July 28, 2026 • 30 mins
George and Karla dive into the wild world of buffets in this lively episode of The Always Hangry Podcast, revealing how these all-you-can-eat feasts can morph people into buffet beasts! They chat about the psychology behind buffet behavior, like how diners with heavier BMIs tend to attack the buffet with chopsticks while lighter folks take a more strategic approach.
The conversation takes a humorous turn as they discuss the latest food scams, including folks using AI to get refunds on takeout by doctoring food pics. Plus, George introduces a special guest, Michael Rosenzweig, who’s shaking up the candy scene with his innovative, health-conscious snacks made from konjac. So grab your favorite snack and get ready for a fun-filled exploration of food quirks and trends!
Takeaways:
- Eating chicken wings can be a guilty pleasure, especially when faced with a pile of bones.
- Buffets seem to change how we eat, often leading us to overindulge on various dishes.
- Studies show that people with higher BMIs eat faster at buffets using chopsticks, which is a curious observation.
- The psychology behind buffets suggests that variety can lead to overeating due to a fear of missing out.
- New food trends, like protein-infused snacks, are becoming increasingly popular, appealing to health-conscious consumers.
- Innovative products, such as slurpable jelly snacks made from konjac, are adding a fresh twist to the candy market.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- DoorDash
- Walmart
- Pack Pack Snacks
- Cargill
- Blue Bell
- McDonald's
- Trader Joe's
- Kardashians
- Cold Stone
- Kit Kat
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It is so embarrassing for meto eat chicken wings because I do
love them. But then when youlook around and there's a giant pile
of bones in front of me,there's a little shame to go with
that.
It just kind of like,moderates you. You're like, oh, I
already have had that much.That's a good reminder.
That's not gonna moderate me.Welcome to the Always Hangry podcast,
where we break down the way weeat. The good, the bad, and the completely
(00:24):
ridiculous. I'm your host,George Duran, and on today's show,
why buffets turn us intocompletely different. And the latest
food scam, using AI to fakebad takeout for refunds. Plus, has
the protein craze goneofficially too far? And finally,
I'll sit down with theinventor of a brand new Japanese
candy that's unlike anythingyou've ever tasted before. Joining
(00:48):
me now is the fabulously funnyand wonderfully opinionated Carla
Walsh.
George, it's such an honor tobe here.
Karla, you just came into NewYork City, and, I mean, this is not
where you live, right?
Correct.
So it's very good that yourhotel is right across the street
because you're able just tocome in and join us. I love the way
you kind of not just visit anddo things like, I think you're running
(01:08):
a marathon or.
A 5K, doing a Hyrox.
A Hyrox. I don't know whatthat is. I'll never know what that
is because it's probablysomething with sports. But then you
also kind of take time to eat.
Yes, absolutely. Eat, explore.I'm doing a boat tour. Went to a
musical.
How's the hotel, by the way? Nice.
Yeah, it's lovely.
Yeah. Does it have a buffet,by the way?
No. Buffet.
Yeah. That's very commontoday, though. You see a lot of hotels.
(01:30):
I go to a lot of hotels. Andthere's like, the morning breakfast
buffet.
Oh, absolutely. I grew up in afamily that was, like, very into
the Holiday Inn Express. Youknow, you've got the whole spread
of the cereal, like tubs, theeggs that are remarkably rubbery.
Yes, they are, actually. Andmake your own waffle sometimes.
Yes, absolutely. With too much syrup.
(01:51):
Kids go crazy about that. Thebuffet, I kind of despise it. What
do you think about buffets in general?
Not for me. I love that peoplelove them, but that's never going
to be a place that I choose todine. I just am not a quantity over
quality kind of a person.
Have you ever been to a great buffet?
Like, I feel like A Europeanhotel breakfast buffet.
(02:14):
I'd like to go to, like, ahigh end Japanese hotel breakfast
someday.
I bet that would be epic.
