I’m not sure why Smartfood didn’t call this just Smartfood Fiber. The “Pop” seems unnecessary when everything Smartfood makes is popcorn. I’m pretty sure anyone who has set foot in a grocery store already knows this is popcorn.

Also, “Pop” should’ve been left off because, if you wanted to, you could upload an image of the Smartfood Fiber Pop bag to your favorite AI chatbot and ask it to replace that “Pop” on the bag with what fiber helps with in your body. Again, if you wanted to.

And, if you wanted to, you could post that AI-generated image to your social media. I won’t be doing that because I do not want to deal with the email that may follow from the Smartfood PR folks who have my email and home addresses.

Anypoo, Smartfood Fiber Pop comes in two flavors — Sweet & Salty and Sweet & Salty II: Toffee & Sea Salt. I find it a little odd both varieties are sweet and salty with no savory options. A cup and a half serving provides six grams of fiber from corn soluble fiber, which is 22 percent of your daily recommended amount — a significant jump from the one or two grams you’d get from regular Smartfood products.

With the first few kernels of the Sweet & Salty variety, I could barely register sweet or salty on my tongue. The flavors started to pop out when I ate more, though. Looking into the bag, I noticed that some of the mushroom popcorn pieces were more heavily coated than others, which led to inconsistent flavor levels with every pull from the bag. A few pulls were duds with very little flavor, others were mild, and others popped. The sweet and salty flavor is similar to others in the kettle corn space, but the saltiness is notably mild.

The Toffee & Sea Salt variety is the clear winner of the two. A strong buttery aroma rises out of the bag, and the flavor matches that intensity. It’s also saltier than the Sweet & Salty. Like with the other flavor, the least coated pieces deliver a less desirable level of flavor, but the butteriness from previously eaten kernels tends to linger, which helps prevent truly flavorless bites. With both varieties, the sugary coatings give the popcorn a pleasant sugary crispiness to go along with the popcorn’s standard crunch.

Now that Frito-Lay has gotten fiber popcorn out of the way, maybe fiber potato chips should be next? If they’re as good as these Smartfood Fiber Pop flavors, I guarantee I’ll reach my recommended daily fiber intake with them. Wait. Is potato soluble fiber a thing? I’ll ask my favorite AI chatbot once it’s done generating a particular image I requested.

Purchased Price: $4.00 each
Size: 5 3/4 oz bags
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Sweet & Salty), 8 out of 10 (Toffee & Sea Salt)
Nutrition Facts: (about 1 1/2 cups) Sweet & Salty – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar (includes 6 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein. Toffee & Sea Salt – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar (includes 6 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein.

Much like folks who claim Die Hard is a Christmas movie (raises hand), Smartfood seems to want to make the chocolate cake pop a holiday flavor, even though it’s one that can get slotted into any time of year.

I get it. Getting to say you were the original brand that brought the world the next pumpkin spice or peppermint mocha and have everyone else take your flavor idea and chocolate cake pop-ize every product possible is smart. But Smartfood could’ve done it a little better.

I’ve tasted a variety of chocolate cakes over the years — standard Betty Crocker/Duncan Hines chocolate cake with frosting, Hostess CupCakes, Dobash cake, German chocolate cake, chocolate blackout cake, lava cake, and chocolate birthday cupcakes from a grocery store bakery. But I don’t get a hint of flavor from any of those baked goods in the dark coating on every kernel in this bag of Smartfood Chocolate Cake Pop Popcorn. Heck, I have to reach a state of mindfulness to even notice any cocoa notes.

But that lack of pronounced chocolate cake flavor doesn’t make this unwanted, like a lump of coal or a spindle of blank CDs in your Christmas stocking. While it doesn’t scream chocolate cake or chocolate, there’s a mellow, nondescript sweetness that still makes this a decent tasting snack.

Smartfood Chocolate Cake Pop Popcorn doesn’t fail like a terrorist leader who meets his demise by falling out of a Nakatomi Plaza window. But, despite the green-colored bag with red ribbons, the brand doesn’t convince me that chocolate cake pop is a holiday flavor. It’s trying too hard to make something happen, like me shoehorning a last-minute Die Hard reference into this review to bring everything full circle.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 2 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 1 cup) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein.