I have 2 problems :
1- Lite is not lite...
The fact that the "lite" formula is not light at all, Its 1€ more expensive and its the same amount of calories than the normal formula : 394 Kcal vs 391 Kcal for the lite (per 100 g powder). Its no differences. The difference is u tell consumer on the package to put 154g of Queal Lite in the shaker, versus 178g for the normal. The differences in calories is here.
I think thats dishonest and bad commercial practice. 1€ more for something that is not less caloric, thats really wrong. Even worst, there is more carbohydrate in the lite version than the normal version (44.3 g carbs in normal vs 43.3 g carbs in lite in 100 g poder), thats not what I call "lite".
At least u are well protected with consumers law because in an arithmetics point of view : 391 calories is LIGHTER than 394, and u will say that there is less fat (0.5 g less....) so we can't accuse you of bad commercial practices, well done Queal. In nutrition, its better to consume calories as fat and not as carbs (even carbs are necessary everydays). This mean, reduce (only) 0.5 g fat but increase 1 g carbs is not "healthy friendly", the better is to decrease carbs and increase fat for the same amount of calorie, because of our metabolism....
I didnt payed attention to this when I bought, I asked myself later so its only my fault : I should have investigated more.
2-Awesome apple pie taste bad !
This taste is not good, too much cinnamon is not good. Its not a good way to simulate apple pie, not everyone like cinnamon, I dont even feel the apple taste.
Good points are :
Strawberry, vanilla, choco, banana = good taste, no problem. (didnt taste chunky fruit yet). The product is easy to eat and thats what I asked. But the problems I mentionned above, especially the "lite problem" make my Queal experience less pleasant...
I would recommend Queal but I would warn people about the bad commercial practice of the "Lite" formulas. And if I buy again, depending on how my guts feels after eating liquid for several consecutive days, I will buy only the Normal formula or athletic (because it have more protein, which is a lot better than carbs....).
Reply Queal:
Hello there!
Thanks for writing a review about us.
I'm sorry to hear you feel that way about our Queal Lite.
Please allow me to explain some things:
Queal Lite has a completely different balance of the macronutrients/ingredients.
The quantities are less overall, but also differ a lot relative to each other.
For example, there is (a relative amount of) more Scottish Oat- and Soy Flour in Lite, and (a relative amount of) less Whey Protein.
The idea behind this is to keep the careful balance of fast- and slow carbohydrates (giving you a balanced energy level throughout, with immediate energy, but also long-lasting energy), as well as a good satiation (a long lasting lack of a hunger feeling).
This change in macro-ingredients also alters the micro-nutrients that this serves, and therefore Lite also has a custom micro-nutrient mix to still get a good match to the RDA levels.
You are right, there is a lower overall quantity of products in Lite, and yet it is more expensive than Standard.
So why is this?
Well, it comes down to boring economics I'm afraid. We sell a lot more of Standard than Lite.
The fixed costs of the production lines for Lite are therefore divided over fewer bags, and thus each individual bag is more expensive to make, even though it has a lower quantity of ingredients.
TL;DR:
Lite is not just "less Queal in a bag".
It has its own custom mix of macro- and micro-nutrients to ensure a balanced energy level and good satiation.
It's more expensive to produce due to economies of scale.
That being said, you could definitely buy Queal Standard and divide the bag into 4 smaller meals.
Note that this might cause you to feel hungry a bit faster, and you are also getting less than 33% of the vitamins and minerals if you do this.
I hope this explained it a bit!
Please stop by the forum, or shoot us an email, if you have any questions!