Frank's Favorites
To keep things fresh, Al and I are introducing a twist and each reviewing favorites from both healthy and indulgent categories. I’ll be the first to admit that while I’m careful about what I eat, I’ll gladly devour a basket of Krispy Krunchy Chicken or Champs Chicken when the mood strikes me. (Pro tip: Krispy Krunchy’s Perfectly Cajun seasoning—a product I first tried at the 2019 NACS Show—is fantastic on roasted asparagus, roasted brussels sprouts and grilled tilapia.) Let’s take a closer look at this year’s standout products.
Gen Z Water
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the single most hilarious product I’ve ever seen at the NACS Show. As an avid consumer of generational humor memes, I made a hard turn the moment I glimpsed the Gen Z booth in the new exhibitor area. The sleek aluminum bottle features a simple description that says everything you need to know:
Plain Water – We Want Gen Z to Buy It – 1995-???? – For People Who Never Owned a Flip Phone – Made by Real Boomers – Flavorless Transparent Liquid
I love everything about this, and I was thrilled to discover that the brand’s website looks like it’s straight out of GeoCities from 1999.
On a serious note, the product does speak to the growing concerns of many consumers—especially younger generations—that single-use plastic is unsustainable and harmful. And let’s be honest: Any successful attempt to make water interesting should be celebrated. At this point, what can you do that hasn’t been done?
Remedy Organics
I also tried Remedy Organics’ plant-based shakes. The Berry Immunity flavor tastes exactly like Strawberry Nesquik—except that shot of nostalgia doesn’t come with an immediate side effect of guilt. Each of the company’s wellness shakes are USDA Certified Organic, plant-based, vegan, kosher, dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free. More to the point of what I look for: They’re relatively low sugar.
When I spoke with a representative and asked about the sugar content—seven grams in the Berry Immunity shake—he explained that although a small amount of sugar may be needed to help with flavor, there’s a big difference between a product with seven grams and 27 grams. Furthermore, he explained that the company has worked to reduce sugar content in drinks on multiple occasions. That’s something I find perfectly reasonable.
Genius Gourmet
Whenever I see the word “keto” on a bag of chips, I immediately fear that I’m about to eat a collection of intolerable protein pucks that taste like they’re seasoned cardboard. That’s why I was delighted to discover that the name “Genius Gourmet” was a literal product description.
These aren’t just good keto chips—they’re good chips in general. I devoured the spicy nacho bag in seconds. The chips have a satisfying crunch, but the flavoring is what really does the trick. If you think “Cheetos fingers” are a thing, then just wait until you get a hold of these. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered chips that are so delightfully drowning in flavor powder.
Performance Food Group
Walking by the Performance Food Group booth, I immediately zeroed in on a bottle filled with a white powder and the words “Waffle Dust” on the label.
Curious to know more, I examined it and was told to sprinkle the powder on a piece of fried chicken from their Perfectly Southern brand. Imagine my surprise when I took a bite and felt like I was legitimately eating chicken and waffles. As the bottle says, you’ll enjoy the “magical delicious flavor of a maple waffle in every sprinkle.” I returned on a few occasions to sample it again because it’s really that good.
The product strikes a nice balance: It allows someone who might be indulging in fried chicken—but doesn’t want to add additional calories from a waffle—to have the sensation of eating chicken and waffles.
PFSbrands
I could talk all day about how much I like PFSbrands’ distinctive new pizza program, Hangar 54. Besides the crust being thin and absolutely delightful, the real magic is how they brush the edges of the crust with a garlic butter whirl. I watched a few friends sample it when we went over to the booth. You could just see the satisfaction on their faces when they got a hit of that garlic.
Jacquet
Returning to waffles, perhaps the most disturbingly delicious item at the NACS Show was found at Jacquet’s booth in the new exhibitor section. Beckoning from behind the clear, plastic wrapper emblazoned with the words “ready to eat” was their Belgian Waffle with Sugar Pearls. I immediately took one since waffles are the eighth wonder of the world, but I wasn’t prepared for what awaited me.
Rather than the airy, fluffy consistency you might associate with breakfast waffles, this was a dense, doughnut-like product that has been engineered to perfection. The satisfying crunch of the sugar pearls only added to my enjoyment of an already-phenomenal product.
Reese’s
I may have saved the best for last.
A colleague from Standard AI handed me a pack of the new Reese’s peanut butter cups—with potato chips inside—and asked if I’d tried them. I hadn’t been to the Reese’s booth yet, but I had to laugh because how can you not try something like that? Can you think of anything more stereotypically American?
They are incredibly delightful. I don’t know how the company managed to maintain such a perfect, mouthwateringly satisfying crunch in every little flake of potato chip, but the team at The Hershey Company pulled it off. This is a pinnacle of modern food engineering and one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming.
I was somewhat dismayed to learn that each cup is 180 calories, but I can always go for a run later—right? Besides, sometimes we really do need to treat ourselves.
It was great to see Frank again in Chicago. Last time we visited the Windy City for the NACS Show in 2017, we road tripped more than 1,500 miles from New Orleans and ate at all of the best c-stores along the way. He found celery and peanut butter and even drank a strange green juice concoction, while I devoured delicious barbecue and homemade ice cream—but I was proud of him for at least trying fried boudin. I’m also proud to see that he found a few indulgent options at this year’s Show.
If you’re like me and prefer to know what everyone else is missing, here are a few standout products from the NACS Show’s expo hall.
Al's Favorites
Cookies United
I love cake. Real cake. But sometimes because of the size and packaging, cake is difficult to eat when you’re on-the-go. That’s why I like popping into a c-store and finding something delicious and convenient to eat. CakeBites from Cookies United is right up my alley.
