Sharkies – Review

Interesting. A fully organic gummy candy. Seems counterintuitive. Also, it’s marketed as an energy food for workouts. Let’s see how they stand up against other products on the market.

Cost: 2. Retail is 3 dollars a pouch. A 12-pouch box of non-organic gummy candy is 6 bucks. That does not compare favorably.

Portability: 4. Pouch is larger than most energy foods, but is very easy to compact and doesn’t seem bulky in a jersey pocket. Plus, if opened correctly, it’s essentially resealable (compared to an energy bar or goo container).

Ease of Use: 3 If you drop an energy bar while riding, all of it is going to hit the road and get dirty. With Sharkies, you’ll drop one or two little fish, but the rest of the bag is safe. If you’re prone to dropping things this is an advantage; if you aren’t, the smaller fish may prove harder to hold. Pick your poison, I guess.

Taste: 2 (compared to other gummi candies; it’s good for an energy food). After extra salty licorice fish, probably the worst tasting gummy candy I’ve eaten. It doesn’t taste bad per se, just unusual. Like someone left the rinds on the organically-grown oranges when they threw them into the Sharkies-making machine. The aftertaste is especially weird. Still, miles beyond a Cola Buzz Clif Shot.

Punch: 2. There’s 170 calories in a bag, but I just don’t know where they all go. Eating a bag over a minute or two felt like eating half a Gu. Sharkies do offer two distinct advantages over most energy foods, though. If you’ve got an odd or unpredictable metabolism that doesn’t respond well to being swamped by sugers, they hit (and eat) more like a regular food than anything else I’ve tried. Also, they let you add in calories a little bit at time, if you’re one of those atheletes who’s super bent out of shape about steady caloric input during exercise.

Final Thoughts: A good attempt, but not that great. It is nice to see a wholly organic energy food (other than regular old fruit, I suppose), especially considering the warning label on the back of Enervit Cheerpacks that warn they may contain “crustaceans.” Maybe if you’re big into natural foods and adding energy to your system a little bit at a time, this could be for you. Otherwise, stick to the classics and supplement with gummy candy from your local 7-11.