Universal Yums Global Snack Review (Israel), May 2015

You'd think it would be hard to send a box of all new snacks to someone who has tried all the snack subscriptions but Universal Yums has managed to do just that. They have an interesting premise. Each month's box is full of snacks and treats that represent a particular culture or country.  The box contains a mix of salty, sweet, spicy and fruity flavors and contains only authentic snacks from the featured country. That tells me immediately that these people have some mad snack sourcing skills!

Universal Yums comes in two sizes, the Yum Box containing 6 or more snacks and the Yum Yum Box with 13 or more snacks.  (Which one do you THINK I chose....ha!)  The subscription Yum Box is $13 per month and the Yum Yum box is $25 per month. Shipping is always free. One, three or six month gift subscriptions are also available:

Yum Box

Monthly - $15
Three Months - $42 ($14 per box)
Six Months - $78 ($13 per box)

Yum Yum Box

Monthly - $29
Three Months - $81 ($27 per box)
Six Months - $150 ($25 per box)

So, here's a complete unboxing of my first Universal Yums box!  It came in a large white box via USPS Priority mail with three logo stickers attached.

When I saw the blue and white tissue, I knew where we were headed, even before seeing the "Shalom, Shalom" card!  Off for some serious Israeli snackification!

This is a terrible picture of the information card but it's actually the best one I've seen in a snack box.  The front has lots of fun facts about Israel (Did you know that it's illegal to declaw your cat in Israel?  That Albert Einstein was asked to consider running for President of Israel in 1952?)  The back of the card gives a bit of information about each snack and a hint about the inspiration for next month's box.

At first glance, it looks like there are mostly chip-type bags in this box.  But appearances are deceiving.

The card says that Osem's Original Bamba is Israel's most famous snack food.  These look like peanut flavored Cheetos. 

Next is Original Bissli from Osem which is a smokey wheat snack.  These look like crunchy little tubes.

There is a big bar of Milk Chocolate with Popping Candies from Elite.  I haven't tried this but I've noticed that popping candies (similar to Zotz from my childhood or Pop Rocks) are occasionally found embedded in foreign chocolates.  They result in pleasant little explosions as you consume the candy.  I think the cow is there to tell us this is milk chocolate.

The biggest snack in the box is this bag of B&B Sesame Pretzel Sticks.  I am not a fan of heavily salted pretzel sticks so the idea of sesame seeds (which I love) seems like a natural fit.  These are also baked, rather than fried so they are reasonably o.k. nutrition-wise.  And did I mention this is a HUGE amount for a snack bag!

You tell me if this photo is upside down or not?  I have no idea....just went with the photo which looks very much like a Kit Kat bar.  It's called a Kif Kef Chocolate Bar so methinks it's a close cousin.

There is a small handful of toffee fruit chews in what looks like orange, lemon and strawberry. These are chewy and fruity, very tasty....and LONG GONE!

This is a Pesek Zman Chocolate Bar; that name is Hebrew for "time out", a good description for any candy bar.  This is a milk chocolate bar with a hazelnut cream filling.

Here is another bag of Bamba from Osem, this time it's the same crispy looking peanut snack but with a hazelnut cream filling.  This country sure loves its Bamba!

This bag contains a snack from Osem called Bissli Falafel.  These are crunchy flavored wheat snacks.

This is a Mini Hazelnut Chocolate Bar from Elite which is described as similar to a Snickers bar with hazelnuts instead of peanuts.  

The label came apart on this candy roll but it didn't really matter since I couldn't read it at all.  That's why I'm SO grateful for the information card that came in this box.  These look like Mentos and the card says they taste just like Coca Cola minus the carbonation.  Hmmm.......

Last but certainly not least is a Marble Sesame Halva bar.  Halva is made mostly from sesame seeds and butter and is popular in the Middle East because it requires no refrigeration and can withstand high temperatures.  This feels like a pretty substantial and hefty snack.

I was very impressed with this box!  Lots of snack subscriptions include international snacks but this is the only one I know that focuses on one country at a time, giving you the chance to "dive deep" into local snack habits.  You may be aware that another company tried this concept but failed last year.  My theory is that they went under mostly because they didn't provide any information about their snacks and there was no theme to their boxes.  Since the majority of foreign snacks are not labeled in English, subscribers were pretty much in the dark about what they were receiving.  Also, the quality just did not compare with my first Universal Yums box.

Some of the regions and countries recently featured in Universal Yums boxes are Scandinavia, China, Italy, Brazil and Germany.  If you'd like to see what was included in those boxes, click here.  Boxes are shipped between the 8th and 15th of each month.  If you sign up before the 7th, you'll get your first box the same month. If you sign up after the 7th, you'll get it the next month. 

As for next month, we are given this hint:

Ready for more Yums in your mouth?
Start thinking of a place down in the south.
If you're not into chiles, mangos or limes that's okay.
These Yums will still make you say "ole!"

Well, it must be Mexico or somewhere in South America.  I can't wait to find out where this global snack adventure lands us next!

Cheryl

Disclosure:  Views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my own.  Product discussed in this post was purchased by Lone Star Shopper. Post does not contain referral or affiliate links.