The best way to describe the taste would be like a nut butter biscuit. They're sweet but they’re very low in sugar which is important to ensure you can absorb the collagen.

Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the human body and a key structural component of connective tissues such as muscles, bones, skin, blood vessels, digestive system and ligaments and tendons. Our body produces less and less as we get older, the collagen formation in our skin decreases by around 1% each year after the age of 20 and breakdown significantly increases from the age of 40. Lower levels of collagen in the body leads to negative effects such as wrinkly, less elasticated skin and weaker tendons.

There are no plant sources of collagen, it can only be extracted from the connective tissues of animals. However, the molecules found in animal tissues are too large to be digested and absorbed by the human body so need to be broken down (by hydrolysation process) into gelatine or collagen peptides.

Gelatin = Partially Hydrolysed Collagen
The collagen is broken down to amino acid strands, making it easier to digest and more bioavailable, for example in bone broth. The more gelatine in your broth, the more jelly-like the broth is when cooled. Broth that stays watery when cool doesn’t have much gelatine in it.

Collagen Peptides = Completely Hydrolysed Collagen
The amino acid strands are hydrolysed even further and broken into individual collagen peptides, which is what you find in supplements. In this form, the collagen is easy to digest and highly bioavailable. Unlike gelatine, collagen peptides do not gel and can be dissolved in both warm and cold water. Studies have shown that more than 90% of collagen peptides are digested and available in the blood stream within one hour. The collagen peptides are then transported into the target tissues, e.g. skin, bones and cartilage, where they act as building blocks for local cells and help boost the production of new collagen fibres. This, of course depends on your digestion and some other contributing factors.

You need 10g of collagen for it to be considered a therapeutic serving (i.e. have an impact). Our bars have 11g.

Vitamin C is a key factor in collagen synthesis and new collagen fibres can’t form without it. Furthermore, vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that protects our body against free radicals, which damage our collagen and cause premature ageing. We add a natural source of vitamin C, Camu Camu, which has the highest known vitamin C content of all fruits (60 times more than oranges).

Sugar in the bloodstream attaches to collagen and elastin molecules via the glycation process, forming harmful new molecules called ‘advanced glycation end products’ (AGE’s). The more sugar you eat, the more AGE’s you develop, the more collagen and elastin fibres are damaged. This 'glycation' process also transforms even the most stable and long-lasting collagen fibres into more fragile fibres. This is one of the main reasons sugar makes us age on both the inside and outside. Too many AGE’s causes the skin to wrinkle, negatively impacts the biomechanical properties of tendons and leads to gut issues (due to damage caused to the intestinal lining resulting in inflammation).

If that wasn’t bad enough, sugar competes with vitamin C for space in cells due the similarities in their chemical structure. Diets which are high in sugar lead to low levels of vitamin C, thus inhibiting the formation of new collagen fibres. So watch out for supplements that are high in sugar and don’t contain vitamin C because the likelihood is, they probably won’t work!

We source our hydrolysed bovine collagen from the world's best source, Brazil. We don't use marine collagen because it is an allergen for many people, and most marine collagen available is from factory farmed fish or crustaceans which isn't particularly healthy and is inflammatory for most people which means it can cause more harm than good.

Chief Collagen bars are made on the NSW Central Coast, Australia.

You should always check with your doctor but there is nothing in the collagen bars that you would need to worry about. They are very safe and great for pregnancy and breast feeding.