Do Built Puff Bars Contain Erythritol? Clarifying the Confusion

December 13, 2025 •

4 min read

According to research published by the National Institutes of Health, erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol found in some foods. This raises a critical question for consumers of popular snack products: do Built Puff Bars contain erythritol, and does this apply to other 'Puff' products?

Quick Summary

The presence of erythritol depends on the specific 'Puff' product. Built Puff protein bars do contain erythritol, but Puff Bar vapes are a separate product line with different sweeteners.

Key Points

Product Confusion: The user query likely conflates 'Built Puff' protein bars with 'Puff Bar' disposable vapes, which are distinct products from different companies.
Built Puffs Contain Erythritol: Built brand's 'Puff' protein bars explicitly list erythritol as an ingredient on their nutritional labels.
Puff Bar Vapes Use Other Sweeteners: Disposable Puff Bar vapes do not list erythritol; their sweetness comes from different artificial sweeteners like sucralose and sometimes potent ones like neotame.
Ingestion vs. Inhalation Risks: Erythritol is generally considered safe for food consumption, but its health effects when inhaled via vaping are unknown and a cause for concern.
Ingredient Transparency Varies: Nutritional food products like Built Puffs have ingredient lists, while disposable vape products like Puff Bars often do not disclose all additives.
Erythritol as a Food Additive: In Built Bars, erythritol is a non-caloric sugar alcohol that provides sweetness and texture, but its use contributes to the product being classified as ultra-processed.
Vape Sweetener Concerns: The heating of sweeteners like sucralose in vapes can cause coils to caramelize and may lead to the formation of toxic byproducts upon inhalation.

The Built Puff Bar vs. Puff Bar Vape Confusion

A common misunderstanding arises from the similar-sounding product names, 'Built Puff Bar' and 'Puff Bar'. The former is a protein-based nutritional snack produced by Built Brands, while the latter is a brand of disposable electronic cigarette, or vape. The two are completely different product types with entirely distinct ingredient compositions, manufacturing, and health implications.

Why the mix-up happens

The confusion primarily stems from the shared 'Puff Bar' phrase, which, combined with the increasing number of disposable vapes and flavored snacks on the market, causes consumer uncertainty. For anyone seeking information on sweeteners, particularly erythritol, it is essential to first identify which product they are considering.

The Truth About Built Puff Protein Bars

Yes, Built Puff protein bars contain erythritol. As documented on the company's own website and various nutritional reviews, erythritol is used alongside other sweeteners like glycerin and maltodextrin to achieve its sweet flavor profile while remaining low in calories. This sugar alcohol is responsible for a part of the bar's sweetness and helps in maintaining its texture and shelf life.

Nutritional context of erythritol in Built Puffs

Sweetener: Erythritol serves as a sugar substitute, offering sweetness with effectively zero calories because it is mostly excreted unchanged in urine.
Digestive effects: Unlike other sugar alcohols, erythritol is generally well-tolerated and less likely to cause digestive distress in typical doses.
Processing: The inclusion of sweeteners like erythritol places Built Puffs in the category of ultra-processed foods.

Investigating Puff Bar Vape Ingredients

Puff Bar vapes, as disposable electronic cigarettes, contain e-liquid, which is a mixture of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), flavorings, and often nicotine. Unlike the food product, there is no evidence to suggest that Puff Bar vapes specifically use erythritol. Instead, the sweetness in vapes is typically provided by other compounds. Recent studies, including one from Yale, have identified a highly potent artificial sweetener called neotame in many popular disposable e-cigarettes, but it was not present in FDA-authorized products. Sucralose is another common artificial sweetener used in vape juices.

Sweetener types in vapes

Sucralose: The most common sweetener in e-liquids due to its intense sweetness and neutral flavor. However, it can caramelize on coils, leading to a burnt taste.
Ethyl Maltol: A flavoring agent that provides a sweet, cotton-candy-like taste and is also used to sweeten vapes.
Neotame: A potent artificial sweetener found in some disposable vapes, but its safety when inhaled has not been established.

