Meal replacement shakes and drinks are super popular lately. But why? Well, first of all, they are super convenient and they are an excellent way to quickly inject a sufficient number of calories when you don’t have time to eat a proper meal.
Also, meal replacement shakes are high in protein. Unfortunately, not all meal replacement shakes are good.
In this article, I’ll analyze Soylent meal replacement products and we will see whether this meal replacement option is worth your time and money.
If you want to know how Soylent compares with Huel (another popular meal replacement brand) check out this article.
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About Soylent
Soylent was founded in 2013 in Silicon Valley where its founders met. Rob Rhinehart worked with Matt Cauble, John Coogan, and David Renteln on a project in Silicon Valley. After eating numerous frozen meals and ramen noodles, they said “Enough!” They were sick and tired of poor meals since they had no time to prepare a proper one. That’s how Soylent was born. Their idea was quite simple – simplify food and make it sustainable. Rob, Matt, John, and David agreed that complete nutrition shouldn’t be difficult or expensive.
What’s Inside?
Since Soylent’s founder and co-founders are engineers, it’s no wonder they use their engineering skills to make a perfect meal replacement product.
The key ingredient of all Soylent products is soy protein isolate! If you’re looking for a complete plant-based protein, you’ll find it in soy. Also, soy contains all of the essential amino acids that are necessary for our overall well-being. Now, some will say that whey protein isolate is a better option, or perhaps the blend of pea and rice protein, but there’s one key thing Soylent is focused on – sustainability. Soy protein isolate is the most sustainable option of all.
Besides soy protein isolate, each Soylent product contains 39 essential nutrients that are not provided by our bodies. We have to ingest those nutrients from the food we eat (or drink, in this case).
Most meal replacement products have around 25% of the total calories coming from fat. Soylent – 47%. And if you’re wondering why Soylent products are high in fats you should know that the right fats provide essential fatty acids such as omega-3s.
PROS
- Complete meal replacement
- Plant-based protein
- Nutritionally balanced
- Variety of options
- Most products are gluten/dairy/nut-free
- Flexible subscription
- Products are packed with 39 essential nutrients
CONS
- Shakes can’t be returned even unused
Soylent Ready to Drink Products
Ready to drink products turn full meal preparation into a one-step process. There are three different Ready to Drink products – Complete Meal, Complete Protein, and Complete Energy.
Complete Meal
Soylent Protein Nutrition Shakes come in 10 different flavors – Soylent Original, Creamy Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Gingerbread, Cafe Latte, Cafe Mocha, Cafe Chai, Vanilla, and Strawberry.
They all contain 20g of protein and 39 essential nutrients. Also, each drink is packed with 28 immune-supporting vitamins and minerals, and only 1g of sugar. If you’re on a special diet or allergic to nuts, dairy, or gluten, don’t worry, all Soylent drinks are nuts/dairy/gluten-free. Oh, and they are vegan, as well.
Complete Protein
Soylent Chocolate High Protein Nutrition Shake is packed with 30g of protein and 0g of sugar. The amount of protein in one Soylent High Protein Shake equals 60% of the daily recommended value of protein. Furthermore, just like complete meal drinks, it contains 28 immune-supporting vitamins and minerals. Last, it contains only 250 calories while complete meal drinks contain 400kcal.
Complete Energy
Soylent Chocolate Protein + Energy Nutrition Shake has 5 natural energy & focus supporting Nootropics. Also, it contains 15g of protein and 28 vitamins and minerals that support your immune system. This drink is perfect for breakfast, and you know the saying – breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
Soylent Powder
Soylent Powder comes in two different bags – Soylent Original and Soylent Cacao. But don’t worry, thanks to power flavor boosts you can add Salted Caramel, Matcha, Peanut Butter, or Strawberry to your Soylent shake.
The Complete Meal powder is formulated to keep you full and focused throughout the day. Speaking of the main ingredients, Soylent powder products contain 20g of protein and 28 immune-supporting vitamins and minerals.
