Reviews: Mez Mesquite Candy Cups and Manchas Tortilla Chips

Mez Mesquite Candy Cups

Mesquite may be best known for barbecue, but the plant also produces nutritious pods that can stand in for cocoa beans in chocolate recipes. Enter Mez Foods, a Chicago-based startup that is championing the ingredient in a line of premium confections that are made with mesquite bean flour, plus illipe butter, chufa flour, carob powder, turbinado sugar and tiger nut flour. Mez Mesquite Candy Cups are packaged in resealable pouches and available in Peanut Butter, S’mores and Pistachio Crunch flavors.

Things that stand out:

• The S’mores cups contain vegan marshmallow and graham cracker crumbs, while the Dubai chocolate-inspired Pistachio Crunch cups are filled with pistachio, tahini and gluten-free bread crumbs. The creamy and crispy textures combine nicely to create a satisfying bite.
• The packaging, with muted earth tones and botanical illustrations, reinforces a premium and regenerative positioning, while clear product imagery showcases filling, texture and indulgence.
• The formulation provides a pretty convincing stand-in for chocolate, with a slight smoky, earthy finish.
• The miniature cups offer an approachable format with twists on popular flavor profiles.
• Cocoa, which only recently began deflating from record high prices, remains a volatile and costly crop. Mesquite may be a promising alternative.
• A 55% less sugar callout is a compelling benefit for wellness-seeking shoppers.

Things to consider:

• Mesquite as a cocoa substitute is an unfamiliar concept to most consumers and will require education. Although the back of the packaging provides a good explainer, the ingredient is relatively underexplained on the front of pack.
• Individually wrapped cups – though somewhat counter to the brand’s sustainability story – would enable more sharing and portable consumption.
• The fiber callout – 14 grams per bag – is misleading, given there are seven servings per bag and it is unlikely a consumer will eat a whole bag in one sitting.

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Manchas Tortilla Chips

Manchas Tortilla Chips are positioned as a premium, traditionally made take on a pantry staple, leaning heavily into ingredient integrity and process. Produced in Mexico using stone-ground, nixtamalized white corn, the chips are cooked in grass-fed beef tallow and finished with sea salt, resulting in a product with just three ingredients. The minimalist beige packaging reinforces the brand’s artisanal intent, with simple typography and whimsical illustrations that stand out quietly on shelf rather than shouting for attention.

Things that stand out:

• Extremely short ingredient list: white corn, beef tallow, and sea salt. This definitely reinforces a clean-label, traditional positioning where high quality is the focus.
• Noticeably thick and sturdy chips with a rustic, almost handmade texture that performs well for dipping and scooping. Flavor delivers a lightly roasted corn note with a savory depth from the tallow (which definitely lingers) and a clean, salty finish.
• Packaging feels intentional and refined; the single-color design is distinctive, readable and communicates craft effectively. It definitely has a cool vibe to it, which is not something we’d say about the big brands in this space.

Things to consider:

• At 5 oz., the bag feels quite small compared to conventional tortilla chip offerings, especially at a $11.99 price point (the price for a single bag on the company’s web site).
• Having a single SKU using beef tallow may significantly narrow the potential audience, limiting appeal to more mainstream or plant-forward consumers. Plus, it is a somewhat unique flavor profile that we could see being polarizing.
• With only one SKU, the brand’s positioning feels restrictive rather than exploratory. Additional formats or oil options could broaden relevance. We think it might be challenging to build a meaningful foothold with just this one SKU.

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