“CakeBites are incredibly indulgent, mini pieces of layer cake. Three pieces, precut, in a little foil package,” said Michael Strauss, director of marketing at Cookies United. “In six years we’ve grown a lot. We found a niche in the cake snack business. People are looking for an upscale option rather than some of our other competitors, so we differentiate ourselves with a longer shelf life, and we’re more indulgent with a higher quality.”
Customers love the classic Italian Rainbow. It was an original and remains the biggest seller. At this year’s NACS Show, the company debuted three additional flavors: Frosted Coffee Cake, Iced Blueberry Cobbler and Chocolate Tuxedo. Celebrities even added fun to the popular treat since they’ve partnered with Marvel to offer Spiderman, Hulk and Black Panther CakeBites. It’s no surprise that kids love it.
Van’s Kitchen
I also like food that’s fun, and there’s simply something fun about eating egg rolls. Even the guy in the photo displayed at the Van’s Kitchen booth looked like he was having fun eating an egg roll. That’s why I stopped by to see what they had to offer. Fortunately, I found a new egg roll that’s going to heat things up.
“Building on our successful line of current items with chicken and pork, we’ve introduced a Chicken Lime Chili egg roll,” said Carl Motter of Van’s Kitchen. “It’s got that bold zesty flavor that combines a little bit of heat and chili and then the snap and the zest that comes from the lime.”
In Cajun Country, we like some heat in what we eat, and the Chicken Lime Chili egg roll did not disappoint. It was like the Fourth of July for the tastebuds.
“We wanted to live up to what we quote on the package,” said Motter. “It’s got some bite to it. It’s not going to blow your head off, but it’s not like when you normally get something that promises big bold flavor when it’s really kind of ehh. We don’t want to have that happen. When we say it’s got kick, it’s got kick.”
Brownie Brittle
I loved this product before I tried it. Once a bag of Brownie Brittle is opened in my house, it’s guaranteed to be empty. How do you stop eating these things? That’s why I was excited to see that the company has a couple of new products. I spoke with Al Raddatz, the company’s vice president of sales, to learn more. “We’ve got two new products in our first licensed innovation in partnership with Hershey,” he said. “We’ve got the Heath Toffee Crunch, where Heath Toffee bits are included in our base Brownie Brittle. We also have a Reese’s Pieces Brownie Brittle.”
I’ve always thought there was something different about Brownie Brittle. As Raddatz went on to explain, the thin, crispy format of the product reduces the calorie count. This also allows you to enjoy the sensation of the crispy, crunchy corner of the brownie—what many folks like best. That’s why it’s so hard to stop eating Brownie Brittle. Personally, I stop when the bag is empty.
Vandemoortele
When I saw “French pastry”, I slammed on my brakes at the Vandemoortele booth for their sinfully delicious pastries.
First came the waffles. According to master baker Johan Coppens, stuffed waffles are a specialty from Belgium. “It’s a yeast dough that we fold out, fill with fruit filling and bake as a normal waffle,” he explained.
The waffles are individually wrapped and perfect for c-stores. They were soft and fresh, and the cherry-stuffed versions were incredibly delicious.
Vandemoortele also offers bake-ups. Coppens claims they’re more of a solution than a product since they’re less than half of the volume of similar products. “They’re flat and take up less room in the freezer or trucks,” said Coppens. “Not everyone has enough space in the freezers, so this is a good solution. You don’t need to defrost the product. It goes straight from the freezer to the oven.
Sunny Sky Products
I’m crazy about decadent frozen drinks. Upouria Frappe Mix is a new product from Sunny Sky Product that complements its 360-degree coffee program, said Isabel Atherton, director of marketing for Sunny Sky Products.
“With a frappe mix you can do the made-to-order program. You can use the powder as scoop to add into a particular drink, or if you don’t have the labor in your store, you can put it in an FUB (Frozen Uncarbonated Beverages) machine,” Atherton said.
The drinks can be made with water, milk or almond milk. They taste great and have a pleasing mouthfeel.
The Reese’s Freeze is another new offer. What’s great about this is that it’s made without peanuts, so it’s safe for people with peanut allergies. I’m happy that people who’ve never had the chance to eat a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup can safely enjoy the flavor in Sunny Sky’s Reese’s Freeze.
Krispy Krunchy Chicken
I’ll admit that I didn’t really look for healthy food at the NACS Show. I wanted to. I really did. The problem is I was just distracted by all of the delicious, indulgent options. But it doesn’t always have to be a choice between one or the other. What if you want something that satisfies the craving for indulgence but lands somewhere in the middle? For me, I usually reach for pork cracklins. That’s why I was excited to see Krispy Krunchy Chicken offering their own take on this traditional snack.
For the uninitiated: Cracklins have been a staple in South Louisiana for as long as we can remember. Traditionally made from pork bellies, the skin, fat and meat are cut into bite-size pieces and fried in oil.
“The only cracklin that was available in the past was a pork cracklin,” said Neal Onebane, president and founder of Krispy Krunchy Foods LLC. “Now we’ve started with the chicken cracklins that not only have the skin but the meat is chicken—it’s not pork. This totally changes the flavor profile. It’s much lighter, and you can eat more of it. It’s a great addition to our menu.”
As Onebane explained, the company is now selling thousands of cases a week. They also use the Perfectly Cajun seasoning to make the product stand out from competitors. When I stopped by to sample the cracklins, they didn’t appear to be heavily breaded. As a veteran of the keto diet, I thought this might be keto-friendly in the “friendly” category of the diet.
It really doesn’t matter though. I’m eating them either way.