This is another sequel. Back on January 4th, 2020 I discussed some chips made from odd veggies or fruits, unlike the usual potato ones. Well, I got lucky again. I wasn't even looking for them--I just saw some bags in the potato chip/pretzel/snack-food-in-general aisle. I went home with two types I've never had before--beet chips from the Rhythm company, and coconut chips from Dang.
According to the official website for Rhythm Superfoods, LLC, it started in the kitchen of The Daily Juice, a juice bar in Austin, Texas. The owners made some kale chips, which proved popular with the customers, so eventually a business was formed to market snacks. (Oddly, I didn't see the founder(s) names in this brief recap anywhere--other online sources told me that Scott Jensen is the CEO and a co-founder. Apparently Clayton Christopher and David Smith were co-founders as well, joining some other unnamed co-founders and investors.) Other than the beet kind I tried, Rhythm also makes cauliflower bites, mushroom crisps, watermelon slices, broccoli bites, and of course the original kale chips. Like many of the companies I discuss on this blog, Rhythm is really into being healthy (or I should say what many folks consider healthy). So their wares are organic, vegan, and free of GMOs and gluten. For the most part--the watermelon and mushrooms aren't organic. Plus, some of their food is kosher. I was surprised that while Rhythm doesn't use sesame and cashews in their products, the facility where they're made does, so beware if you're afflicted with terribly sensitive allergies. Rhythm's founding date is listed as being 2009, and one source claimed their revenue in 2017 was $10,000,000. And presumably now it's even higher. Some brief trivia about beets--they were domesticated in the Middle East very long ago, at least back to Ancient Egyptian periods. For the greens of the plant though--the beet root reportedly wasn't consumed until Roman times. Finally, the beets I tried were actually grown in Mexico.
Dang Foods has kind of a similar origin story. Founder Vincent Kitirattragarn started with a pop up restaurant in New York City in 2011. His mom, who goes by "Mama Dang," helpfully provided some Thai recipes, since the family was originally from Thailand. The coconut chips Vincent made from his mom's recipe were so good, and so popular, that Vincent decided to start a company selling snacks. Which he did, in 2012, naming the business after his mother. (I don't know if "Dang" is her actual name, or is a nickname, however.) Vincent's brother Andrew also is a major part of Dang Foods. While coconut chips remain the company's flagship brand, it also sells various rice crisps, plant-based bars, and even bamboo utensils. Like Rhythm, Dang prides itself as being vegan, and free of GMOs and gluten. Although they do use some tree nuts, and their facility processes soy. Dang itself is now based in Berkley, California, although the source of their coconuts is Thailand.
Rhythm organic and naked beet chips: The chips are deep red in color, of course, and twisted and curled. To be graphic, they kind of resembled giant scabs. The texture was more spongy than crisp, so calling them a "chip" is somewhat misleading. The taste was like....a dried beet. No better or worse. Since the only ingredient was beets, these were extremely bland. Since I'm not a beet fan in general, I didn't think much of these. Some seasoning, even if it was just salt, would have helped, I think.
Dang coconut chips, original recipe: These looked like noodles, being thin yellowish-white strips of coconut. The texture was slightly crunchy. The taste was blandish at first, but they kind of grew on me. They had a pleasant sweetish flavor. This was surely helped by the addition of sugar and salt on them. I like, but don't love coconut in other formats, so that aided my impression of them, too.
Given how unimpressed I was with the Rhythm beet chips, if I do try any more of the Rhythm line it'll probably be of a food type I usually enjoy, like the mushroom, kale, or broccoli snacks. (And even then only if they have some kind of seasoning on them.) But I will more enthusiastically try other Dang products, and would probably buy the coconut chips again. In closing, if you're strongly into beets, you might well like the Rhythm chips, but if you're not I'd avoid them. And the same type of thing with the Dang coconut chips--if you're a coconut fan, you'll probably like these as well.
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