Man, I could just imagine whatit would be like. Some fun facts
about buffets. In 2008, therewas a study done about eating behavior
and obesity at Chinesebuffets. Okay, so it's very common
to see the Asian buffets, theChinese buffets, even Southeast Asian
Indian buffets. But Thesescientists observed 213 adult diners
(02:37):
at an all you can eat Chinesebuffet. And they secretly tracked
their habits as they atethrough the buffet.
Oh, that's. I feel like youneed to sign a waiver.
Here is what they observed atan all you can eat Chinese buffet.
These scientists observed thatthey found that people with higher
BMIs were. Were more likely touse chopsticks instead of forks and
knives at a Chinese buffet.
(02:58):
Oh, that's interesting.
Yeah, I mean, I think I eatfaster with a chopstick, especially
noodles and even rice dishes.Because with chopsticks you bring
it closer to your mouth, likea trough, kind.
Of like scoop it in.
Yeah. And you work quicklyinto eating it.
Interesting.
Yeah. So the heavier peoplewere using chopsticks, eating faster
that way.
I mean, that's great thatthey're so adept with the chopstick
(03:21):
because some people, I seethem kind of fumble with that.
Unless you're like, justskewering the sushi and just shoving
it in your mouth, Then it'seasier that way too.
That's not ideal.
Heavier diners were morelikely to face the buffet than thinner
diners who had their backsturned to the buffet.
Oh, interesting.
That's crazy.
Yeah. I wouldn't think aboutthe navigation of the room, I guess.
(03:42):
I guess people are also theheavier people who eat more. They're
just kind of like serving,like, is it open again? Let me grab
my.
What are my other options?
Maybe some.
That's fair.
Yeah. Yeah. Diners with lowerBMIs were more likely to survey the
buffet before digging in.
I do that. I do a lap, but you don't.
Yeah, but the thing is that Ido that too, and I'm definitely not
(04:02):
in the lower BMI party.
I think this could hold truefor, like, anyone. I think it's just
strategy.
Always. You walk into a buffetand you want to be like, I gotta
see what there is before.Cause if you fill up on one thing
and then by the end of it,your plate is full and you find out
that there's.
Wait, I missed the pudding.
Yeah, exactly. What's adessert? Like, you have only so much
(04:23):
allocation Exactly.
If there's a soft surf machinethat changes the game.
Holy crap. The soft surface.Of course, I would just get my whole
dinner plate and just put thesoft serve on top. That's all. I
would just do that if I werein that situation. Another study
earlier this year found outthat people eat more when there's
more variety at the buffet.
Yeah, that makes sense.
That totally makes sense. Imean, even like the Thanksgiving
(04:44):
meal table, definitely you'rejust gonna eat more.
Because I have a scoop of each.
Absolutely. Some researchersthink buffets activate a scarcity
instinct, this abundance thatcan possibly disappear later on.
So holy crap, we may lose thisfood. Let's eat more of this.
It's a limited time offer.
Studies found people overeatmore at an all you can eat places,
partly because they alreadypaid a fixed price. They want their
(05:07):
money's worth value. I totallyget that.
I could see that too.
Yeah. And then they alsocreate these fake food priorities.
So, you know, hey, I paid forthis. I want shellfish, shrimp. I
want the more expensive stuff first.
Yeah.
Which is bizarre because you.You eat whatever you want to eat.
Right, Right.
But people are just focusingmore on the expensive stuff.
(05:27):
Oh, that makes. I mean, Icould see that.
So if you went to a buffet andthere was crab legs and fried chicken,
where are you going to?
Depends on what mood I'm inthat day. I think I probably wouldn't
think about the value savings.
That's why you're lower bmi,you know, because you have those
priorities, which are morelike, eh, whatever I want. But people
who want their money's worth,they're going for the crab legs.
(05:48):
Yeah.
That's so interesting, becausefried chicken is cheaper than fried
crab legs.
