried were very moist, and I wasn’t really expecting that since sometimes it’s possible to grab a granola bar and get something that tastes like bird seed mixed with wood stakes. The Almond Cocoa snack bar has a rice meal mixed in, and so you get this very light flavor of almond, rice, and not too sweet cocoa. It almost made me wish for marshmallows to be mixed in!
The Pepita Almond Raisin Cranberry was a huge surprise. It didn’t look very appealing. But it tasted delicious. I kept eating, and wanted to try more, only to realize I’d already eaten the whole thing. It has a light salt flavor mixed in, and with the combination of the cranberries, Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), you kind of get a really nice sweet and salty combination. I think if you give this one a try, you’ll be surprised how good it is. I included a pic of the Pepita Almond Raisin Cranberry bar in the photos below (don’t judge a book by its cover).
As to the Evolution Fresh juices, Whole Foods gets two flavors exclusive to their grocery stores! The two juices exclusive to Whole Foods are Organic Ruby Roots and Organic Sweet Burn. (I haven’t tried those.)
In October, Evolution Harvest trail mixes will be coming!
I know that I have a number of readers in Canada who might be wondering if Canada will be receiving the same items. I don’t know the answer to that question. I’ll try to circle back with an official Starbucks contact person and see if I can find out.
Enjoy the rest of the photos!
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Nice info and great pics. I go to whole foods all the time and have been looking for these juices. Get them also at SB but nice to know whole foods will have them and look forward to the snacks!
I am so excited for these! Evolution Fresh was a real treat on my trip to Seattle, and I am happy to see it incorporated in more stores!
Very interesting post not just for the new fruit snacks and snack bars, but also for the new relationship with Whole Foods.
Thanks Melody for the advanced review.
@DadCooks – I noticed the same thing. Starbucks hasn’t traditionally had much of any relationship with Whole Foods. The coffee featured at Whole Foods espresso bars is the Allegro brand, and when you shop at WF, you don’t find any Starbucks coffee or Vias in their stores! So yes, I thought the new relationship with Whole Foods was totally interesting too.
As I had indicated, I go to whole foods very often and am surprised it took SB this long to approach whole foods to have some kind of arrangement. I think it could work out especially with the Evolution Fresh brand.
I am really excited to try these when they come out and have already started thinking about what interesting coffee tastings I can do with them. It’ll also be a good way to introduce Hawaii partners to the Evolution Fresh line before the juices make their way here.
Thanks for the review!
I’m very excited for this new partnership with Whole Foods. I have loved the juices I’ve tried so far, as did I the two bars you reviewed (especially the Pepita Almond Raisin Cranberry. When I bought it at Whole Foods, the people I was checking out with we’re trying to figure out what it was as they hadn’t seen it before! For some odd reason they were shocked it didn’t have alcohol in it? Pretty odd, lol.
I can’t wait to try the rest of the lineup! I too found it odd, the Starbucks and Whole Foods relationship, but I wholeheartedly welcome it, as I shop at WFM almost exclusively (save for a bi-monthly Trader Joe’s trip), and I’ve been anxious for a little deviation from my usual snacks.
I am loving the freeze-dried fruit! They have the crunch of a chip but only 40 calories are great for someone who is not wanting all the calories 🙂
Exciting! Thanks for the review Melody, I look forward to finding them here in California!!! I love the sound of the freeze dried fruit for snacks while hiking!!!
These look so yummy! I hope to find them in my area! 🙂
Thanks for the review and all of the photos, Melody. I like Kind bars, and am looking forward to trying Evolution bars and everything else mentioned. I am curious how they came up with these varieties. The exclusive Whole Foods juices are intriguing.
I love that Starbucks sent you products to preview (as they should!). I wonder what, if anything, will be promoted in Starbucks stores next month, and how (e.g. P.O.P. for the new bars and snacks).
Although I know we won’t get these in the UK for years probably I must say I’m diappointed that all the snack bars have almond in them. I’m allergic to nuts and I feel this will prevent a lot of potential customers experiencing the bars.
We have displayed these since Monday. We partner-sampled all three bars and enjoyed them. These three taste very different from the Kind bars–which is fine, except we immediately marked-out all the Kind bars, so these are the only snack bar options. (Two Moms in the Raw granola bars went too.) I look forward to having a larger selection over time.
Melody, remember Penza bars? I loved them. Have you ever written about these? I was devastated when they went the way of the Ginger Molasses Cookie.
