Comparison Methodology

This page is the substantiation file for the category comparison shown on our homepage. It records what was surveyed, when, how each category figure was calculated, what was left out, and where every number can be checked.

Survey date: August 14, 2026. Products surveyed: 31 (10 cereal, granola, and breakfast bars, 11 protein bars, 10 energy drinks). Re-verified every six months.

Figures as published

Across the 31 products surveyed, no cereal bar or protein bar declared any caffeine, and no energy drink declared any protein.

Product-by-product data

Every figure below is transcribed from the linked panel. Column headers sort each table. A cell shows an em dash when the panel does not declare that nutrient, and no figure is shown for a row without a live source link. Questions on any row: info@oncallfoods.com.

How each median was calculated

Protein

Median of the per-serving protein grams declared on each product's panel. Where the median fell between two adjacent whole grams across the sampled products, the figure is shown as a range rather than an interpolated value.

Added sugars

Median of the declared added sugars line. Products declaring 0g added sugars are counted as 0, not excluded.

Total sugars

Median of the declared total sugars line, which includes naturally occurring sugars. Sugar alcohols are not counted as sugars.

Fiber

Median of the declared dietary fiber line. Energy drinks are shown as not typically declared because fiber is absent from the panels surveyed.

Calories

Median of the declared calories per serving. For energy drinks the sample does not cluster around one value, so the zero-sugar and full-sugar products are reported as two separate ranges instead of a single median.

Caffeine

Manufacturer-stated caffeine per serving. Bars are recorded as 0mg only where the label declares no caffeine. Energy drinks are reported as a typical band plus the full observed range, because only 2 of the 10 declare caffeine inside a Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts panel; the rest state it elsewhere on the pack or on the brand site.

What was excluded, and why

• Products without a publicly published Nutrition Facts panelThere is no verifiable figure to record, and a retailer summary that omits the panel cannot be checked by a reader.
• Multi-serving packages where the panel is not stated per bar or per canPer-serving figures would have to be derived rather than read, which introduces our own arithmetic into a competitor's number.
• Discontinued items and limited or seasonal editionsThey cannot be re-verified at the next six-month review, so a reader challenging the table could not reproduce the figure.
• Meal replacement shakes, ready-to-drink coffees, and pre-workout powdersThey sit outside the three categories being described and would shift the medians without matching how a shopper compares these products.
• Products sold only outside the United StatesLabeling rules differ, so added sugars and serving sizes are not directly comparable to US panels.

Reading the comparison

Serving sizes vary by product and category. The cereal and granola bars surveyed ranged from 22g to 50g per serving and the protein bars from 50g to 68g; energy drinks are liquids, so per-serving figures are not a like-for-like comparison across categories. Energy drink calories and sugars are shown as two groups because the category splits between zero-sugar and full-sugar products rather than clustering around one value. Energy drink caffeine is manufacturer-stated: only 2 of the 10 products surveyed declare caffeine within a Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts panel.

STAT Bar figures come from our own printed panels for the 3 flavors (Chocolate, Peanut Butter Espresso, Salted Caramel Coffee), each a 52g bar, and are shown as a range where the flavors differ. Formulations change across all of these categories; figures are re-verified every six months and the survey date above is updated when they are.

Questions or a correction? Contact us.