Do you feel like the Las Vegasbuffet culture, is that still around?
Well, I did a Food Networkshoot one time for buffets in Las
Vegas alone.
Oh, wow.
Crazy observations. And I gotto get to know the manager there,
and they were telling me someincredible stories. One of the stories
is that there are people wholiterally go to the buffet, get the
(06:10):
crab legs or the shrimp or thelobster, and they have removed the
entire tray out of the buffetand placed it on their table.
And.
And they've kind of engorgedon all the crab legs or lobster.
What do you do as a manager inthat situation? Like, how do you
even navigate that?
You start crying a little bit,and you hopefully fill up that spot
(06:31):
with more of the crab legs, ifyou have any left.
Wow.
Yeah. So that's why a lot ofthese buffets have Started implementing
rules and fees whenever youovereat and you have too much food
on the plate.
Where do you get those rules?Like, is it a waiver that you sign
before you approach?
A lot of these buffets havelisted it.
Okay. Like on a wall.
Yeah. So some of the rulesthat buffets. All you can eat. Buffets
(06:53):
have. Are you ready?
Yeah.
No sharing.
Okay.
Time limits. Some people havebuffets open for four hours max.
I don't know if I could eatfor even two hours at a buffet, but
four hours is crazy. Yeah,that's pretty insane. There's kids
pricing, but kids pricingsometimes is not about age. It's
about height.
Height. Wow. Okay. I havenever heard of that before.
(07:17):
They come and they have like aheight board and they measure each
kid.
And it's a roller coaster.
Yeah. So they go by height.No. Takeout.
Yes.
Here's some of the placeswhere people have taken out from
all you can eat buffets intheir purses.
Oh, gosh.
In their backpacks. They bringtheir own Tupperware from home.
No.
Ziploc bags and stroller compartments.
(07:38):
Oh, my gosh. Well, I mean, Ilike the eco friendly Tupperware
angle. I mean, at leastthey're like reusing as a container.
But I don't know, that stillfeels kind of sketchy.
Can you believe just pullingout a Tupperware and just like shoving
the chicken or whatever. Justlike kind of just putting the plate
right in there.
Right.
I would love to see that.
I mean, it's one of thosecatch 22s, though, because if they
(07:59):
took it, it's not like they'regonna reuse that somewhere else.
It's just a shame because theyprobably take more than they would
have if they weren't takingsome home.
Well, the problem with that isalso is that you have this variety
of different foods. And what,are you just gonna mix it all in,
like an omelette inside ofyour Tupperware?
Yeah, I guess it's like one ofthose bowl things.
A trough.
Yeah.
This is an interestingpsychology behind buffets. Here are
(08:21):
some of the ways people hidetheir shame over overeating at buffets.
Oh, I don't like that theyhave shame at all. That makes me
sad.
I am. I'm part of this group.Okay, so take it easy there.
Okay.
Pretending this is your last plate.
Okay.
Hiding how many trips you've made.
Uh huh. That makes sensebecause they kind of.
Walk from different areas anddifferent angles.
Yeah. Just kind of did halfplate. It's fine.
(08:43):
Yeah, it's fine. Okay.Avoiding eye contact with staff members.
I could see that.
Totally.
Yeah.
I do that all the time. When Iover order, like any fast food place,
I'm kind of just a littleashamed that I cover my eyes a little
bit. I can't speak to someone.Like, I have the shoe forks.
Yes.
Using smaller plates todisguise volume.
Okay.
(09:04):
Yeah. So you kind of looks.Looks like, oh, I'm just having a
little bit.
Yeah.
And it's. But you're piling iton, of course. Getting rid of dirty
plates on your table. So itlooks like you've only had one serving.
I mean, that is onlyappropriate. It's like when you get
chicken wings, right?
Absolutely.
If they keep picking up thebones, then it's a little bit less
embarrassing.
