Popchips Barbeque

Product name: Popchips Barbeque
Purchase details: Boots
Calories: 96 per bag
Country of origin: UK 

Since winning a picnic prize from Higgidy at the start of the Summer, I’ve been looking for a packet of Popchips in order to use my voucher, and Boots finally came through for me recently. Whilst I was able to claim my bag for free, they were priced at £0.80 for a 23g bag.

If my memory serves me right, this is the first savoury review I’ve ever done. It’s not that I don’t like savoury snacks – I just prefer to have sweet things in the evenings. I do love crisps and similar products, though (I enjoy a packet of Space Raiders with my lunch most days and I love pre-dinner nibbles too!), so I was looking forward to trying Popchips for the first time.

Popchips, to my knowledge, are a unique concept in that, like crisps, they are made of potato rather than things like corn but, instead of being fried or baked, they are popped. The brand claims that this provides ‘all the flavour’ but ‘half the fat’ of ‘regular fried potato crisps’, and that consumers won’t notice that they’re a healthy option. In addition, they contain no artificial ingredients, and even the seasoning is natural. So far, so good!

I decided to try the Barbeque flavour since it’s one I don’t normally have and I thought it sounded more interesting than the original and sour cream & onion alternatives. They came in quite a large, good quality bag, although this didn’t feel full, and the packet stated that the average contents were 18 Popchips. The image of the Popchips looked quite appealing and, thankfully, the real things did too. I actually thought they looked a little bit like mini rice cakes as they had a slightly bubbly texture, presumably down to the ‘potato ingredients’ being flakes and starch rather than actual slices of potato. Each Popchip was round and concave and looked very neat. Whilst the red powder from the barbeque seasoning was not evenly distributed, I did think that it looked attractive.

The Popchips had a decent smell which was familiar from the barbeque crisps I’ve eaten in the past. Somewhat surprisingly, I found this made my mouth water and, thankfully, my tastebuds were not disappointed. Each lightweight Popchip delivered a sweet barbeque taste which was similar to spare ribs but with a slight kick afterwards. In fact, they had so much flavour that I’d be happy to serve them to guests – the packet was right to say they didn’t feel like diet food! Texturally, the Popchips were thicker than normal crisps and had a bumpy and crunchy texture.

I was really impressed by this packet of Popchips and would agree that they were ‘naturally delicious’ and they were also very moreish. Whilst the bag was not full to the top, I was also pleased that the packet felt like a good serving size.

Maybe I should have savoury treats in the evening more often!

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8/10