Not being into fads or anything, I tend to stay away from celebrity endorsed products. They are usually short-lived and a waste of money. But that day at the grocery store, I was hungry and I saw the bag of katy's kettle corn by popchips (Note: All the words are in lowercase lettering), so I picked it up on a whim. Apparently Katy Perry has decided to test the waters outside of the music industry. Let's see how she did.
The purple and pink bag (hmmm...aren’t these Katy’s signature colors?) clearly says the product is never fried and never baked. They are popped corn chips but the picture on the front of the bag reminds me of those popcorn-tasting rice cakes that I absolutely abhor. This is a bad sign.
Claiming that they are sweet, salty and sinless, I ventured to open the bag, reach my hand in and grab a chip. Popping it into my mouth, I munch away, swirling the flavors around to get the full effect when I suddenly realize that I am eating the “as expected” facsimile of those dreaded rice cakes. Although the taste was somewhat masked by the sweet and salty flavors (of what I have no idea), it still did not take away from the fact that they turned out to be just what I had hoped they would not.
Katy’s kettle corn, like all popchips, are all natural: no preservatives, no fake flavors or colors, no cholesterol, zero grams of saturated and trans fat and completely gluten free. However, the only thing they have going for them, besides being light and airy, is the fact that they are sweet and salty, filling the desires of both flavor lovers at the same time.
In terms of marketing, the popchips brand was difficult to find on the shelves at the store I visited. While this particular flavor, katy’s kettle corn, had its own special display, the other flavors were buried in between all the other popular chip brands, and were, in fact, not even at eye level. How long does the company expect the store to keep the special display prominently located? Only until the “next big thing” comes along most likely, as displays are constantly being rearranged to keep the merchandise as fresh as possible.
As far as price is concerned, $2.79 for a 3.5 ounce bag is hardly worth it. A serving size of one ounce (16 chips) costs approximately 80 cents. That’s a lot of money, especially when there are only a total of 56 chips in the bag, and not all of them will be in one piece. Sure enough, when I looked inside the cute packaging, there were broken bits and crumbs. Now no chip manufacturer can get past that, but with this small of a bag, and in a market that is already flooded with too many brands this product does not have quite the edge that it needs.
So, is it a fad or is it fabulous? Unfortunately, it may taste yummy for some, but I can’t get past the popcorn rice cake taste despite the sweet/savory coating. Cost-wise, it’s too expensive, and not worth the unit price. Truth be told, I can make an entire meal for the price of the entire bag. It needs better placement on the shelves and a stronger marketing campaign (not just a cutesy colored bag with an embellished logo) to be successful. Katy’s kettle corn is definitely a fad.
For more information on food, recipes or to ask about product reviews, please contact todaysworkingwoman@hotmail.com.
If you like what you read, please click on the "subscribe" link to receive email notification when other articles by this examiner are published. Don't forget to follow her on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and her food blog!
©2013 Susan Dusterhoft, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced without prior permissions from the author or Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a/ Examiner.com.
Comments