Reviews: One Trick Pony Pops Into Popcorn; Plus, Junkless, Slim Jim

In this reviews roundup, we take a bite out of One Trick Pony’s foray into the salty snack set, Junkless granola bars, and Slim Jim’s meaty mashup with Buffalo Wild Wings.

One Trick Pony Caramel Crunch Peanut Butter Popcorn

Natural peanut butter brand One Trick Pony enters the salty snack set with Caramel Crunch Peanut Butter Popcorn. Available exclusively on the brand’s direct-to-consumer website for $8 per 6 oz. bag, the new snack features popcorn covered in caramel and a coating of the brand’s peanut butter mixed with mini pretzels.

Things that stand out:

• Strong flavor and texture execution, with high marks for the popcorn’s perfect ratio of caramel to peanut butter (just a hint of caramel lets the peanut butter shine).
• The eye-catching seafoam green and purple packaging pulls from the color palette of the brand’s flagship peanut butter jars, seamlessly folding the new SKU into One Trick Pony’s portfolio. If and when the product goes to retail, it will certainly stand out on-shelf.
• The back of the package highlights the fact the brand sources its peanuts from Argentina, a strong differentiating factor from other coated popcorn offerings.

Things to consider:

• While the pretzels are a mix-in and not the star of the show, we’d love to see just a few more packed into the bag.

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Slim Jim Buffalo Wild Wings Collaboration

If you haven’t noticed already, the meat snack category is on fire with consumers developing a renewed taste for the stick format on the back of premium brands like Chomps, Archer and Krave. Not wanting to be left behind, conventional player Slim Jim has partnered with quick-service restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings on a 2-SKU line of chicken sticks.

Things that stand out:

• The packaging retains the familiar Slim Jim branding with a prominent “no nitrites or nitrates added” callout, plus 6 grams of protein per 0.97 oz. “Giant Slim” stick.
• While a majority of Slim Jim’s portfolio uses a mix of animal meats (beef, pork and chicken) this collaboration stays on-brand with its Buffalo Wild Wings partner, using only chicken, while also leaning into its better-for-you halo of being a leaner protein source.

Things to consider:

• While the sticks’ flavor profile does appeal to the spicy-vinegary of Buffalo sauce, it is hard to really differentiate between the Buffalo and the Hot varieties.
• The longer, slimmer stick is a bit of a hallmark for the brand, but offers a less satisfying mouthfeel compared to more premium meat sticks that provide a meatier bite.
• No one expects meat sticks to be low in sodium or cholesterol, but the nutritionals don’t necessarily speak to health-conscious consumers.

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Junkless Granola Bars

Founded in 2018 by Simply Eight, Junkless established itself as a lower-sugar, chewy granola bar option. In October 2023, the brand was acquired by Impact Capital, the private equity firm of BodyArmor founder Mike Repole. Impact refreshed the brand’s packaging design last year and is expanding it into a better-for-you snacking platform.

Things that stand out:

• Great branding that is easy to build a platform around. Packaging design provides clear messaging about flavors and clever speech bubbles that tell the value propositions.
• Flavors nod to legacy brands and nostalgia with “Chewy” being a common descriptor. Birthday Cake and Strawberry were our favorites.
• Using brown rice syrup and sugar as a sweetener is a smart move as common alternatives like stevia, allulose, erythritol and monkfruit can be off-putting for some younger consumers.

Things to consider:

• While the brand markets on less sugar, the overall sweetness can be a little cloying in some varieties, especially the drizzled flavors. Notching back the sweeteners couldn’t hurt the appeal to adult consumers.
• A reformulation or adjacent line that uses an alternative to sunflower oil could open the brand to consumers who are prioritizing seed-oil-free products.
• Adding smaller formats for kids’ lunches and more adult-forward line extensions, like caffeinated bars or a matcha-flavored option, would enable brand blocking in retail.

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