Do you hear that?? The music playing that’s growing in volume?
There’s some chanting. Hmmm, interesting, there are also some background noises (maybe a bird of some sort), and what’s this, a sun rising?! Except, it’s rising above a grocery store aisle? Ahhh, I get it now, it’s the Circle of Life breakfast-style!
Around one year ago, Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts made a slight leap down the aisle to the cereal section for a new rendition of Pop-Tarts Cereal. And now it’s coming full circle as a cereal appears in toaster pastry form, namely Froot Loops, in a limited edition flavor. Toucan Sam is of course along for the ride as well to make sure you know it’s official.
The Pop-Tarts come frosted so that they can be emblazoned with fun designs, six in total, including many representations of the cereal itself. The artwork itself is colorful but the actual images of the cereal pieces are little grainy/pixelated. It seems like they wanted to showcase the true cereal, but the photo-real images are not that amazing, unfortunately. I was excited about the Toucan Sam one, but sadly I went through my entire box and he didn’t make an appearance. Points for the “I’M WITH SAM” one though, like seriously who wouldn’t want to be his friend?
Once I opened the silver inner package of one of these, I got hit with that distinct frooty flavor almost so much I was half-expecting Sam to pop out and slap me in the face with his beak. It’s undeniable and also uncanny how much they smell like their namesake. Follow your nose, indeed! I remember experiencing this same mesmerizing sensation with the donuts from Carl’s Jr./Hardees.
Breaking open the pastry exposes a delightful pink interior. It’s a light pink that I can best as describe as a color for something that I would expect to be guava-flavored. Impulsive Buy readers, I’m happy to report that, like the donuts, these taste exactly like Froot Loops! That tangy, fruity flavor, which the internet tells me is a mixture of orange, cherry, and lemon is spot-on and intense. Whenever you think the flavor is too much, though, the sugar frosting and pastry crust flies in and offsets it nicely for a well-rounded bite. Good job, Toucan Sam and Kellogg’s, color me impressed.
My one misgiving is that as a Pop-Tart these should be delectable in a variety of prepared temperatures, most notably straight out of the box and once nice and toasty. As mentioned, they are a home run at room temperature but fall woefully short after some heat is applied. Even though the box tells me about all the natural fruit flavors present once toasted, the flavor profile seems to change to something more chemically induced and not as delightful as before. No Bueno.
Nevertheless, if you love Froot Loops, colorful toucans or even the cyclical nature of the world we live in, pick these up, you won’t be disappointed. Just keep them away from your toaster, and let’s hope Kellogg’s continues mining its brands across its portfolio. Eggo-branded limited edition maple flavor Pop-Tarts (with a special edition waffle-y crust), anyone??
Purchased Price: $3.68
Size: 27 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 pastries) 370 calories, 9 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 3.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 320 milligrams of sodium, 70 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 30 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.