Product Reviews

Unboxing + Review of the Raw Bites Healthy Snack Subscription Box

Despite my penchant for making sweets, I’m actually a gym rat. I never skip my workout schedules, consistently finding time for sweat sessions at least 3 times a week. (My stamina was at its best during my athlete days though. Gosh I miss those days haha!)

Considering all the hard work I still put into exercising, I am quite conscious about the things I eat. Believing in the concept of moderation, I’ve never really partaken in any diet trends or health food fads, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never been curious about them.

There are three that have really caught my attention lately: breakfast smoothie bowls, diet delivery services, and then there’s the recent health trend putting organic, natural, non-GMO goods in the spotlight. We’re going to try out that last one for now through the Raw Bites subscription box.

So this “healthy snack” subscription box called Raw Bites is the first of its kind in the Philippines. When you subscribe, you don’t know exactly what combination of healthy snacks you will receive each month. The surprise is part of the charm of subscription boxes for me of course.

As you might expect, it isn’t exactly cheap, but I couldn’t stop feeling curious about these snacks so I just went ahead and bought the May box. Getting to taste healthy snacks from all over the world was part of the lure, and I guess if I think about it that way, the price is sort of justifiable.

This isn’t a sponsored post by the way. I just felt like trying this out to put my mind at ease. I decided to write about it too since maybe there are those of you who are wondering about these kinds of snacks as well but are unsure about whether to shell out the money. This might help in your decision process.

So I went for the Regular Monthly Raw Bites Box which goes for Php 1,345 per month with free shipping. It gets cheaper if you go for the 3-month, 6-month, or annual payment schemes. I obviously didn’t because I wasn’t really sure if I would enjoy this, so I paid for just the month of May’s worth of goodies. The cheapest is their Trial Box (Php 945 + 120 shipping) but it contains only 8 healthy snacks, while the Regular Box contains 10 snacks.

Here’s a little table of their box choices for comparison:

This list is included inside the box to give you an idea of what you got (and what you missed). There are a couple of other pamphlets and GC’s or discount coupons in here too. As you can see from this info sheet, the most extensive option is the Premium Box of 15 snacks. It’s almost Php 2,000 per box monthly and that’s budget I currently don’t have for these purposes.

Anyway, let’s get down to business!


Whitworths Shots Fruity Biscuit (Made in the UK)

Described as a fruity blend of sultanas, cranberries, plus white chocolate-coated round biscuits.

If you’re not a fan of dried fruits like raisins, you probably won’t enjoy this. I’d mix this up with almonds to make a trail mix that’s more filling for me, but on its own, it’s just a sweet blend of dried fruits with crunchy white chocolate balls.

I appreciate that they added some spices to the white chocolate to keep the sweetness at bay, but it’s not exactly something I’d reach for as a snack on a regular basis. That said, it’s good taste-wise.


Rude Health The Ultimate Organic Muesli (Made in the UK)

This product boasts 23 different ingredients mixed into a muesli, promising something different in every bite. Aside from the usual oats and pumpkin seeds, Rude Health included a bunch of different dried fruits like dates, raisins, apple, blueberries, among others, to give the muesli a slight sweetness.

I’m not the biggest fan of muesli. They’re difficult to chew and don’t really taste like much, which is why I didn’t have any particular thoughts about this one going in. I even ate it with chocolate milk for good measure.

Luckily, it definitely is tastier than many other muesli I’ve tried before because the dried fruits are well-distributed among the grains. I also like the packaging!


Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter Slug (Made in New Zealand)

99% Australian peanuts and salt make up this super smooth and portable peanut butter.

One taste and you can tell that there aren’t added sugars and other flavorings to this. Just pure nuts pureed into a thick smooth paste. As opposed to other natural peanut butters, this isn’t oily at all which really delighted me. I am a huge lover of peanut butter but I am picky with it, and this passed my initial taste test. I ate it with multigrain crackers.

However I wouldn’t recommend eating it on its own as it isn’t actually as smooth in the throat if you don’t eat it with anything else. I guess it’s because it’s made with mostly nuts, it has a way of sitting in the throat instead of going down properly, but eaten with biscuits and bread there shouldn’t be a problem.


Bounce Energy Ball Cashew & Pecan Vitality Lift (Made in the USA)

Creamy cashew nuts, pecans, and other seeds combine to make this an energy-boosting option from the Bounce lineup. This energy ball is also gluten free.

I think most people who aren’t into these types of snacks would observe that the ball doesn’t really look appetizing, but we’re keeping an open mind here right? At first bite, I was a little put-off by the flavor just because I couldn’t really identify what I was eating. It was sweet, and the texture was similar to half-baked cookie dough. After a few bites it became kind of normal, like I was eating a healthy soft cookie, but I still think stuff like this are an acquired taste.

As for the energy-adding aspect of it, I do feel like it kept my typical midday lethargy at bay. I should’ve tried this before working out to prove if it really does pump up the energy as it says.


Teapigs Premium Matcha (Made in the UK)

From a company that makes stuff using quality tea leaves, this on-the-go pack is perfect for addicts of matcha.

I haven’t drank a lot of the legit premium and expensive Japanese matchas so I’m not sure how this compares to those, but it seems to taste like most more accessible matcha teas out there.

