It’s impossible to keep up with the onslaught of output in the modern grocery store marketplace, add to that a digital distribution method, and products being targeted to us by influencers and… it’s chaos. The interest in specialty niche products has propagated an infinitely evolving offering of food products and grocery store surprises.
The tried and true brands have succumbed to collab and seasonal culture, where there was once one flavor of Oreos or Cheez-Its, there are now 20 of each at any given store, potentially one in collaboration with a movie or other product from whatever conglomerate they’re made by now (It’s Mondelez and Kellogg’s in 2024, respectively). Brands produce organic or natural versions of most classic products now, allowing you to literally pick your poison and less modified poison if you’re wealthy enough.
Let’s be honest, we know everything we eat is not nutritious and sticking to that standard results in us missing out on some of life’s most delicious and indulgent tastes. Here at Uproxx, we’re willing to risk a little sugar and fat for the sake of flavor and fun. To help you navigate all the great snack food out there, we put together a list of some of our favorite recently released snacks you can buy at your local store, or on your phone or laptop.
Blue Stripes Trail Mix – Mango Macadamia
Price: $7.99
Dried mango, dried mulberries, cacao fruit, macadamia nuts, chocolate-covered cacao fruit, almonds, and dark chocolate chips — what kind of fancy trail mix is this?
But at $8, it’s not too steep of a price to pay for high-quality chewy dried fruits, crunchy nuts, and extra chocolate goodness. Blue Stripes clearly knows how to make a high-end trail mix for the glamper, hiker decked out in North Face and Moncler, apres skier, or any Joe or Jane that appreciates a great combo of flavors (sweet, nutty, fruity, and chocolatey) and textures.
North Country Smokehouse – Bacon Crumbles
Price $30.99 (for 3 2.5 oz packages)
Growing up, bacon bits looked so good… until you actually tried them, what were these dry looking bacon flakes available at every salad bar? I persuaded my Mom to get them at some point as a kid and proceeded to eat them plain (as well as at any salad bar), even though they clearly were not actual bacon.
Big kudos to North Country Smokehouse for vastly innovating the form, their organic and natural Bacon Crumbles smoked with fresh Applewood and brined in New England maple syrup, are light years beyond Bacon Bit’s – the bacon product is still somehow succulent and retains an almost thin jerky-ish texture that for the bigger bits is firm and chewy the way great bacon can be when it’s a little thicker.
Like Baco’s, these don’t require a dish to sprinkle them on top of, though they surely would go great on some nachos, salads, pizza, and pretty much anything else savory, with a lift of flavor and umami.
Big Mozz Nuggets
Price: $9
These upgraded mozzarella nuggets feature Romano cheese, fresh garlic, parsley in addition to whole milk mozzarella. Freezer mozzarella sticks made with real ingredients in 2024? It sounds too good to be true! These Big Mozz nuggets are a welcome addition to any freezer section or get-together of any size.
Are Big Mozz the best mozzarella? Quite possibly. Especially if you bake or air fry them rather than using the microwave but we’ll have to put them to a blind taste test to find out.
Unreal Peanut Butter Cups
Price:$17.99 (for 20 individually-wrapped cups)
If you’re not a Reese’s stan, you still have to fully respect the taste and legacy of the mighty orange and yellow-wrapped original peanut butter cup. Like most treasured snack items today, there are just as flavorful but healthier options now available and Unreal has a segment of that offering on lock with their own spin on the beloved peanut butter cup.
No gluten, low sugar, vegan, no GMO with dark chocolate, organic cane sugar, and organic peanut butter serving as the main ingredients, these are the less guilty version of your childhood PB cups and just (okay, almost) as tasty.
Aura Bora Cherry Key Lime Herbal Sparkling Water
Price: $33 (for 12 can case)
Aura Bora is cashing in on the sparkling water/seltzer/club soda craze that has crashed hipster and greater youth culture and beyond over the past decade, some call it the “La Croix effect”. Making enticing flavor combos that automatically conjure images of freshness is the default in the seltzer game these days and Aura Bora succeeds in creating an intriguing roster of unusual flavor concoctions, including Banana Bergamot, Blackberry Black Pepper, Watermelon Chili, and Cactus Rose.
Cherry Key Lime is one of the less adventurous Aura Bora flavors, but despite not needing a dare to sip on it, the flavor and refreshment factors are on 100 and fully thirst-quenching. Sometimes, that’s all you need and Aura Bora has us considering larger quantity purchases immediately.
Sootheez Berry Lemonade – Throat Soothing Drops
Price: $19.99 (4 pack)
If you willfully overlook that there is an active ingredient in these drops, you can easily get your Ludens on with these modern-day throating soothers by Sootheez, the Berry Lemonade being the tastiest out of the four available (although Strawberry Lemonade and Birthday Cake weren’t far behind). The Berry Lemonade has a natural flavor essence that is both sweet and slightly tart, resulting in beyond palatable enjoyment along with the hard candy texture.
There’s no medicinal flavor to be discerned with the Berry Lemonade flavor. The only active ingredient is pectin — which is the fruit-version of gelatin. You could eat an entire tin of Sootheez, even without any legitimate illness.
Smartfood Kettle Korn
Price: $6.09
We already waxed poetic about Smartfood’s industry-best white cheddar popcorn in the past, which has not been bested since, but the revelation of potentially equally perfect kettle corn was the best surprise of a recent Smartfood flavor sampling. The kernels are as fluffy and fresh as their white cheddar chums and the caramel outer layer is light, the right amount of sweet, and the wrong amount of addictive. Once discovered, a bag can go in just a few rounds of snacking or less, depending on who else is around.
Editor’s Pick: Sauz Wild Rosemary Marinara
Price: $24.99 (two-pack)
Over the years, Uproxx has made plenty of noise about how easy it is to make sauce yourself and how bad storebought sauce is. That said… I’m fully sold on Sauz. The Wild Rosemary Marinara tastes like it’s homemade. Thank god someone at the brand had the sense not to overseason the sauce and, instead, let the tomatoes shine.
Editor’s Pick: Serious Bean Co. Dr. Pepper
Price: $9.39 (two-pack)
It’s tough to highlight “Sweet & Sassy” beans from Serious Bean Co. except… these are so good! I typically put Coke in my Southern Marinades so this isn’t some wild flight of imagination. It’s simply adding sugar and some flavor to the bean mix. The result is a can of baked beans that stands out from the competition by balancing sweet and savory notes.
