Prima, Re-Tasted: Better Isn't Best

Verdict Database entry #2 — I promised in writing I'd go back. So I went back.

Housekeeping first, because this is a new fixture around here: the Verdict Database is where every verdict I publish goes on the record — graded, dated, and revisited on tape when the facts change. When I'm wrong, you'll read it from me first. Entry #1 was the wearables compilation from the first Worth It or Theater? thread. This is entry #2, and it exists because of a sentence I wrote in public.

Here’s the sentence. In last week’s David teardown I said Prima was “good, but — irony noted — greasy in its original form,” and that since they’d reformulated — 21 grams of protein, reportedly less grease — it was “back on my retest list, which is exactly how this should work.” That last clause is a trap, and I set it for myself on purpose. Once you put “retest pending” in print, you either retest or you’re theater.

So I retested. Same conditions as the original test — multiple bars, one after a run, one mid-afternoon, the two slots where a bar actually earns a spot in my bag. The reformulated bar, salted caramel, four bucks at Pop Up Grocer. My money, like always.

Credit where it’s due, and loudly: it’s genuinely better. 21 grams of protein now. Less greasy — not gone, but noticeably. More moist. Somebody at Prima did real work on that reformulation, and if it were the only bar on the shelf I’d be happy about it.

But the verdict holds. The Jacob bar is still the one in my bag — better taste, better consistency, the protein I actually want. Here’s what decided it: even improved, Prima lost the head-to-head on the things I actually eat a bar for. Better isn’t best.

And that’s the whole system here. A verdict you won’t re-test isn’t a verdict — it’s a vibe with good typography. Prima improved; I went back; the ranking didn’t move. Next time it might. When it does, you’ll read it from me first.

That’s the verdict, free, no wall in front of it. Below the wall: the database entry itself — original vs. reformulation vs. the incumbent, scored line by line — the exact, falsifiable bar Prima has to clear to flip this, and the standing method so you can run the same test on whatever’s in your own gym bag.

PAID (below the paywall) — Wellness …