It’s good, just make sure to mix it thoroughly.


Take Root Dark Chocolate Brownie Bliss Balls (Made in the Philippines)

Hand-rolled chewy balls made using dates, coconut flour, dark unsweetened cocoa powder, coconut nectar, and sea salt.

This all-natural treat is made up of dates. Dates are frankly one of my favorite healthy alternatives to binge on when I’m craving for something sweet so I wasn’t the least bit surprised about liking this. The dates give a brownie-like texture to these bliss balls, plus you get some juicy crunchy bits from the coconut.

Despite being sweet, it has a nice deep chocolate aftertaste. I actually liked this enough to place an order at Take Root to try their other products. (Review on that soon enough!)


The Beetroot (Made in the UK)

A fudgy bar full of fruit and veggies, with seeds & nuts mixed in for good measure. These are also wheat-free, gluten free, and free from refined sugar.

I like beetroot. I like that this bar is colored in the lovely shade of it. However I can’t quite put words to how this tastes, except that it’s a little strange. It’s sweet from being made up of dates once again, but maybe I am discovering I just don’t like how dates and cashew nuts mix. (Dates and almonds however are a big thumbs up!)

I feel like both dates and cashews have strong flavors on their own that clash against each other, and my tastebuds aren’t used to it. However, the aftertaste is oddly satisfying. I’m just not sure if this will be everyone’s cup of tea.


Virtue Sparkling Energy Water in Lemon & Lime (Made in the UK)

Boasting a drink that gives you natural energy, with zero sugar, zero calories, no sweeteners, and no artificial ingredients. It has natural caffeine and a bit of ginseng.

This is literally carbonated lemon water. I can’t say I particularly like it since I don’t even drink carbonated beverages, but I drank half a can and I think it did give me an energy boost for the rest of my afternoon. (Thanks, natural caffeine lol!)

I guess at the very least this did its job as described.


Jealous Sweets Grizzly Bears Gummies (Made in the UK)

This brand aims to make candies a thing for adults with their yummy offerings in cute packages. Their products are friendly for vegetarians and vegans, and are gluten-free with no artificial colors and flavors. It also has no alcohol.

I love gummies and I’d eat most of them especially when they have a sour note to them. Surprisingly, these bears gave me that. They’re not the bouncy-chewy type of gummies, which are my faves, but I enjoyed the extra bite these had nonetheless. This pack contains assorted flavors in Raspberry , Lemon , Apple, Orange, Pineapple & Blackcurrant.

I saw that they used corn syrup in the ingredients list so we can’t really say that this is a “healthy” treat, but I don’t know if you’re able to make gummies without some sort of sweet binder anyway. I don’t stuff myself silly with gummies on a daily basis so it doesn’t really bother me. I just feel that this is good candy that you’ll want to keep munching on when you’re craving for something sweet but with a fruity, slightly-sour punch.


RAW COCOA Coffee Chocolate with Mulberry (Made in Poland)

A combination of 55% raw unroasted cocoa beans and a bit of ground coffee, with dried pieces of mulberry scattered all over the chocolate.

I was hoping that I had saved the best for last and I was right. I loved this so much I went to the Raw Cocoa website and checked out their product lineup. Bad idea because now my mouth is watering and I don’t know where to get this haha! This chocolate is super smooth with a creamy mouth-feel. It has a deep roasted coffee taste and fruity notes.

The chocolate is a little bit sweet from the coconut sugar (I can even smell it) and the mulberry, but mostly it is a deep chocolate flavor. You still get the full effect of raw cocoa but without it being too bitter. If you’re a fan of bittersweet chocolate like me you will enjoy this. 🙂


Final thoughts

Out of the 10 snacks in this box, I enjoyed 6 of them. It’s not a bad score. I was hoping for an aloe drink to be honest, but got the Virtue one instead. Aaaw. But the question is: Will there be a next time?

Well truth be told, I don’t regularly snack on packaged foods between meals so even though this Raw Bites subscription box doesn’t necessarily fit my particular lifestyle, I am still glad to have tried all these healthy snacks mostly from countries I’ve never been to. Add to that, it’s interesting to get an idea how it would taste like if I ever shifted to an organic snacking lifestyle. It’s not bad at all.

But to answer the question, I think it is quite heavy on the wallet to maintain this kind of snacking lifestyle, so I probably won’t be re-subscribing for a little while. I can’t deny that the best part of this whole experience was discovering a new-to-me local brand like Take Root. In any case, if you find yourself interested in this subscription box concept, you can check Raw Bites out on their website.

Full disclosure: All products mentioned in this post were paid for with my own money and no portion is sponsored in any way. Opinions are 100% my own.

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4 Comments

  • Nathania Gail Go

    Thanks for the honest review 🙂 I actually think this is one of the best box reviews we’ve gotten so far (in terms of effort, understanding the concept, etc). Don’t worry, the Cocoa chocolates will be available in our website soon. We’re working on it! 🙂

  • Pamela Rose Tan

    Nice review! I’ll go order some for myselfr! I actually subscribe to US boxes already (love with food and snack sack) but I can’t resist one that’s being curated here. 🙂 thank u!

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