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Mayver’s Chocolate Protein+ Peanut Butter | Chewsday Review

Gone are the days where the only choice was smooth or crunchy peanut butter. A quick search of the big supermarkets = over 100 options to choose from, nuts right?! Let's get the scoop (straight out of the jar) on Mayver's Chocolate Protein+ Peanut Butter.

Ingredients

Roasted peanuts, peanut flour, chocolate spread (4.7%), hazelnut spread, natural flavour, sea salt.
The ingredients list is a bit of a mystery… usually companies will declare the ingredients of ‘compounds’ like chocolate spread and hazelnut spread. This one doesn’t and it’s due to a loophole in FSANZ food labeling – if the compound ingredient is under 5% of the end product, manufacturers don’t have to list the ingredients of a compound. We’ve followed up with Mayver’s to find out more!
Allergens: peanuts, hazelnuts.
May contain almond, Brazil nut, cashew, sesame, milk, soy.

Positives

Sugar is well within the guidelines at 11.2g per 100g or 2g per serve (ie/2 grams in one tablespoon). Sugar isn’t listed in the ingredients list, but we’re assuming this is mostly added sugar coming from the mystery chocolate spread and/or hazelnut spread. Despite the lack of clarity, the sugar content is much less than traditional chocolate spreads, including the Buddee ‘school safe’ Chocolate Spread (which contains over three times more sugar).
The fibre content is reasonable for a protein food at 1.7g per serve. Just one tablespoon equates to 10% of a child’s daily fibre requirements.
Sodium is also well within the guidelines at 255mg per 100g which is impressive. This is identical to Mayver’s Crunchy Peanut Butter but considerably less than many other peanut butters on the market that contain upwards of 500mg of salt per 100g.

Negatives

As we’d expect, total fat is 4 times the guidelines at 40g per 100g. It’s not a huge concern as peanuts are naturally high in fat (‘good’ fats) and there is solid evidence that unsaturated fats are good for our health. Some other brands of peanut butter (e.g. Bega Smooth Peanut Butter) contain more than 5 times the guidelines with over 50g of total fat per 100g.
Saturated fat is also above the guidelines at 5.3g per 100g which again comes from the peanuts.
It’s expensive compared to regular peanut butters at $6.50 a jar (Bega’s is $4.50 per jar) but on par with chocolate spreads like Nutella ($6.20 per jar).

Marketing

There are loads of ‘health’ claims on this product, but let’s start with the biggest one “Chocyliciously better for you with 30% protein”. They’re not wrong, this product does contain 30% protein, likely coming from the combination of peanuts and peanut flour. Should you buy it just for the protein factor? Probably not. Most children get around four times more protein than they need, so before we try to add more high protein foods we’d really want to be sure that your child isn’t getting enough. You’ll find protein in lots of common foods like yoghurt, cheese, milk, seed crackers, seed spreads, tinned beans/legumes and even bread so there’s often no need to buy into ‘high protein’ claims if your kids eat a variety of these foods.
“No palm oil and no hardened fats”. This is true and a positive claim, as many standard peanut butters do contain added fats and oils.
“100% natural and no additives”. Sure, I can’t see any food additives or anything ‘unnatural’ in the ingredients list.
“Vegan friendly and gluten free”. True and to be expected. Most peanut butters are free from animal products and are gluten free (always check the label though).
“5 Health Star Rating”. Despite the high fat content (which is mostly ‘good’ fat), this product gets a a good rating.

Alternatives

This product has that chocolatey appeal that lots of kids go nuts for, and offers some healthy fats and fibre too. It’s also lower in sugar than traditional chocolate spreads like Nutella, but it really is quite different from a taste and texture point of view. It could be a handy addition to your rotation if you’re looking for an alternative spread (but remember it does contain nuts if your school is ‘nut free’). If you were a fan of Mayver’s (now discontinued) Cacao Super Spread – this is a reasonable replacement.
Would I try this for the novelty factor? Sure, but I won’t be forgetting about our old mate, regular peanut butter (like Mayver’s Peanut Butter) anytime soon.
For babies and young toddlers I recommend choosing nut butters without added salt or sugar.