Soylent Powder is perfectly balanced – it contains healthy fats, slow-burning carbs, and essential nutrients while keeping you full.
Preparing a Soylent Powder shake is super easy – just mix ½ cup of Soylent Powder with 1 cup of water. Using a blender to mix the ingredients is the best way, but mixing them in a shaker works great as well.
Even though Soylent Powder is a complete meal replacement don’t replace all meals especially if you’re just starting with Soylent products. Try incorporating Soylent gradually into a balanced diet.
Squared
Soylent bars are delicious and perfectly balanced snack option. Whether you pick Soylent Squared Chocolate Brownie or Soylent Squared Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip you’ll get a squared snack with only 100 calories, 6g of protein, 1g of sugar, and 28 immune-supporting vitamins and minerals.
These enjoyable squared snacks are gluten and dairy-free.
Subscription
Soylent products save you time while providing complete meal replacement. But that’s not all. If you subscribe you won’t even have to think about ordering or when and how much to order. Subscribing to Soylent unlocks many other features:
- Set the delivery frequency – every 15, 30, 45, or 60 days
- Skip or delay orders
- Mobile friendly – make all of your edits quick and easy via SMS
- Easily swap flavors – it’s always a good idea to try something new
- No sudden shipments you forgot about – you’ll get notified every time before they send the shipment.
Now, here comes the best part:
- Free shipping on orders over $50
- Minimum 10% discount on every order (about $5/case)
- Cancel anytime
- Exclusive offers & promotions
Customer Reviews
Soylent is one of few meal replacement brands that have a good reputation among customers. People who ordered or subscribed to Soylent love the products! On Amazon, Soylent Original Meal Replacement Shake scores 4.5 out of 5 based on 9000+ reviews. The same rating Soylent products score on CVS.com – 4.5 based on 1000+ reviews. I checked the company’s websites, and not a single product has a low rating. Most products have a 4.5+ star rating based on thousands of reviews.
This really makes you feel safe when shopping for Soylent products, especially when there are low-quality meal replacement products on the market.
There’s quite an inspiring review on Amazing from a busy college student who managed to properly balance his nutrition and lose 45lbs!
Also, consumers love the fact that they can start the day in a healthy manner even though they have no time. There are some loyal customers leaving reviews as well. For example, Jesse claims to use Soylent for over 6 years and has not even once regretted it.
Speaking of negative reviews, some consumers didn’t like the taste while others experienced some side effects like headaches.
The bottom line is, Soylent has unbelievably good reviews online and customers are basically happy with all areas of business – product quality, subscription, shipment, etc.
Shipping and Returns
Soylent ships to the US and Canada via FedEx and Canada Post. The shipping is free on orders over $50.
The company ships the products internationally as well using Big Apple Buddy.
Speaking of returns, I find their return policy a bit disappointing – Soylent meals and shakes are not eligible for return/exchange after purchase for food safety reasons. The refund requests will be accepted only if the package arrives damaged. In that case, contact [email protected] within 5 days of delivery to notify the support about the problem.
Is It Worth It
Soylent meal replacement products are definitely worth it! The products are packed with high-quality ingredients and they are so convenient and easy to use. Consumers can choose among several different types and flavors. Each product is packed with essential nutrients and even the Soylent bar is perfectly balanced.
Also, most of the products are gluten/dairy/nut-free. And they are vegan, as well. Soylent offers an incredibly flexible subscription. You can pick the delivery frequency and even pause or delay your shipment. The subscription can be easily canceled anytime.
Soylent offers free shipping on orders over $50. The company ships products internationally as well. The only downside is the company’s return policy. Since shakes are food products, the company doesn’t accept returns unless the package is damaged due to food safety.
Based on thousands of customer reviews online, Soylent has an impressive rating on various trustworthy websites such as Amazon and CVS.
Finally, the company cares about the planet as well. They use soy protein isolate since it’s the most sustainable option of all. Moreover, the company is carbon negative meaning that each product and shipping actually removes the carbon from our atmosphere.
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