It is so embarrassing for meto eat chicken wings because I do
(09:27):
love them. But then when youlook around and there's a giant pile
of bones in front of me,there's a little shame to go with
that.
It just kind of like moderatesyou. You're like, oh, I already have
had that much. That's a good reminder.
That's not gonna moderate me.What I do is I put it shared bowl
for chicken wings. Soeverybody just pops their chicken
wings.
There you go. Yeah. It's likethe olive pits.
Yeah. And people think that,oh, my gosh, she thought of everything.
I'm just thinking aboutmyself. I'm just trying to hide that
(09:49):
shame. That's all I'm tryingto do.
It's a group project.
Right. So there's a fun fact.In 2018, a German triathlete named
Jaroslav Bobrowski was bannedfrom an all you can eat sushi restaurant
in Bavaria after reportedlyeating close to 100 plates of sushi
in one sitting.
Wow.
The cost of the buffet was $18.
(10:10):
Oh, my gosh.
He'd been intermittent fastingfor 20 hours and eating during the
four hour window. He went totip afterwards and they refused the
tip instead got a ban.
Wow. Wow. Have you heard aboutthose all you can eat sushi places
where they, like, charge youwhen you don't finish what you ask
for?
There is a lot of that goingon, actually. So they do charge you.
(10:31):
And what's interesting is thatthey charge you by either a flat
fee or by weight.
Oh, I heard by piece. Okay,wait. Wow.
They sometimes weigh inside ofthe restaurant and they weigh how
much you have left over. WhenI was working at the Food Network,
I did again the show aboutbuffets in Las Vegas, and the manager
told me that there were thesepeople who would go to the buffet
(10:53):
where there's sushi with anigiri sushi. You know, the individual
pieces.
Oh, yes.
And they would just pluck thefish from on top of the.
Whoa.
Onto their plates. And theywould leave.
Just leave the rice. Oh, no.
That's what they would do.
They didn't have fish flavoredrice just sitting there.
Well, then they startedchanging the buffet, and they started
putting makis, which are therolls. Except they started poking
(11:13):
the fish out. No.
Oh, my gosh. This is just so wild.
It's wild enough that theystarted just serving sashimi.
Yeah. I think that you gottaplay to your crowd.
(11:45):
Okay, let's take a quickbreak. When we come back, we're talking
AI powered fake refunds, andwe're playing our newest game, trend,
or trash. And later on, I'llmeet the creator of a brand new Japanese
candy made of konjac, whateverthat is. All right, we're back. Carlo,
when you travel in cities, doyou always order into your hotel
(12:07):
room? Do you ever order intoyour hotel rooms or are you always,
like, occasionally?Occasionally. Why is that?
Because sometimes after a longtravel day or if I have, like, a
big event the next day, I justwant something easy.
Well, what's interesting isthat people are now using AI image
editors like ChatGPT and suchand these tools to actually change
the look of their food so itlooks either moldy or raw. Send it
(12:30):
into the doordash people andget their money back.
That is so wild. I would neverthink of that.
I think a lot of people havethought about that and so much that
they're losing money off ofit. And now they're posting it online
and telling other people, lookwhat I did. Look how much money I
made out of this.
Oh, wow. So they're outing themselves.
They're outing themselves. Oneguy aied a photo of his rare burger
(12:50):
to look well done and got hismoney back. Another guy aied his
chicken to look raw and gothis $26 back from DoorDash.
Wow.
One person AI'd a McDonald'sdelivery that was left on his porch
with a squirrel eating thefrench fries. No.
Oh, my gosh. Okay, wait. Whorepays? Is it the door? Is it doordash
(13:11):
or is it the restaurant?
Well, that is the problem isthat most of the time, doordash doesn't
pay the restaurant, and therestaurant gets dinged for that.
Oh, that's awful. They'realready getting a bad end of the
deal.
I think people, if they thinkthat it's a larger, quick service
restaurant, like McDonald'sand such are like, well, how much
profit could they possiblylose from it? By the way, the guy
with the squirrel, they didn'tget his money back.
