Grinds is one of the pioneers of the category. As seen on Shark Tank in 2012, its original product was flavoured coffee pouches designed as an alternative to chewing tobacco. In 2024 Grinds launched a white energy pouch line with 80 mg of caffeine per pouch. The purpose of this article is to compare Grinds to SZN with as little bias as possible, to help you understand which product may be better suited for your individual and specific needs.
Grinds energy pouches offer 80 mg of caffeine per pouch, 20 mg less than SZN. That is a decent dose, and if you are simply looking for cheap caffeine with no other added benefit, Grinds is a solid option.
The rest of the label is where it gets thin. Grinds discloses four B-vitamins, B3, B5, B6 and B12, each at 10 % of the reference daily intake. It also lists vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, vitamin D and potassium as "not a significant source", which means they add nothing and serve mostly as label decoration. Because every vitamin sits below 15 % of the daily intake, Grinds falls under the 15 % rule and cannot legally make a nutrition or health claim about any of them.1
"Keep you sharp and help promote focus."
A real dose, 20 mg short of SZN's. It clears the 75 mg per serving that the EU-authorised alertness claims are based on, so the focus claim is fair for the caffeine alone.6
"Energy blend."
Four B-vitamins at 10 % of the reference intake each: B6 0.17 mg, B12 0.24 µg, B5 0.5 mg, B3 1.6 mg. Below 15 %, a product is not a source of the vitamin and cannot claim a benefit from it. SZN doses the same family at 104 to 125 %.1
Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, vitamin D, potassium.
Six nutrients printed on the panel with the disclaimer that the pouch is not a significant source of any of them. They contribute nothing to the effect. Their job is to make the label look fuller than it is, a practice known as pixie-dusting.1
Credit where due. Grinds is cheaper per can, packs 18 pouches instead of 15, and the 80 mg of caffeine is honestly dosed and disclosed. As plain caffeine in a pouch it does the job. The question this article raises is whether the rest of the label does anything at all.
SZN through the same lens. Five ingredients, every one disclosed on the label and dosed at or above the level the claim requires. No proprietary blends, no trace inclusions.
Measured values first, then the things you only learn by using both. The second group is our judgement from using both products, flagged as such, not a lab value.
| SZN | Grinds | |
|---|---|---|
| Measured values | ||
| Price per can, single3 | $12.00 | $7.95 |
| Price per can, bulk / subscription3 | $6.47 | $5.50 |
| Servings per can | 15 | 18 |
| Caffeine per pouch | 100 mg | 80 mg |
| Vitamins | 4 at 104–125 % DRI | 4 at 10 % RDI |
| Pouch weight4 | 700 mg | 600 mg |
| Pouch pH | pH-neutral | Not stated |
| Third-party tested | Yes · Eurofins5 | No |
| Sweeteners & flavour | Erythritol, sucralose, acesulfame K. Natural flavours | Sucralose, acesulfame K. Natural flavours |
| Label transparency | Every amount on the label | "Energy blend", six nutrients listed as not significant |
| Our assessment Experience | ||
| Dosing | 5 of 5 ingredients properly dosed | Decent caffeine, vitamins below the claim threshold |
| Scientific evidence for the formula | Strong | Weak |
| Pouch size Tie | Slim | Slim |
| Pouch feel | Soft, premium | Soft |
Both brands use a slim, soft pouch. SZN carries about 17 % more fill by weight, which shows up as a slightly plumper pouch rather than a more flabby format. In the mouth they sit almost identically under the lip.
Drawn to volume from stated weights · same mm scale · silhouettes illustrative
Adding active ingredients to a pouch is a very interesting prospect. The pouch acts as a carrier that lets an ingredient reach your bloodstream faster than travelling through the entire GI tract, by passing through the oral mucosa. This is known as buccal absorption.
For it to actually work, the active ingredient needs to meet certain criteria. Otherwise it is just going to sit under your lip doing nothing. Both brands build on caffeine and B-vitamins, which pass the oral mucosa. The difference is not the route but the amount: the vitamins in a Grinds pouch are so low that they carry no meaningful benefit, and the label says as much.
Passive diffusion through the mucosa favours molecules under roughly 500 daltons. Larger molecules largely stay in the pouch until swallowed.
Moderately fat-soluble molecules cross fastest. Strongly water-loving or charged molecules diffuse slowly even when small.
Crossing the mucosa is not the same as doing something. A vitamin at 10 % of the daily intake crosses just fine, and still falls below the level at which any benefit can be claimed.
Both pouches clear the gate, because both are built on caffeine and small B-vitamins. What differs is the payload: 100 mg of caffeine and four B-vitamins above 100 % per SZN pouch, against 80 mg and four B-vitamins at 10 %.
Read more: sznpouches.com/pages/science
Both SZN and Grinds contain four B-vitamins. Grinds includes each at 10 % of the reference daily intake per serving, below the 15 % threshold at which a product counts as a source of the vitamin. SZN reaches over 100 % for all four.
SZN is manufactured in Sweden, considered by many to be the birth nation of the pouch, and is third-party tested by one of the world's leading laboratories, Eurofins. This way you can be certain that each pouch contains what the label says. Grinds manufactures in the United States, without third-party testing.
Both brands generate a lot of strong customer feedback, for the product and for customer support. As everyone's tolerance to caffeine is unique, some users are bound to feel nothing no matter whether they pick SZN, Grinds or any other caffeinated pouch. That is why SZN offers a full 30-day money-back guarantee, so anyone can order and try the pouches.
Showcasing only five-star reviews doesn't say much. The unhappy customers are the biggest source of learning, so we compare the share of one-star reviews.
Grinds is honest about what it is: 80 mg of caffeine at a low price, with a vitamin blend too small to claim anything. SZN costs about a dollar more per can in bulk and brings 20 mg more caffeine, ten times the B-vitamins, a pH-neutral slim pouch, and a third-party certificate behind every number.