Nothing in our promos book about these for Canada, so sadly none for us! Thankfully I’ll be in the States next week and will hopefully get to try them myself!
Thanks for sharing, Melody! I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of these to my store (I think they’re showing up with the big fall delivery), and now I really can’t wait to sample that freeze-dried fruit! I love that we’re expanding the Evolution brand – this looks like it will be great for our stores and for the cpg business!
I also go to Whole Foods often, and will be looking for these. The cantaloupe ones sound good!
So disappointed that Starbucks stopped selling KIND bars. Tried the new Evolution bars. Not good at all.
I tried the new evolution fresh bars and I think they are better than the kind bars. Have to try the dried fruit.
I just tried the Mandarin Orange, Strawberry and Cantaloupe this morning and it was great! I wish that I had gotten more than one pack now. Great snack ……low calories! I have SO excited that our newly opened Starbucks store is carrying them! I stop by for an iced coffee at least a couple days a week…now I see a new purchase being added.
I have been addicted to a Starbucks latte and KIND bar every morning for the last 3 years. Blueberry vanilla is my absolute favorite! My store took out these bars to put in their own flavors (Evolution?) and they let me try one for free. Disgusting! Now I go to the Whole Foods right next door and get my KIND bar there, along with my latte. Dumb move to take these out!
SO yummy and got me through the morning, best snack I have ever had and want a whole box of the Pepita Almond Raisin Cranberry!
Where else can they be purchase other than starbucks? In MD eg, Laurel MD, Rockville MD, Silver Spring MD.
I just tried the Evloution Harvest Roasted Soybean Pepita Almond, WOW! It was nothing I expected, and so much more. The flavors are delicious! I was expecting a bland taste (soybean) and dry texture. Instead, the flavors are a blast of almond and sweetness with a hint of sea salt. I can even taste the pumkin seeds! I cannot wait to buy some at Sbux and/or Whole Foods. I wish I could order them online.
Well I’m the dissenter then. I have tried the Evolution dried fruit snacks and am very disappointed. I am also disappointed in Starbucks for forcing it’s choices on us. Peeled Snacks, which is organic dried fruit, is by far a better product than the little puffs of air that the Evolution product is. I miss the Mango slices and Apple slices that Peeled Snacks offers. Perhaps Starbucks would be so kind as to allow us to choose between the two instead of forcing their product on us. Sorry folks but Evolution dried fruits is not a winner in my books.
After trying them, I’d have to agree with JeriFitz. I’ve never been much of a fan of freeze-dried fruits, however. I did massively prefer the Peeled Organics snacks, and was rather sad to see that they have been completely replaced.
Roasted Soybean Pepita Almond was great. Being type II Diabetic always looking for a snack low in Carbs. This only had 13g. Very low for a snack bar, and tasted fantastic!
I loved the taste of a Kind bar with my daily latte. But alas, change happens. Downside: The Evolution bars do not fulfill that taste craving. Upside: I have stopped having a daily latte, thus saving $$ and calories.
Love the kiwi mix, especially because it’s tangy! I’m so sick of overly sweetened snacks.
I don’t see why they have to be so expensive, though.
I cannot find your freeze dried fruits at the Tulsa Whole Foods Store. I need to know where I can find larger amounts of the freeze dried fruits. We love them and would like to be able to purchase them here in Tulsa. Would love to see larger bags offered somewhere.
The freeze dried fruit is delicious. I’ve had very little luck finding vegan snack foods. I wish I would have read your awesome review before I got the mango, pineapple, kiwi type. It’s not that it isn’t good, it is, it is just kind of tart, like you said. Well just wanted to say thanks for the great review.
Got to go try the mandarin orange strawberry cantaloupe now.
Snacking on my first bag of the mandarin orange, cantaloupe, strawberry pack….will definitely buy again. I find the cantaloupe nice and sweet tasting , the strawberry little tart and the mandarin orange tarter then the strawberry. Nice light snack
Love love love theangp pineapple kiwi. If the kiwi is too tangy add a bit of mango or pineapple. Super fun great taste good crunchiness & ONLY 40 cals NO fat. ;-o
The evolution bars at SB are bland in comparison to the kind bars.
I am IN LOVE with the Strawberry-Blueberry Freeze Dried Fruit snacks. I’ve been snacking at SB just to walk out with a bag or two. They’re soo yummy!
Still no sign of these in Tulsa whole foods stores. When should they have them?
I love the Freeze dried fruit! My fav is the mandarin orange/ cantaloupe/ strawberry. So light and refreshing!