(13:33):
Oh, my gosh. That's so wild.
People are adding mold totheir foods. They are putting flies
on their pastries.
No. Well, I mean, that seemsthat just happens.
What's also happening is thatsome of these delivery companies,
the people who are deliveringit, are making AIs at their front
doors with the food in there,saying it's been delivered.
(13:55):
Oh, my gosh. And then keeping it.
And then keeping it.
What? Wow. What is happeningto society, George?
It's AI warfare with the fooddelivery companies.
It is. And there's no way tosort out truth from lie.
Just go out and eat at therestaurant, man.
I know.
That's the way to do it.
It would fix it. That's thesolution here.
Here's a solution, I think.Okay, FaceTime.
(14:16):
FaceTime. A live callimmediately to get your refund.
Just kind of show it on cameraand be like, look at this.
I know. It's like, all thismakes no sense to me because it's
like, probably $15.
That's true. But then $15times, you know, 10,000 per day.
It adds up.
It does add up. But for thatindividual, it's like, what is your
time worth to fight for this?
(14:37):
$15, I guess. I mean, it costsnothing to AI a photo, so why not
just, you.
Know, do a quick. But yourtime is worth. That's what I think
about a lot of things. It'slike, how much time would this be
worth if I was working?
All right, we're going to goto a new segment called Trend or
Trash.
Oh, great.
Yeah. Where we discuss foodtrends to see if they're worthy of
being trendy or just somethingnobody asked for.
(15:00):
Awesome.
You do a lot of trends withyour reporting?
I do a ton, yes.
And how do you look for these trends?
All over. It might be, like,on Instagram reels, because I'm not
on TikTok. I'm a dinosaur. Soby the time things get to Instagram
reels, they're a little bit.Yeah. Over. But social media, I keep
an eye out on, like, anythingon, like, news shows. I look at what,
(15:23):
like, other, like,influencers, bloggers, whatever,
are leaning into.
And then do you walk to thefood shows as well and be like, what's
going on?
And every so often. Yeah. Or Igo to, like, conferences where people
come and speak about thelatest products, research trends,
stuff like that.
The biggest trend that isstill around. It's been years now.
(15:43):
Is the protein trend.
Absolutely.
Are you done with the protein trend?
I have personally felt thebenefits of eating more protein,
but I'm not over the top aboutit. It's not taking over my personality
or lifestyle. It's justleaning into a little bit more than
I had in the past.
Yeah. I am also, actually. Andit must be psychological effect with
the trend. And also it kind ofmakes sense. More protein, more muscle
(16:04):
mass, more feel.
Better. Yeah. It's just likemy hair, skin, and nails are better,
but it's not like it'scrowding out carbs and fat. I still
eat those.
Right. You know, According toCargill's 2025 protein profile, 61%
of Americans said theyincreased their protein intake in
2024, up from 48% in 2019.
That's a big difference.
Huge. So there are a lot ofweird. Have you seen a lot of weird
(16:27):
items that have protein in it?
A lot? Yeah. And, like, whereyou wouldn't expect it to be snack
foods, desserts, anythingspecific. Protein ice cream is, like,
a huge trend. And, like,everybody's getting in on it. From,
like, classic brands like BlueBell to, like, there's like, a specific
protein ice cream brand thatfocuses directly on that.
(16:47):
Like, chunks of chicken insidethe guy.
Ew, no, just like, pints with,like, extra whey or something like
that. Popcorn. Like, one ofthe Kardashians released a protein
popcorn. Pretzels, chips,pasta. Pasta. Wait, candy?
Did you say pasta? Pasta withprotein inside?
Yeah.
What are we doing?
(17:08):
Yeah, well, it's like, beanbased, so, like, I mean, some of
this makes kind of sense, but,yeah, it's everywhere.
Pop Tarts has a protein.
