10 Must-Have Store-Bought Snacks Of 2016
10 Must-Have Store-Bought Snacks of 2016
Another year, another volley of new products came to the market, some good, some not so much. Thankfully, 2016 brought along plenty of awesome new snacks, and we've tried plenty of them. Out of all the new snacks we sampled this year, these are our top 10.
barkTHINS Dark Chocolate Pretzel With Sea Salt
BarkThins are thin sheets of high-quality chocolate mixed with tasty add-ins including pretzels, almonds, coconut, peanut, and pumpkin seeds. We're partial to the pretzel with sea salt variety; it's sweet and salty in all the right ways with plenty of crunch. All the ingredients are also fair-trade and non-GMO.
Brookside Fruit & Nut Bars
Hershey's has been making a move into the healthy snack market lately, and they've made Brookside Fruit and Nut Bars one of their showcase products. The bars are made with real fruit, nuts, and seeds, and they're dipped in either yogurt cream or dark chocolate. Yogurt flavors include cranberry blueberry with citrus, vanilla fig, and mango pineapple; chocolate flavors include cherry pomegranate, cranberry blackberry, and blueberry acai. They're hearty enough for breakfast but sweet enough for an afternoon snack.
Emerald Dill Pickle Cashews
Dill pickle flavor has been everywhere as of late, but we've yet to find a better application than on Emerald cashews. That salty, vinegary, pickle-y bite kicks these cashews up several notches, and they're addictively good.
Kettle Brand Potato Chips: Chili Lime Cooked in Avocado Oil
Kettle Brand has always been unafraid to mix things up and get creative in their potato chip game, but no major brand has thought to fry their chips in avocado oil before. This oil is antioxidant-rich and high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Its mild vegetal flavor is perfectly complemented by the chili lime flavoring.
Larabar Mini
Larabar produces some of the most popular snack bars on the market thanks to its simple, real ingredients like unsweetened fruits, nuts, and spices. For those looking for an afternoon pick-me-up, their 100 calorie-or-less minis are pretty much perfect. They come 12 to a box in apple pie, cashew cookie, and cherry pie flavors.
Misha Quark
Quark is a cultured dairy that's similar to yogurt and popular in Europe, and Misha is doing its part to introduce it to American consumers. The company, which launched last year, rolled out new yogurt cup-sized packaging as well as several new flavors in 2016, including strawberry rhubarb, key lime, blueberry, and vanilla bean coconut. It's super thick and creamy, only contains 2 percent fat, is loaded with protein, and doesn't have as much tartness as yogurt.
Oreo Big Crunch Bars
Is it possible to improve on an already perfect cookie? If so, Oreo did it this year through a partnership with Milka Chocolate. Two new Big Crunch Bars hit the market: One had crunchy cookie bits inside cream filling that was covered with chocolate, and the other sandwiches a big cookie with two layers of crème and a chocolate coating. If you like Oreos, you'll love these.
Paqui Tortilla Chips, Nacho Cheese Especial
And while we're on the subject, if you thought it wasn't possible to improve on Doritos, we've got news for you. Austin-based Paqui hit the market in a big way this year with some exciting tortilla chip flavors including chile verde, ghost pepper, grilled habanero, and roasted jalapeño (as well as one-chip packs of insanely hot Carolina Reaper chips), but their real barnburner is the Nacho Cheese Especial flavor. It's cheesy, a little spicy, super flavorful, and — dare we say it — better than Doritos.
Quinn Popcorn Farm-to-Bag With Coconut Oil
Quinn Popcorn has been turning the popcorn industry on its head with its non-GMO DIY microwave popcorn, which comes with ingredient pouches you add yourself, but they've really hit the big time with their popped popcorn, in flavors including white Cheddar, kale and sea salt, and California olive oil. Their organic coconut oil flavor is the one to buy, though: It contains just popcorn, salt, and coconut oil, and the oil gives it just a nudge of coconut flavor.
Simply Gum
Chewing gum hasn't changed much in decades, but Simply Gum is taking it back to its roots with its line of natural chewing gum. Whereas traditional chewing gum is primarily made of synthetic rubber, Simply Gum is made with natural chicle base, organic raw cane sugar, organic vegetable glycerin, organic rice flour, and natural ingredients including mint, cinnamon, fennel, maple, ginger, and coffee. This is what chewing gum is supposed to taste like.