Comparison: Protein Bar vs. Vape Sweeteners


Feature	Built Puff Protein Bars	Puff Bar Vapes
Product Type	Nutritional Snack	Disposable Electronic Cigarette
Sweeteners Used	Erythritol, glycerin, maltodextrin	Sucralose, ethyl maltol, neotame
Erythritol Present?	Yes	Not specifically identified in search results for this brand, though other sweeteners are used
Consumption Method	Ingestion	Inhalation
Regulation	FDA regulations for food products; generally recognized as safe for consumption	Complex, evolving regulation; some ingredients not cleared for inhalation
Primary Function	Protein source, snack	Nicotine delivery, recreation

The Broader Context of Vaping Sweeteners

The method of consumption is a critical differentiator. While erythritol is approved as a food additive for ingestion, the safety of inhaling sweeteners is largely unknown and under-researched. When heated to a vaporizable state, these compounds may break down into different chemicals with potentially harmful effects. Sweeteners in vapes, for instance, have been shown to degrade into toxic byproducts like formaldehyde when heated. This is a significant health concern, particularly given the high prevalence of sweet flavors in products popular with youth. The Yale study on neotame in popular disposable vapes is a prominent example of ongoing research into the chemical composition and health implications of these unregulated substances.

How to Check Product Ingredients

Food Products: Always read the ingredients label on the packaging. Built Puffs explicitly list erythritol. For food-grade items, it will be transparently displayed, though sometimes lumped under 'sugar alcohols'.
Vaping Products: Checking the ingredients for vapes is far more difficult. Disposable vapes often lack ingredient labels. For bottled e-liquids, manufacturers may list ingredients like sucralose, but flavor concentrates are often proprietary blends. The best way to check, if possible, is to look up the manufacturer's website or reviews from reputable sites. However, without lab testing, it is nearly impossible to confirm all contents.

Conclusion: The Final Word on Erythritol

The definitive answer to whether built puff bars contain erythritol is yes, but only if you are referring to the Built brand of protein snack bars. The other product commonly associated with this phrase, Puff Bar vapes, is an entirely different product and does not list erythritol among its standard ingredients, instead relying on other artificial sweeteners like sucralose or neotame. Consumers must be aware of the stark difference between these products and not assume the ingredients are interchangeable. The safety of ingesting erythritol is not the same as inhaling it, and the latter remains an area of significant health concern due to the lack of research and regulation. Individuals should exercise caution and be aware of the specific products they are consuming or using.

Erythritol: An In-Depth Discussion of Its Potential to Be a Beneficial Dietary Component

Frequently Asked Questions

No, Built Puff protein bars and Puff Bar vapes are completely different products made by separate companies. The similarity in name is a source of confusion for many consumers.

The safety of inhaling erythritol has not been definitively established. While it is considered safe for food consumption, the heating process involved in vaping could produce unknown and potentially harmful compounds.

Puff Bar vapes and many other disposable e-cigarettes commonly use artificial sweeteners like sucralose and ethyl maltol to achieve their sweet flavors. Some products have also been found to contain neotame.

For bottled e-liquids, some reputable manufacturers may list sweeteners like sucralose. However, for disposable vapes like Puff Bars, ingredient transparency is often limited or nonexistent on the packaging.

Built uses erythritol as a sugar alcohol sweetener to reduce calories and provide a desirable sweet taste while helping to maintain the product's texture and shelf life.

All sweeteners in vapes pose potential health risks because they are not meant to be heated and inhaled. Research is ongoing, but studies have already noted the presence of cytotoxic chemicals and potential for toxic byproduct formation.

Yes. Mistaking a protein bar ingredient (erythritol) for a vape ingredient could lead to misunderstanding the significant and potentially more severe health risks associated with inhaling undisclosed chemical compounds in vape aerosols.