LA bougie grocery store Erewhon’s ‘healthy’ smoothies contain more calories than a large Frappuccino from Starbucks – and a similar amount to a Big Mac burger from McDonald’s, nutritionists have warned.
The celebrity-endorsed drinks are thought to contain about 700 calories and nearly 80 grams of sugar — 10 times that of a Krispy Kreme donut — per 20-ounce serving.
In comparison, a large Starbucks Almond Milk and Sugar Cookie Frappuccino has 440 calories and 74 grams of sugar.
The coffee chain’s popular drinks have previously been labeled “loaded with sugar and excessive calories” by international health experts.
Erewhon’s Hailey Bieber Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie — which is designed by the model and influencer — is priced at $18 and claims to “support skin” and “support wellness.”
However, Alabama-based dietitian Carolyn Williams told DailyMail.com: “It’s not going to improve your skin any more than another smoothie with fresh fruit in it.”
Far from “inspiring good decisions and healthier communities,” as the celebrity favorite grocery store claims, these products risk significant weight gain if consumed often and are filled with expensive supplements that are effectively unnecessary. experts say, along with a ton of sugar.
Erewhon’s Hailey Bieber Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie will set you back an eye-watering $18
Angie, a fitness influencer, tried making Hailey’s smoothie at home and calculated a total of 548 calories
DailyMail.com spent 48 hours trying to contact Erewhon for the smoothie’s nutritional information, which is not listed on the website, but Erewhon said it did not have this information.
TikTok user James Anderson contacted the Erewhon customer service team in September 2023 and was informed in an email, seen by DailyMail.com, that Hailey Bieber’s Strawberry Glaze skin smoothie contains “around 700 calories”.
In the absence of detailed official nutritional information, content creators attempted to recreate the smoothie to assess its caloric value.
Its ingredients, as listed on the website, are: Malk almond milk, organic bananas, organic strawberries, organic avocado, organic dates, organic maple syrup, Vital Proteins vanilla collagen, vanilla stevia, moss. sea, organic coconut cream and organic strawberry from Driscoll’s. Icing.
In Erewhon’s Instagram post announcing the smoothie, they also mention hyaluronic acid in the composition of the concoction.
Ms Williams said: “You get fruit, avocado and fat.
“Sea moss is a type of algae believed to offer some nutritional benefits, but large studies have not yet proven this.”
“Coconut cream is generally very calorie dense because it is thicker than canned coconut milk.”
Driscoll’s Organic Strawberry Frosting is typically used as a dessert topping to finish dishes like ice cream and cheesecake.
Ms Williams said: “It’s funny they used Driscoll’s organic strawberry frosting. It contains a lot of added sugar.
Collagen is a protein naturally found in the body, but it is often touted as a supplement to improve skin, nails, and hair.
“Collagen has some benefits, not necessarily on physical appearance, but there has been research into how collagen could potentially strengthen bones and protect against bone loss and joint pain,” says Williams.
“But it won’t make you better on the outside.”
As for hyaluronic acid, Ms Williams said: “I have never seen any research showing that it has any nutritional benefit when added to food.
“Just because it plays this role in the body doesn’t mean consuming it via food or a smoothie means it’s going to do those things.”
“I was surprised they used maple syrup in addition to dates – it’s unnecessary. Between the dates and bananas, it should be sweet enough on its own.
Some wellness gurus claim maple syrup and dates are “healthier” than white sugar – but this has been debunked by many diet experts.
In an explanation last year, dietitian Zoë Atlas of California explained: “‘Natural’ sugars are still sugar and are just as likely to cause spikes in blood sugar or other adverse metabolic health effects than old table sugar.
On TikTok, Angie, a fitness influencer with more than 200,000 followers, shared a video in which she prepares the frozen strawberry smoothie according to the store’s recipe. She calculates that the drink contains approximately 548 calories.
Medium blogger Michelle Murphy also recreated the Hailey Bieber smoothie and calculated it at almost 600 calories.
“That’s a lot for a smoothie,” Ms. Williams said. “That’s a lot for a meal – and it’s just a drink that I suppose you’d have as a supplement.” She guessed the drink would contain “at least 400 calories.”
Olivia Rodrigo’s collaboration with Erewhon is her 4 ur GUTS Smoothie, which features sea buckthorn and pomegranate kombucha.
Another “healthy” smoothie offering from Erewhon is the “good 4 ur GUTS Smoothie,” priced at $18, designed by singer Olivia Rodrigo to mark the release of her album GUTS.
“Promising support for gut healing,” this drink contains oat milk, pomegranate kombucha, sea buckthorn, ion intestinal support, honey, chocolate protein maca, strawberries, dates, blueberries, mango, acai, coconut cream and avocado.
Sea buckthorn and ionic bowel support “won’t do much,” Ms. Williams said.
“There are a lot of things here that I don’t think are necessarily bad, but I don’t think they’ll do anything or be worse than money.”
“It’s not something you should go out and buy because it will make you healthier,” she added.
As for a potential effect on the gut, Williams said it would have no more impact than any other fruit smoothie, which contains fiber to speed up the digestive process.
She estimated that Rodrigo’s smoothie contained “at least 400 calories.”
If someone drank it every day, “it wouldn’t be a superfood or anything that would revolutionize your health.”
Emma Chamberlain’s “High Protein” Cold Brew Cookie Smoothie also costs $18 and is estimated at over 600 calories
Next up is social media personality Emma Chamberlain’s “high protein” Cold Brew Cookie Smoothie.
The decadent drink is filled with banana, caramel stevia, vanilla protein powder, almond milk, beauty drops, almond butter, coconut meat, ice, concentrate cold brew, frozen raspberries, caramel, dates, cocoa powder, coconut cream, thin chocolate brownie cookies and cocoa seeds.
Ms Williams said: “It has a bit more protein than the other two, so you’re probably getting 15 to 25 grams of protein – so at least it’ll fill you up.”
“Coconut meat and coconut cream: They are quite high in calories and fat. This will add a good amount of calories.
Factoring in the caramel, dates and cookie crumble, “that’s going to be at least 600 calories,” she said.
“I view it more as a treat rather than something to eat every day.” Most of my meals don’t even have 600 calories,” she said.
“It has less fiber because it doesn’t have as much fruit,” Ms. Williams added.
Another popular smoothie from Erewhon is their Coconut Cloud Smoothie, which is an aesthetically pleasing pale blue color.
It contains almond milk, pineapple, banana, avocado, almond butter, vanilla collagen, vanilla stevia, blue majik and coconut cream.
Blue Majik is a brand of spirulina, which is a type of algae. “Some research examines the potential health benefits of spirulina, but there are no large-scale studies; there’s nothing very conclusive,” Ms. Williams said.
“This one looks a little more complete than some of the others. But again, it will be quite high in calories. Again I’m thinking close to 400 calories or more.
“It’s not the only thing that will change your health.”