NEW! Hula Hoops Salt & Vinegar Golden Hoops (Tesco)

I saw that these new baked Hula Hoops were released quite a few weeks ago, but once again my stingy nature prevailed and it wasn't until they came on offer at Tesco (£1 instead of £1.70) that I bought them. Hula Hoops are a mainstay in our crisp cupboard. I like the Pufts whilst my other half prefers the standard, but there's one Hula Hoop variant that we completely agree on, and that is that they must be salt and vinegar flavoured. 

The bag contained 6 individually wrapped 25g bags. The Hoops looked a little like round pretzels once I shook them out onto a plate, and it was evident that they had been generously seasoned from the chip shop like scent that emanated from them. The Golden Hoops are baked instead of fried, so they are a little healthier than the original variety, as well as being completely free from all artificial flavours, colours and MSG. 

Texturally they were as similar to pretzels as they looked, no bad thing as I'm in a bit of a love affair with the things. The only difference was the underlying potato flavour, which was pleasant, and differentiated them completely from anything currently on the market. Be warned though, when I said that the seasoning was evident -it truly was. The Golden Hoops are super vinegary, which suited me down to the ground, but one of my readers (Hi Richard!) said that he found it too much... so try at your own risk! 

I am constantly amazed by the ingenious new additions to the already crowded savoury snack market. Well done KP snacks! 

7/10

Despicable Me Minions Baked Corn Snacks

On one of my recent Poundworld visits I discovered this 12 pack of Minions baked corn snacks. I've not seen them in the supermarkets before so I'm not sure how new they are, but £1 for such a large multi-pack I couldn't leave them behind. The pack contains 4x cheese toastie, 4x salt & vinegar & 4x pickled onion flavoured bags. 

The 'corn snacks' are shaped like Wotsits, but they're not as crunchy nor as flavoursome. I'm not sure if it's because they're in plastic and not foil lined bags, but given the softness, they tasted borderline stale. 

The cheese variety has a much milder flavour than its branded counterparts but is still quite tasty. The salt & vinegar and pickled onion are much more pungent, which pleased me as I like my flavours to pack a punch.

If the snacks were crunchier I'd describe them as tasty alternatives to Monster Munch, Quavers and Wotsits; but for me they taste just like the poor man's version that they truly are.

6/10