The Impulsive Buy

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Snack Factory Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Pretzel Crisps

Marvo / September 27, 2018 / Spotted on Shelves

(Spotted by Robbie at Costco.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

PUMPKINUNDATION 2018 – 9/27/2018

Marvo / September 27, 2018 / Pumpkinundation, Spotted on Shelves

Here are some new pumpkin products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.

365 Everyday Value Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Latte Popcorn

365 Everyday Value Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Latte Bites

365 Everyday Value Limited Edition Spiced Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle Mix

365 Everyday Value Limited Edition Spiced Pumpkin Cupcake Mix

Whole Foods Organic Pumpkin Cardamom Pasta Sauce

(Spotted by Rachel C at Whole Foods.)

Krispy Kreme Limited Time Glazed Pumpkin Spice Mini Crullers

So just Pumpkin Spice Krispy Juniors without the Krispy Juniors name. (Spotted by Bob K at Walmart.)

Market Pantry Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes

(Spotted by Robbie at Target.)

H-E-B Limited Edition Pumpkin Muffin Bar

H-E-B Limited Edition Pumpkin Seed & Spice Crunchy Granola Bars

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

Cafe Valley Bakery Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffeecake

(Spotted by Laurie at H-E-B.)

Melster Candies Fall Selects Taffy

(Spotted by Sylvia at Dollar Tree.)

Marketside Pumpkin Brioche

(Spotted by Laurie K at Walmart.)

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

QUICK REVIEW: Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders

James / September 27, 2018 / Reviews / 3 Comments

What are Burger King’s Crispy Chicken Tenders?

The newfangled Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders boast of “whole muscle white meat chicken” in a “home-style seasoned breading.” Which means, yeah, they’re pretty much the same thing — conceptually — that you’d get at every other fast food joint in these United States.

How are they?

BK’s latest menu addendum isn’t going to win any awards for creativity, but it makes up for its lack of originality by being a plain tasty offering.

First off, the tenders themselves are pretty big (I’d say they’re about the same size as Zaxby’s Chicken Fingerz) and the breading has a nice — dare I say KFC-esque? — smoky flavoring. The white meat is quite chewy, and for those of you who dislike the prospects of a torched tongue, rest assured that while these tenders have a little bit of heat to ‘em, they’re by no means a “spicy” product.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Burger King isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here, and that’s ultimately the best attribute — and biggest weakness — of the product. Although quite yummy, they don’t have an idiosyncratic feel to them, and the lack of an especially pronounced herb or spice does make the breading taste a bit too mild. Honestly, there isn’t anything about these plump, juicy tenders that you haven’t already experienced, and likely at a lower cost than the $5 price point.

Conclusion:

All in all, the Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders are a solid — if not utterly predictable — addition to the BK lineup. Thankfully, its robust assortment of sauces gives the product a longer lifespan (naturally, I’d vouch for the Buffalo Sauce), and for a fairly small amount of food, the four-piece deal, surprisingly, filled me up.

Still, it would’ve been nice to have received a unique, proprietary sauce (how great would a Jalapeno queso have been here?), and one can’t help but be gobsmacked by the sodium content on these suckers — with a walloping 2,200 milligrams, eating these are equal to downing a full teaspoon of salt.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 4-piece meal
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 630 calories, 31 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 2,200 milligrams of sodium, 52 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 36 grams of protein.

Burger King Fast Food

COMING SOON: M&M’s Chocolate Bars (2018)

Marvo / September 27, 2018 / Coming Soon / 6 Comments

Mars’ upcoming M&M’s Chocolate Bar line is the company’s third attempt in the U.S. at making a chocolate bar that features the iconic candy-coated chocolates.

The bars will be made of milk chocolate and contain whole M&M’s Minis visible throughout. They’re available in a large sharable bar format and come in five varieties — Peanut, Milk Chocolate, Crispy, Almond, and Crispy Mint.

But don’t imagine them having Crispy M&M’s Minis, Peanut M&M’s Mini, and so on. The crispy bits, peanuts, and almonds are separate from the M&M’s Minis.

While the bars will be new to Americans, Australians have had them since April 2017. Down Under, they’re called M&M’s Block Chocolate and come in six varieties — Milk Chocolate, Hazelnut, Crispy, Crispy Mint, and Strawberry.

But as I mentioned at the beginning, this isn’t M&M’s first chocolate bar rodeo.

For those of you who haven’t followed Mars’ dive into including M&M’s in chocolate bars in the U.S., its attempts began in 2004 with the release of Peanut Butter and Crunchy M-Azing Bars, which came in two flavors — Peanut Butter and Crunchy — and were around for a while.

The company’s second try was the Milk Chocolate M&M’s Chocolate Bar in 2013, which, I think, is still around. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. But I swear I’ve seen it out of the corner of my eye while waiting in line at Safeway.

The new M&M’s Chocolate Bars will be permanent additions to the brand’s lineup and available nationwide starting December 2018.

(Image via Mars.)

QUICK REVIEW: Starbucks Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws

Tiffany / September 27, 2018 / Reviews / 1 Comment

What are Starbucks Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws?

The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws are essentially Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL)-flavored rolled wafers. Pirouline, the Belgian inventors of this wafer form, manufactures this eco-friendly straw alternative that’s part of Starbucks’ “Coffee At Home” efforts. This means it’s available at grocery stores along with PSL K-Cup pods, VIA Instant flavors, etc.