Taste tests are fun; aren’t they? The Daily Dot is sharing a YouTube video of South Korean girls reacting (sometime violently) to American snacks and candy.
For the most part, the girls did not care for stateside junk food, which included Goldfish, Pop Tarts, and Twizzlers. Objections were not just to the taste (“It kind of tastes like a candle”), but also appearance (“Visually it looks like a spoon worm”), mouth-feel (“it tastes like I’m chewing a rubber”), and possible health effects (“this seems like something that you take for granted so you eat the hell out of it and get fat.”) One tester in particular repeatedly honed in on the nutritional hazards she sensed in the foods, uttering at one point, “I feel like my health is declining while eating this.”
It wasn’t all scrunched noses and gagging, though. The girls mostly seemed to like the Rice Krispies Treats: “It’s pretty much a combination that’s impossible to taste bad.” Cheez-Its were also identified as something that would be the “bomb with alcohol.”
If you’ve ever had a friend who wouldn’t shut up about how awful Kimchi is, while never admitting to actually trying it, this video is a nice reversal. And while the joke is clearly on us, if American junk food manufacturers were looking for marketing angles to introduce these snacks to Korean consumers, this brave focus group reveals some initial product pitches.
- Goldfish: Not overly stimulating!
- Pop Tarts: It tastes like a toy!
- Rice Krispies Treats: Is there anyone who would hate this?
- Lays Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips: You’re going to have to eat this… with beer!
- Twizzlers: The rubbery treat you give to Grandma—to practice chewing!
- Cheez-Its: The more you chew it… the more you’ll taste cheese!
- War Heads Extreme Sour Hard Candy: No, you may not spit it out!