I Eat Snacks: Halfpops - Butter & Pure Ocean Sea Salt

Brand: Halfpops
Style: Butter & Pure Ocean Sea Salt
Origin: United States
Type: Popcorn
Flavor: Boring, salty, and teeth-breakingly crunchy
Verdict: Not approved





Have y'all heard about 365 yet?  It's the new "budget" grocery chain by Whole Foods.  Basically, they stock the shelves with their 365 brand products to provide less-expensive gourmet foods to people.  Supposedly.  I took a trip to the newest one in Lake Oswego, OR (because the rich people that live there, like, *really* need low-price gourmet foods) to see what all the hubbub was about and, of course, to check out the snacks.  I was super underwhelmed!  I got a couple of deals on produce, kind of, but the snack selection was sad as all getout and the prices were comparable to a regular Whole Foods.  Not worth making a special trip, that's for sure!

However, we all know I can't leave a grocery store without purchasing at least one new snack, so I grabbed a bag of Halfpops.  I'd been eyeing these for awhile - they're half-popped popcorn kernels with flavors like butter and sea salt, truffle oil, cheddar, and according to the Halfpops website, some more exciting flavors like dill and BBQ.  The selection was slim at 365, so I just grabbed the butter and sea salt flavor.  Had they had the white cheddar though, I definitely would have gone for that one instead.

These were so-so.  I've had similar half-popped popcorn to this that was, honestly, a little better.  The butter flavor was more oily tasting than buttery, and there was too much sea salt to butter.  They are also incredibly crunchy so if you have sensitive or delicate teeth, definitely pass on these ones!  The other issue I had with these is that they had not just one, but several giant blobs of powder flavoring.  I accidentally ate one (cough, cough, ewwww), then checked the bag and found two more immediately.  Quality control, where you at?!  These are NASTY!  Nobody wants a nickel-sized blob of squishy salt when they are trying to eat a crunchy snack.  Blerrghhh.

EW! Flavor powder chunk o' grossness

Basically, stay away from 365 and from Halfpops, unless maybe you're bored or something?  I don't know.  Not approved :p