A Better-for-You Crunch

Seeking to develop a tasty, nutritious snack that their two young, finicky daughters would enjoy, Joey Rosa and Thai Lan Tran rolled out CauliPuffs in 2023. A blend of corn, rice, and cauliflower, the puffs are baked in avocado oil, “the current cooking oil of choice” for better-for-you snacks, according to trend tracker Amy Marks-McGee. The gluten-free snack comes in four flavors: White Cheddar, Honey BBQ, Habanero Ranch, and Vegan Salt & Pepper.

Another unique new snack gaining momentum is Popadelics Crunchy Mushroom Chips by Fun-Gal Snacks. Made of shiitake mushrooms, the product launched in April 2022 with three flavors: Trippin’ Truffle Parm, Twisted Thai Chili, and Rad Rosemary + Salt.

Lifelong mushroom lovers Marilyn Yang and Mike Casali came up with the idea for Popadelics while trying a variety of snacks during the COVID-19 lockdown. “It really just hit us one day—if there are kale chips, carrot chips, and cauliflower chips, why shouldn’t there be mushroom chips, too?,” explains Yang, CEO of Fun-Gal Snacks.

“Even in the beginning, we had a very clear idea of what we wanted the end product to be: a crunchy chip, made from a whole mushroom cap,” she continues. “The whole mushroom cap was important to us, since we wanted to show the consumer that this is a ‘real’ mushroom.

“I remember being made fun of as a kid (and even now) for liking mushrooms, and I feel like a lot of people who claim to not like mushrooms just haven’t experienced mushrooms in the right way,” she shares. “By making them into a crunchy, chip-like texture, we thought that would broaden their appeal. Since launching, we’ve heard all the time at events comments like, ‘I hate mushrooms, but these chips are amazing.’ That’s exactly the type of reaction we’re looking for.”