Category: Spotted on Shelves

Last year, SoBe introduced a Lifewater line with coconut water because coconut water was as hot as acai was the year before. And now VitaminWater has finally stuffed some coconut water into a new flavor called Coco-Refresh.

VitaminWater Coco-Refresh contains 10 percent real coconut water from concentrate, which is also the case with the SoBe beverages. Like all VitaminWater varieties, the coconut and pineapple-flavored Coco-Refresh has a purpose. While some help you focus and others help your skin, the latest has the amazing ability to rehydrate you.

Ooooh! Rehydration! I wish all the other VitaminWater varieties had that ability. Oh wait, they all have water, so they do.

Drink What has a review.

A 20-ounce bottle has 120 calories, 0 grams of fat, 30 milligrams of sodium, 880 milligrams of potassium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 31 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, 100% vitamin B6, 100% vitamin B12, 100% panothenic acid (vitamin B5), and, of course, it’s got electrolytes.

A quick comparison between Sobe Lifewater Coconut Water and VitaminWater Coco-Refresh shows Coco-Refresh has more calories and sugar than Sobe Lifewater Coconut Water, but it also has less sodium, more potassium, and all those B vitamins.

Here are some new products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. We may or may not review them, but we’d like to let you know what new items are popping up. We’ll also occasionally throw in an unusual product.

Kozy Shack has lactose-free dairy pudding that’s also gluten free. That’s a lot of free, but Kozy Shack shouldn’t have stopped there. They should’ve also made it calorie-free, sugar-free, and fat-free. Sure, it probably would’ve tasted horrible, and it would’ve lost them money, but we won’t know for sure unless they tried. The lactose- and gluten-free pudding comes in three flavors: rice, tapioca, and chocolate.

I believe every time Kashi releases a new product, a nutritionist gets his or her degree. So congratulations to all you new nutritionists who got their degrees thanks to Kashi’s new soft-baked squares. Some of you might be thinking the chocolate one looks like a brownie, but the seven whole grains, sweet potato, and black beans it contains doesn’t make it sound like a brownie. The almond version is also made with Kashi’s seven whole grains, sweet potatoes, and beans. Both are sweetened with agave and each soft-baked square provides 4 grams of fiber and 300 milligrams of ALA omega-3. Thanks for the photo, Adam.

New dips from Frito-Lay. After doing some Googling, I discovered the Tostitos Zesty Taco dip has been out for several weeks. I don’t really pay attention to cheesy dips because any orange gloop gives me nightmares. Ruffles Ultimate Smokehouse Bacon dip hasn’t been out as long as the Tostitos dip and I have a jar of it sitting in my fridge. There really are real bits of bacon in the dips, along with the following ingredients: smoky bacon type flavor and butter type flavor. Thank you for the pics, Travis.

A few weeks ago in New England, Nabisco started replacing their square Premium crackers with round ones. There were some issues with the new round crackers. My issue with these round Premium crackers is that they now look like Ritz crackers. The line between upper class and lower class crackers is now blurred. Thanks for the photo, Nicole.

If you’re out shopping and see a new product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, email it to us at [email protected] with “Spotted” in the subject line, and you might see it in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

When something in popular culture becomes a Cheese Nips variety, isn’t that a sign it’s become too popular and perhaps it should be destroyed? SpongeBob SquarePants has his own Cheese Nips, Dora the Explorer has her own Cheese Nips, and now Angry Birds have their own Cheese Nips.

The naturally flavored cheddar baked snack crackers are shaped like the birds and pigs from the extremely popular video game which you can play on your phone, tablet, computer, or television. Those damn birds and pigs are everywhere. I swear, every time I see those damn pigs, Babe looks a little less cute and I feel a little less sorry about Wilbur losing Charlotte.

Although, to be honest, these Angry Birds Cheese Nips interest me because they would give me the opportunity to feed hungry birds by shooting Angry Birds into the air with a slingshot.

A serving of 32 crackers has 130 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat (but contains partially hydrogenated oil), 160 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

Pepsi Japan is releasing a salty watermelon flavor this summer. To some of you this might seem odd, but this upcoming soda is probably the tamest thing the Japanese people have ever done to a watermelon.

For decades, Japanese farmers have made square watermelons and today they sell for around $150-$200 US. They also produce black watermelons, which are pricier than the square ones.

The Salty Watermelon Pepsi will be available in Japan on July 24 and will come in a 490 ml bottle. If you don’t live in Japan, which I believe is the case for 99.8 percent of all TIB readers, you can probably get your hands on some online via J-List, NapaJapan, or eBay.

Here are some new products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. We may or may not review them, but we’d like to let you know what new items are popping up. We’ll also occasionally throw in an unusual product.

Last year, Good Humor released Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cups. This year, they’ve expanded their candy bar inspired line with Mounds and York Ice Cream Bars. Mounds Ice Cream Bars are coconut light ice cream with real coconut dipped in a dark chocolate flavored coating, while York Ice Cream Bars are made up of peppermint light ice cream dipped in dark chocolate flavored coating.

Yay! More IHOP At Home frozen breakfasts based on nothing from IHOP’s restaurant menu. About this time last year the first IHOP At Home products hit the shelves. Come on, Denny’s, it’s been a year! Frozen Grand Slams FTW!

Is it just me or do those new Apple Cinnamon Donettes have a weird color to them? They look like rocks in a bag. Well, thank goodness the new Hostess Soft Baked Cookies look like cookies. I could’ve sworn Hostess sold cookies in the past or maybe it’s all the white Twinkies cream I’ve consumed that’s clouding my memory. Read a Hostess Soft Baked Cookies review here.

Two-thirds of the DiGiorno Italian-Style Favorites pizza flavors — Chicken Parmesan and Meatball Marinara — sound like they’re pizzas topped with Italian dishes. They also sound like Subway sandwiches. Oh wait…They are Subway sandwiches. There’s also a Meat Trio variety made up of sausage, pepperoni, and salami. The pizza’s crust has a touch of olive oil and herbs, but I would’ve preferred a crust stuffed with hot dogs.

Speaking of hot dogs (segue), here’s a picture of Herr’s artificially flavored hot dog potato chips. I wonder if they taste similar to a Costco hot dog topped with ketchup, mustard, and the contents of a crushed snack-szied bag of Ruffles.

Images 2-6 courtesy of Impulsive Buy reviewer Adam

If you’re out shopping and see a new product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, email it to us at [email protected] with “Spotted” in the subject line, and you might see it in our next Spotted on Shelves post.