For a modest midnight snack, compare kcal and sugars per whole bar before choosing by a ‘protein’ or ‘no added sugar’ claim. nākd lists 131 kcal and 17 g sugars for its 35 g Blueberry Muffin bar; Tesco lists 198 kcal for the selected 40 g Eat Natural bar, while Myprotein lists 227 kcal for the selected 50 g TREK flapjack. These are different-sized portions, so choose according to how much you intend to eat as well as the figures on the pack.
If you want something packaged when you are hungry at night, compare kcal and sugars for the whole bar you plan to eat. A small bar and a larger protein flapjack are different-sized snacks, even when both are sold as individual portions.
Check protein and fibre alongside energy per bar rather than assuming a protein claim means fewer calories. The selected 40 g Eat Natural protein bar has 198 kcal according to Tesco; Myprotein lists 227 kcal for the selected 50 g TREK protein flapjack.
Vegan, gluten-free and allergen information belongs to the exact recipe and flavour, not every bar from a brand. Read the current ingredients and any precautionary allergen statement before choosing.
Start with the amount you will eat, then compare its nutrition and ingredients. In a 2025 review of 458 snack bars from 10 UK retailers, Action on Salt & Sugar found that 37% were high in sugars under UK front-of-pack labelling thresholds; a front-of-pack description alone does not tell you the sugars in your chosen bar.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Portion and calories | Read kcal for one complete bar and check its weight in grams. Use traffic-light information where supplied alongside the serving size. | I want to know the energy in the bar I will actually eat, not just a per-100 g figure. In a 2024 Food Standards Agency and Ipsos survey of 611 people in Northern Ireland, 49% said they actively used traffic-light labels when shopping for food; that figure is not specific to snack bars. |
| Sugars | Check grams of sugars per whole bar, even if the wrapper says ‘no added sugar’. Compare the nutrition panel for the exact flavour. | A fruit-based bar might suit my portion plans, but I still want to see its sugars. nākd lists 17 g sugars in one 35 g Blueberry Muffin bar. |
| Protein and fibre | Compare grams per bar with kcal, sugars and bar weight. Keep the comparison to the flavours and portions shown on their packs. | If I want a more substantial snack, I would weigh those figures together rather than choose on a ‘protein’ claim alone. |
| Bedtime ingredients | Look at the portion and ingredients for coffee or other caffeine-containing additions. Check the particular flavour, not just the range name. | If caffeine tends to keep me awake, I want to avoid a coffee-containing variant late at night. The NHS notes that caffeine can make people feel more awake and that large meals close to bedtime may make falling asleep harder. |
| Allergens | Read the exact pack’s ingredients and relevant ‘may contain’ statements. Check again when switching flavours or pack formats. | I need to know whether the particular bar fits my dietary restrictions; a brand-level description is not enough. |
nākd lists 17 g sugars and 131 kcal in its 35 g Blueberry Muffin bar. ‘No added sugar’ does not erase sugars shown on the nutrition panel.
Compare sugars and kcal for the whole bar before deciding whether that portion suits you.
Tesco lists 198 kcal for the selected 40 g Eat Natural protein bar, and Myprotein lists 227 kcal for the selected 50 g TREK flapjack. Their protein content does not make them lower in energy than the selected 131 kcal nākd bar.
If calories are your main consideration, compare the complete-bar figures first, then consider protein and fibre.
Nature Valley’s UK Protein range includes a Chocolate & Coffee variant. The NHS says caffeine can make people feel more awake and that a large meal close to bedtime may make falling asleep harder.
Check the exact flavour’s ingredients and choose a portion that fits what you intend to eat.
Ingredients and precautionary statements differ between the selected fruit-and-nut, oat and protein bars. A dietary claim for one product does not describe every flavour in its range.
Read the current pack’s ingredients and allergen information, particularly if you are switching recipes or flavours.
The Blueberry Muffin fruit-and-nut bar is a 35 g portion with 131 kcal and 17 g sugars, according to nākd’s product information.
The selected Cocoa & Oat Protein Flapjack is a larger, 50 g portion. Myprotein lists 227 kcal, 14 g sugars and 9.2 g protein per bar.
Tesco lists 198 kcal, 7.9 g sugars, 10.4 g protein and 2.2 g fibre for the selected Peanuts, Almonds & Salted Caramel 40 g bar.
Nature Valley UK lists Protein bars with 7–10 g protein across selected variants. Its Peanut & Chocolate bar is listed with 10 g protein and 4 g fibre.
For a Graze snack bar, use the specific pack’s portion size, kcal and sugars when comparing it with other late-night options.
Check the exact Alpen product before using an older snack-bar comparison to make a current choice.
These Joybuy listings cover smaller individually portioned bars and a protein-bar option. Compare the nutrition and ingredients on the exact pack when deciding what suits a midnight snack.
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For a smaller fruit-and-nut portion, nākd lists 131 kcal and 17 g sugars per 35 g Blueberry Muffin bar; Tesco lists cashews and almonds among its ingredients.
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For a small individual bar, compare the pack’s kcal and sugars for one 21.5 g portion rather than the six-bar multipack.
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If you are considering this peanut bar for a late snack, check the nutrition panel for one 35 g bar and review the pack’s allergen information.
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For this apple-flavoured multipack, check the nutrition panel for one bar rather than comparing its 222 g pack weight with an individual snack.
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For a protein-bar option, Nature Valley UK lists 10 g protein and 4 g fibre for its Peanut & Chocolate bar; compare kcal and sugars per bar and check the peanut allergen information on the pack.
It can be a portioned choice when you are hungry, provided the bar’s size and ingredients suit you. The NHS says large meals close to bedtime may make falling asleep harder and that caffeine can make you feel more awake, so check the portion and any coffee-containing ingredients.
Compare kcal for one complete bar alongside its weight, then decide how much you intend to eat. nākd lists 131 kcal for its 35 g Blueberry Muffin bar; Tesco lists 198 kcal for the selected 40 g Eat Natural bar, and Myprotein lists 227 kcal for the selected 50 g TREK flapjack. Those figures compare portions, not equal weights.
No. The nākd Blueberry Muffin bar is listed as having no added sugar, but nākd reports 17 g sugars per 35 g bar. Read the sugars value for the whole bar rather than treating the front-of-pack claim as its nutrition figure.
Not necessarily. Tesco lists 198 kcal for the selected Eat Natural protein bar and Myprotein lists 227 kcal for the selected TREK protein flapjack, compared with nākd’s 131 kcal Blueberry Muffin bar. Compare energy per portion alongside protein, fibre and sugars for the particular products you are considering.
Read the exact prepacked bar’s ingredients list and any relevant ‘may contain’ statement. GOV.UK says that any of the 14 regulated allergens used as ingredients in prepacked food must be clearly identified in the ingredients list; the selected bars differ in their nut, peanut, soya and milk ingredients and warnings.