This was a new experience. For the first time, a company reached out to me about their products, via email. They mentioned that they saw that I often discuss exotic snacks, which is just what they handle. This company, Universal Munchies, is a New York City-based "middle man," so to speak. It acquires foods and drinks from other companies, often foreign ones, and then sells them to customers. I took a look at their website, and indeed, it was right up my alley--foreign foods, or odd, regional flavors of American products. Therefore, I placed an order, and here we are. Full disclosure, Universal Munchies did give me a promo code that knocked a chunk off the price.
The countries represented by Universal Munchies are many--they import edibles and drinkables from Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Turkey, Germany, and the U.K. And, like I said, some of these things aren't imported, but are instead brought in from different isolated sections of the U.S. When you look at the product list on their website you see a lot of big famous brands, largely American-based--Mountain Dew, KitKat, Oreos, Doritos, Lays, and Fanta, to name some. I wasn't able to learn much about the company's background online--only that the founders are two guys who started the company in their 20's, while on summer break from college (or "university" for my British or Australian readers). They reportedly discovered exotic flavors of snacks, candies, and drinks while on their international family vacations, and seek to introduce them to new consumers. Additionally, I was struck by their prices, which are a bit high. The Frequently Asked Questions section on their website acknowledges this, and provides an explanation--the cost of importing, shipping, distribution, and customs fees of their products is the cause of this.
As for the companies whose products I sampled, some of these are very familiar to me, and some are new. Nestle is obviously a monster in the food game, as is the maker of Lay's potato chips--Frito Lay. (For more info on Frito Lay, check my post about pork rinds/chicharrones on March 13, 2021.) Otherwise, Yupi, or PT Yupi Indo Jelly Gums, is an Indonesian-based confectionary company. It exports to the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Asia, and North America. Alternate flavors of their gummies include Dino Land, Fang, Mummy, Aquarium, Lunch, Lips, and Burger. Presumably some or all of these refer to the shape of the candy, and not the actual flavor of, say, an ancient preserved corpse. They also sometimes partner up with the final confectionary brand represented today, Trolli. Trolli, a brand of the Trolli GmbH company, is based in Germany. It was started in 1948 by Willy Mederer, as a pasta making business named Mederer GmbH. However, when wartime sugar rationing was lifted, the company switched to making candy instead. The Trolli brand began in 1975. Like Yupi, this brand sometimes has creative, unusual flavors and shapes. One of these was a little too "out there," though. In 2004 Trolli introduced a road kill-themed gummy, consisting of snakes, squirrels, and chickens with tire tracks on them. Protests caused this line to be discontinued in 2005. As with Yupi's wacky flavors, I'm assuming that the road kill gummies only had the appearance of splattered, rotting animal carcasses.
Lays potato chips, scallop garlic butter flavor, sold in Thailand: These were orange in color, and ribbed. And they were good--the garlic and scallop flavors were evident, and a decent pairing. This probably seems like a weird flavor to Americans (and others?), but it worked. The scallop taste in particular was almost an after taste, and kind of built up on me.
Lays potato chips, salted egg flavor, sold in Thailand: The chips were yellow, and were smooth--not ribbed. And the flavor was solid. Odd, but evidently egg flavor works as a chip. It had a nice spice bite, too--not too overpowering, but enough to make it interesting. This flavor seemed bizarrely random to me, but I can't really argue with the result.
Yupi gummy pizzas, sold in Thailand: These gummies looked like, of course, tiny little slices of pizza, triangles of about 1.25 inches (about 3 cm.) to a side. The base color was yellow, with red, orange, pink, and green "toppings" on them, mimicking pepperoni, etc. The taste was mediocre--mostly fruity. So not great, but not bad, either. I did enjoy the shape, and look, and appreciate its weirdness. Although part of me almost wishes these gummies completed the illusion and actually tasted like a pizza. A savory gummy would be a bold choice. (Probably terrible, but bold!)
Trolli gummy worms, sold in Thailand: These looked like typical gummy worms, a long thin worm-like shape, about 3 cm. (about 1.25 inches) long. There were three color pairings--red/yellow, pink/blue and orange/green, with some whitish powder dusting on the outside. As it turns out, each color type tasted the same. And this flavor was really good, nicely sour. I'd have to rate these as superior sour worm gummies.
Nestle crunch nuts wafer, sold in Malaysia: Came in two halves, with the pieces being 6 cm. by 2.5 cm. (or about 2.25 inches by 1 inch). Brown, lumpy, exterior (due to rice bits?). Layered inside, with a thin yellow wafer layer, and then chocolate. Rice-y taste. Similar to a regular Nestle Crunch bar, or a regular KitKat, I suppose. So good. Not especially strange or anything, but a nice chocolate candy.
Overall, then, my experience with these treats from Universal Munchies was a positive one. If you're an ex-pat longing for a taste of home, or just like trying new and different flavors of typical brands, you might want to check them out. Finally, the delivery was quicker than the prediction--I was informed it would take 8-10 business days, but it only took 4 days (which were business days). Granted, I'm fairy close to New York City, but still, I was impressed. Their website is just what you'd think it would be---universalmunchies.com
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