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Let’s be honest, even for an RD, getting enough green stuff into my diet is a challenge. Sure, there are some “hacks” to sneak them in, like blending spinach into a smoothie or adding pureed broccoli to a meatloaf. (I tried this and my meatloaf-loving husband was NOT pleased with green-tinged meat).
At the end of the day, most green veggies are not the first choice for many of us. But we all know we have to get those nutrients, after all, green vegetables are probably some of the healthiest foods on the planet.
So, many of us look for a tastier, easier, and more convenient way to get our greens in. Enter green powders. These supplements are a convenient way to get some greens without having to cook them (or let’s be honest, letting them rot in your fridge).
While these types of products are not new overall, there is one product that has recently taken TikTok by storm, Bloom Greens & Superfoods Powder. Just a quick search on TikTok for Bloom Greens resulted in thousands of results. And while I was happy to see a lot of legit posts from RDs about the product, there are also a lot of “influencers” claiming it has a wide variety of benefits that it can’t possibly have.
In this Bloom Greens review, I’ll break down this trend, and take a look at what the truth is about this viral product.
What is Bloom Greens?
- Cost-effective green supplement
- Easy to find in traditional retailers
- Includes natural sweeteners
- Not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women
- Not third-party tested
- No involvement of experts with the brand
Bloom Greens is a supplement made by a nutrition brand called Bloom Nutrition. Founded by influencer Mari Llewellyn and her husband in 2019, Bloom has skyrocketed to success in the last 4 years. The product is now found in over 6,000 retail stores and can be purchased online. This duo is clearly smart at business, leveraging Mari’s influencer status into a booming supplement company.
But after looking at the ingredients, there isn’t anything that special about Bloom Greens. It is not that much different from other green powders. It has a blend of vegetables, fruits, probiotics, antioxidants, digestive enzymes, and fiber, which are pretty typical ingredients in green powders.
Greens powders are a blend of various grasses, vegetables, fruits, and superfoods. Most green powders contain ingredients like spinach, kale, spirulina, wheatgrass, and chlorella, to name a few.
The intention behind these powders, including Bloom, is to provide a quick and easy way to consume an array of nutrient-dense foods in a single serving. Bloom claims to relieve bloating, support gut health, and promote energy.
Many people swear by green powders, claiming many similar benefits, such as increased energy levels, improved digestion, and overall better health. I have tried a few throughout the years and they taste like drinking grass (many do contain grass), so it was not worth the taste. There are mixed reviews on the flavor of the Bloom Greens.
Ingredients in Bloom Greens
What is in Bloom Greens? The ingredients are broken down into 7 proprietary “blends”. This means that they list the different ingredients, but don’t break down how much of each is actually in the blend. They provide a top-level amount of the blend that is in the product.
The 7 proprietary blends are:
Fiber Blend (1,606 mg): Chicory root fructooligosaccharides, organic flaxseed, apple fruit powder
Green Superfood Blend (1,367 mg): Organic barley grass, organic spirulina, organic wheatgrass, organic alfalfa leaf, organic chlorella powder
Digestive Enzymes: Maltodextrin, amylase, amyloglucosidase, protease, acid protease, cellulase, lipase
Pre- and Probiotic Blend (648 mg): Blue agave inulin, Bifidobacterium bifidum, lactobacillus rhamonosus, lactobacillus acidophilus
Fruit and Vegetable Blend (572 mg): organic carrot root powder, beetroot powder, kale leaf powder, blueberry fruit powder, spinach leaf powder, broccoli head powder, ginger root extract
Antioxidant Beauty Blend (550 mg): cranberry fruit powder, acai berry, sour cherry fruit extract, strawberry fruit powder, raspberry fruit powder, European elder fruit powder, goji berry, horseradish tea leaf, grape seed extract, matcha green tea leaf
Adaptogenic Blend (100 mg): American ginseng root powder, ashwagandha root powder, astragalus root powder, eleuthero root powder, licorice root extract, rhodiola root powder
Stevia leaf extract is used for sweetness.
While many of the ingredients are organic, the amounts are likely too small to have any significant impact. For example, 572 mg of fruits and vegetables divided by 7 different ingredients (let’s say there is the same amount of each), is around 80 mg of of each. This is such a tiny amount, it would be unlikely to have any real impact.
Additionally, probiotics are typically measured in CFU (colony forming units), not milligrams. Therefore, it is unclear how much is actually in this.
Finally, the biggest contributor is a fiber blend. Although fiber is beneficial for digestive health this product only has 2 grams in total. You would be better off taking a fiber supplement, like Benefiber, which has 5 grams of fiber per serving, is tasteless (so you can mix it into anything., and is about ⅓ the price.
Is It High Quality?
Now, let’s talk about the quality of Bloom’s product. The company does use organic ingredients and prides itself on being non-GMO, gluten-free, and free of any artificial flavors or colors. It is cGMP certified, which is a basic requirement for all supplement companies.
But, as a dietitian, there are some glaring issues with the marketing and transparency of this brand. First, based on their website there are no experts involved with the brand. The only “experts” are the founders, who don’t seem to have any actual qualifications beyond being influencers. There is no advisory board or other scientific backing for the brand.
Most people promoting the brand online are also just lay people. While this doesn’t mean that the brand is necessarily bad, any video I could find of other RDs talking about it was pretty skeptical of its claims.
@stephgrassodietitian I will give credit to Bloom Nutrition’s marketing team 💯 But to the fitness influencer who created the product…it’s a no for me💀 #bloomnutrition #dietitian #nutrition #guthealth ♬ original sound – Steph Grasso, MS, RD
The product is not third party certified. Green powders are notorious for heavy metal contamination. While there is no indication that this is the case with Bloom Greens, as a consumer I would feel more confident with a product that was third party tested to be sure it did not contain harmful ingredients.
Finally, the lack of transparency on the nutrition label overall makes me uneasy. While most green powders rely on “blends”, seeing a breakdown of the actual micronutrients in the product and providing more information about how it is made would be a step toward improving the transparency.
That being said, the influencer marketing and partnership with retail stores are clearly working for them, so there is likely little motivation to make any changes.
Can Bloom Greens Help You Lose Weight?
Bloom Greens does not make any direct claims about weight loss, the claim is implied when the founder says she lost over 100 pounds and the products were part of that journey. There are also many videos of people claiming it is helping them lose weight.
The bottom line is there is no scientific evidence supporting the idea that it can help with weight loss. There is nothing in any green powder that will help you lose weight, without changing your diet and lifestyle. Bloom Greens, just like other green powders, is just a blend of fruits, vegetables, and superfoods that provide a range of vitamins and minerals that are essential for overall health. It might make you a bit healthier by adding some nutrients to your diet, but that’s about it.
If you want to lose weight, you need to follow a calorie-restricted diet plan, exercise, manage your stress, and get enough sleep. There is no “magic” supplement on the market that will help with this.
Should you try Bloom Greens?
If you really love drinking green stuff, Bloom Greens seems like an adequate choice for a green powder. It is moderately priced when compared to other products on the market (looking at you, AG1) and is widely available at many retail stores like Target and Walmart.
My personal recommendation would be to save your money at try to eat those green veggies, even if you have to sneak them in. A bag of spinach costs less than $3 and you can easily blend it into a smoothie.
If you are interested in adaptogens, probiotics, or other ingredients there are more effective supplements with transparent doses listed, so you know exactly what you are getting.
A final piece of advice, if your TikTok is being flooded with a product, dig a little deeper before buying it. Don’t take an influencer’s word for it. Want to learn more about Food Trends? Check out our 2023 Food Trends roundup.
