Exo
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
TL:DR
In 2 Sentences
A rare cricket–pea–egg protein trio that brings complete, dairy‑free protein and a natural B12 bump, wrapped in a low‑sugar formula sweetened with allulose and monk fruit—plus real chocolate chips.
When to choose Exo Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Curious but practical eaters who want a gluten‑free, dairy‑free, lower‑sugar peanut‑chocolate snack for mid‑morning, post‑workout, or the commute—something satisfying without feeling like dessert.
What's in the Exo bar?
Exo’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar gets its flavor the honest way: creamy peanut butter and peanut flour meet real semi‑sweet chocolate chips (with cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and a touch of vanilla).
Under the hood, the protein comes from a distinctive trio—cricket (Acheta) plus pea protein, with support from egg whites—so you get complete animal proteins alongside solid plant sources, all without dairy.
The carbs are a mixed bag: a cassava‑derived binder labeled prebiotic tapioca concentrate and starches from pea crisps and rice flour, smoothed out by low‑calorie allulose and a dash of monk fruit.
The result is a low‑sugar bar (just 2g) that stays relatively light at 170 calories. A neat bonus: cricket flour naturally brings vitamin B12, and this bar delivers a meaningful bump.
If you love peanut‑chocolate bars and are curious about sustainable proteins, this one has an intriguing nutrition story.
- Protein
- 14 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- 21 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Calories
- 170
Protein
1415MIDThe 14g of protein comes from an Acheta blend (house cricket plus pea protein), with backup from egg whites, peanut butter, and peanut flour. That mix marries complete, highly digestible animal proteins (cricket and egg) with robust plant proteins, rounding out the amino acid profile without dairy. It lands around mid‑pack for protein, but the quality‑to‑calorie ratio is strong.
Fat
89MIDFat is driven mainly by peanut butter’s mostly unsaturated oils, plus cocoa butter from the chocolate chips. Cocoa butter is rich in stearic acid (a saturated fat that’s relatively LDL‑neutral), so you get a balanced mix rather than heavy seed oils. At 8g, it adds satiety and carries flavor without weighing the bar down.
Carbs
2120MIDMost carbs come from a cassava‑derived binder labeled prebiotic tapioca concentrate and from the pea crisps’ starches (pea starch and rice flour), with a small boost from the chocolate chips. Sweetness leans on allulose—a low‑calorie sugar—plus a pinch of monk fruit, so actual sugar stays low. These are more refined than "whole‑food" carbs, but the protein and fats help steady energy compared with a sugary snack.
Sugar
24MIDOnly 2g of sugar make it onto the label because most sweetness comes from allulose and a whisper of monk fruit; the semi‑sweet chips provide the small amount of real sugar. Allulose tastes like sugar but contributes about one‑tenth the calories and has minimal impact on blood glucose—some people notice GI rumblings at higher intakes, but a single bar is typically well tolerated.
Calories
170210LOWAt 170 calories, this bar is lighter than many. Protein and peanut‑derived fats do much of the work, while allulose trims the effective calories that would normally come from sugars. It’s a tidy, satisfying snack that won’t crowd out your next meal.
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin B12 stands out at about 25% of daily value—cricket flour is the likely contributor, which is rare in bars. Iron sits around 10% DV, probably from the cricket powder, pea protein, and cocoa. If you eat mostly plant‑forward, that B12 bump is a welcome bonus.
Additives
A few modern helpers keep sugar low and texture consistent: allulose for bulked sweetness, monk fruit for an intense sweet lift, and soy lecithin in the chocolate chips for smoothness. “Prebiotic tapioca concentrate” is a refined cassava syrup used to bind; depending on how it’s made, part behaves like digestible sugar and part like fiber. Overall it’s a streamlined formula that uses a small set of refined ingredients to deliver a low‑sugar peanut‑chocolate bar.
Ingredient List
Cassava root starch
Peanuts
Farmed house crickets
Yellow pea seeds
Yellow peas
Yellow and green peas
Rice grain (Oryza sativa)
Corn or beet fructose syrups
Eggs
Sugarcane and sugar beet
What are people saying?
Sources
Range
“Depends on your preferred source of protein here, but I enjoy Exo. They're made with crickets and pea protein. No, you don't taste either, and they're decently nutritious. 3g of sugar, too.”
“Additionally, I haven’t had them in a while but I remember liking the exo cookie dough one when I tried it.”
“Cricket protein is cheap to produce so it's a huge markup for sure. Exo protein is much better and cheaper anyway, and has more protein too”
Main Praise
Fans like that Exo tastes surprisingly normal: peanut‑buttery, lightly sweet, with real chocolate chips for little pops of flavor. Several reviewers appreciate that it isn’t cloying or candy‑bar sweet, which tracks with Bon Appétit’s take that the bars are soft, chewy, and not overdone on sugar.
People who want lower sugar without the usual sugar‑alcohol aftertaste call this a win—most of the sweetness comes from allulose and a touch of monk fruit. The macros are practical rather than extreme: 14g of protein at 170 calories makes it a clean, tidy snack that fits between meals.
There’s also genuine enthusiasm for the sustainability story and the B12 boost from cricket protein, especially among folks avoiding whey or looking for dairy‑free complete proteins. And because there’s no chocolate coating, hikers and office snackers note it’s pleasantly mess‑free.
Main Criticism
Texture divides the room. A common thread in reviews is that some bars lean dry or have a sticky‑chewy pull reminiscent of RXBARs—if you don’t like that style, you may not love this.
A few tasters found the peanut flavor subtler than expected, and one outlier reported a metallic aftertaste. Price comes up a lot: for something marketed as resource‑efficient, people expect a lower cost, and some perceive a markup due to the novelty.
Finally, while many say you don’t taste the crickets, the idea itself is a hurdle for some—an "ick" factor that no amount of good nutrition can fully overcome.
The Middle Ground
So which is it—cleverly balanced, or cleverly marketed? The most credible praise clusters around balance: not too sweet, decent protein for the calories, and a satisfying chew that isn’t trying to impersonate a candy bar.
The most credible critiques cluster around texture and price.
On texture, Redditors split between "soft, a little sticky" and "dry, grab water," which likely reflects batch variation and personal preference; if you prefer nougat‑soft or chocolate‑coated bars, you may find Exo austere.
On price, the sustainability story doesn’t automatically translate to cheap ingredients at small scale, so the premium isn’t shocking, but it’s still a factor if you eat bars daily. As for taste, a few "meh" peanut notes show up alongside plenty of "simple but tasty" feedback; that suggests a restrained, peanut‑forward profile rather than a dessert bomb.
And if you’re wondering about sweeteners: allulose isn’t a sugar alcohol, so the usual sugar‑alcohol aftertaste many people dislike isn’t really part of this conversation.
What's the bottom line?
Exo’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar is for the curious realist: someone who wants a lower‑sugar, gluten‑free, dairy‑free snack with solid protein, is open to sustainable ingredients, and doesn’t need their bar to masquerade as fudge. It delivers a neat nutrition package—14g of protein, 170 calories, a meaningful B12 bump—and a flavor profile that stays in the lane of peanut and chocolate without the syrupy sweetness. The trade‑offs are straightforward.
Expect a soft‑chewy texture that some find dry, a peanut vibe that’s more natural than bold, and a price that sits above mass‑market options. If you’re allergic to peanuts or eggs, or you avoid insects for dietary or cultural reasons, this isn’t your bar. But if you want real chocolate chips, steady energy, and a thoughtful protein blend that happens to include crickets—without tasting like them—Exo earns a spot in the rotation.