Neve smoothie pouches are trail-portable and designed for athletes

If you have little kids, you’re probably familiar with pouch snacks. Usually filled with applesauce or yogurt, these little packets with screw tops offer an easy way to snack on messy stuff while on the go. Smoothie pouches for adults are a thing, too — perhaps you’ve seen them in your grocery store. Neve smoothie pouches offer the same convenience as those grocery store pouches, but they’re formulated specifically for athletes.

Nora Fierman came up with the idea for Neve while on a month-long ski trip in Chile. Six years later, she’s launched the product with two flavors: Boysenberry Beet and Tart Cherry Cacao.

Satisfying energy

Looking at the nutrition facts on a Neve pouch, a couple of line items stand out. For starters, Neve contains a significant amount of fat, an important macronutrient just like carbohydrates and protein, but not something cyclists typically associate with mid-ride energy and nutrition.

“Adding fat to your nutrition strategy for a long activity, you’re helping with satiation,” Fierman told me over email. “A carb will give you that quick hit of energy, while fat will be a more sustained source of energy. Neve has both. The longer you’re out, physical hunger becomes a concern, and the fat in Neve helps with that.”

Indeed, for all-day rides I like to pack nuts or cheese, both of which are good sources of fat, just like the coconut cream in Neve pouches.

With 23g of carbs, a Neve Boysenberry Beet pouch — designed for slurping down mid-ride — offers about the same carb content as a Gu Energy gel. With 180g of calories per serving, Neve pouches deliver significantly more energy than the grocery-store smoothie pouches from Mott’s, Outshine, and Noka that I checked.

Beyond energy, Neve contains important electrolytes that are lost through sweat. With 300-320g of sodium, a Neve smoothie pouch is on par with a 20oz Gatorade. There’s also a ton of potassium (another electrolyte), at levels that are four times higher than Gatorade, and just slightly less than a whole banana.

To be clear, you probably won’t eat a Neve during a race. “Neve is not designed for your short and high-intensity sessions because of the fat,” Fierman said. “Neve is designed for those long days out.”

On the Neve website, a single pouch costs $4.50 and a six-pack goes for $27.

But how does it taste?

I packed a Neve Boysenberry Beet smoothie on a recent backcountry mountain bike ride, which admittedly was a bit of a risk. After about an hour and a half, my stomach was growling, so I unscrewed the cap and gave the Neve pouch a big slurp.

At first it tasted salty, not at all what I expected from a smoothie. The texture was thick and a little chunky, like someone stopped short of full puree with the blender. After a few gulps, I stopped tasting salt and noticed a sweet and tart finish. Compared to a gel packet or even a bar, the Neve goes down more like real food, rather than some sort of concoction.

Overall, I liked the flavor and texture. I might even go so far as to say it tastes good, but I don’t know if that’s true. After all, almost anything tastes good when you’re hungry in the outdoors.

It does seem like the Neve smoothie sticks with you longer than some of the processed trail snacks I’ve eaten. The pouch certainly didn’t fill me up like a meal replacement, but it was a while before I truly felt hungry again during the ride. I could see packing a couple of Neve pouches, in addition to my usual snacks and meals, for a bikepacking trip.

Plant-based ingredients

Neve adds fruits and vegetables to a coconut cream base, along with rice flour, sea salt, sugar, and a few natural organic acids. Beet juice concentrate is said to improve blood flow, though I can’t comment on whether it was effective for me or not.

Banana puree is one of the first three ingredients, and the fruit is a great source of potassium. I get leg cramps occasionally, and a banana can be a great relief… if I remember to pack one.

Though the Neve pouches don’t contain dairy, they do need to be refrigerated after opening since coconut cream spoils just like other fatty liquids like milk.

After four years of looking, Fierman found a manufacturer in Florida capable of producing her fruit- and vegetable-based recipes. Though there are only two flavors now, more are in the works. “I developed a total of four flavors, but only launched with two to test and understand the market,” Fierman said.

After the ride too

Neve’s second flavor, Tart Cherry Cacao, is billed as a post-ride smoothie. Tart cherries are said to aid with recovery, and this smoothie amps up the protein and fiber content as well. I’ve got a pouch of Tart Cherry Cacao at home, but I haven’t tried it yet. It should make for a convenient snack for the car ride home after a ride. That is, if I haven’t eaten pizza or tacos already.