Coles Christmas Reindeer Bao Buns | Chewsday Review

These reindeer bao buns are giving big Christmas energy, let's see if what's inside is worth dashing to the shops for!

Ingredients

Bao Buns Pastry (65%) [White Pastry (Wheat Flour, Water, Sugar, Wheat Starch, Dried Yeast, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate, 450, 341), Soy Flour, Emulsifier (481, 471** From Palm, Sodium Alginate, 405), Salt), Decorative Pastry (Wheat Flour, Raising Agent (450, Sodium Bicarbonate, 341), Water, Sugar, Wheat Starch, Barley Malt Extract, Soy Flour, Dried Yeast, Emulsifier (481, 471** From Palm, Sodium Alginate, 405), Carrot Extract, Radish Extract, Natural Colour (Vegetable Carbon), Pepper Extract, Salt)], Hoisin Vegetable Filling (35%) [Carrot, Water Chestnut, Cabbage, Hoisin Sauce (11%) (Water, Sugar, Fermented Soybean Paste {Soybean, Wheat, Water, Salt}, Natural Colour (150a), Salt, Tapioca Starch, Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Chilli Powder), King Oyster Mushroom, Rapeseed Oil, Onion, Sugar, Garlic, Soya Sauce (Water, Soybean, Wheat, Salt), Beetroot, Ginger, Sesame Oil, Cornflour, Glucose, Miso Paste (Soybean, Rice, Salt, Rice Wine), Yeast Extract (Contains Barley, Gluten), Water, Plum, Vinegar, Five Spice (Fennel, Cassia, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cloves), Salt, White Pepper, Kumquat, Red Chilli, Chilli Powder, Star Anise, Paprika Extract]. **Contributes to the production of certified sustainable palm oil
Allergens: Wheat, Sesame, Soy, Gluten.
May Contain Egg, Milk, Peanut.

Positives

The total fat (3.7g per 100g) and saturated fat (0.6g per 100g) content of the Reindeer Bao Buns are well below my targets.
Sugar is 11.1g per 100g which is within the target (15g per 100g). The sugar here is mostly coming from the pastry and hoisin sauce.
Sodium is also within the guidelines at 313mg per 100g. Aldi’s Let’s Party Mushroom Bao Buns (complete with festive ribbons) have a very similar sodium content (311mg per 100g) whereas the Bibigo brand vegetable bao have considerably less sodium (180mg per 100g for the Vegetable and Glass Noodle variety; 212mg per 100g for the Vegetable and Pork variety).

Negatives

Ideally, I’m looking for at least 3g of fibre per serve, this product comes in at 2g per serve (around 2 bao buns). Bibigo branded vegetable bao have considerably more fibre than their competitors (Vegetable and Glass Noodles = 3.5g per serve; Vegetable and Pork = 5.3g per serve!)
Although the ingredients list suggests 35% vegetable filling it is actually more like 24% vegetables (carrot, water chestnut, cabbage) as the hoisin sauce makes up the rest. Aldi’s Christmas Bao have 17% vegetables while the Bibigo varieties range between 11-18% – the Coles Reindeer Bao come out on top when it comes to vegetable content.

Marketing

Alternatives

If you’re looking for a bao bun with Christmas appeal, this ticks a few boxes (a little more fibre and it would have hit all of my targets).
Aldi’s Let’s Party Mushroom Bao Buns tick a few boxes too (total fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium) but no fibre value listed.
Bibigo Vegetable & Glass Noodle Bao Buns and Bibigo Vegetable and Pork Bao Buns – both meet all of my targets.

The composition of food products changes regularly. The nutritional values of the products in this Chewsday Review were correct at the time of publishing.