Pop Tarts, Doritos. Yeah, Lotsof snack foods. I mean, soda, protein
soda.
Wait, so I'm sorry, how do youput protein in soda?
I need to look into theactual, like, product that they're
adding in there, but I'mguessing it's like another kind of,
(17:30):
like, powdery substance or something.
I went down a rabbit hole. Istarted doing some research and finding
some foods that have extraprotein in them because of this trend.
Okay, here's what I found. Ifound protein popcorn.
Yes.
The Khloe Kardashian.
Yep.
I don't know how you putprotein in popcorn.
I think it's in the dust.
It's milk protein isolate, apparently.
Yep. I bet it's in, like,cheese powder.
(17:52):
Protein water.
Yeah.
15 grams of ultra filteredprotein inside water.
Okay.
So what they do is they ultrafilter it. They remove the fat and
the lactose from the protein.
Okay.
And they put it inside thewater, and it's clear.
Can't you. Can't water just be water?
(18:13):
Apparently not.
Yeah.
We need to add stuff in it.
Okay.
So now you can drink yourprotein instead of drinking water.
Yeah. Does it taste like anything?
It tastes like chicken. Itprobably tastes like chicken.
Yeah.
Protein donuts.
Oh, okay. Yep. I've seen those.
I've tried those.
Are they any good?
By legendary protein donuts.Each donut has 12 grams of protein.
(18:34):
They were not bad.
I've had their pop Tarts, andI didn't hate them.
Yeah, that's exactly how Iwould describe them. I didn't hate
them. Yeah, it wasinteresting. And they had a little
entenmans y ness to it. Andthen there's a protein tortilla chip.
Okay.
Yep. I've seen those chirpchirps or chirps? Chirps, chirps,
chips.
Tongue twister.
It's one of those. Has madetortilla chips with cricket flour.
(18:58):
Oh, wow. Well, have you seenthe wild chips? W I L D E? They're
made from, like, chicken skin.
Yes.
Like pork rinds.
Yes. Didn't you send me aphoto of a chicken breast that was
hanging inside of a newspaper?Like a Hudson news thing? And at
an airport one time, you're.
Like, oh, my God. So it's notraw, everyone.
(19:19):
Oh, right, right, right.
This is like, a snack pack ofgrilled chicken. Like, they slice
it into strips and you have,like, a dipping sauce. So Trader
Joe's just released that too.And it has, like, a mustard sidecar,
and they give you, like, alittle wooden toothpick and you,
like, stab the chicken. Imean, to me, I'd rather have that
than a protein bar. So. Yeah,I get it often in the airport.
(19:40):
But was it refrigerated?
Yes, refrigerated. Yep. And itcomes with, like, a barbecue sauce
or teriyaki sauce. It'shonestly quite good.
I tried the Chirps Chips.
Okay.
With the cricket flour. Now,in Mexico, you have chapulines, which
is essentially thegrasshoppers that you definitely.
Had this on top of, like, esquites.
Yeah. Fifteen chips contain 4to 5 grams of protein.
That's not even that much.
Nope. And each chip has aboutone whole cricket inside of it for
(20:03):
the chip.
Yeah. I would just eat an egg.A little more protein.
Yeah. I would just eat a livecricket before I ate that. I would
need to taste that just so Ican say I don't like it.
Yeah.
I like the Idea of saying, I'meating protein chips and tortilla
chips, and I think if I putenough, like, you know, melted cheese
on it.
Yeah, if you did, like, anacho situation.
Yeah.
Yeah. So, I mean, you'reobviously kind of not eating healthy
(20:24):
anymore there, but just put aton of processed cheese on the protein
chip, and it kind of balancesout, right?
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being onthis episode.
This was such a joy. I learneda ton.
There's so much to be learnedabout food out there, too. And I
think what you bring to theshow is, like, a lot of the trends.
You cover them. You know whatthere is out there, what's happening
constantly and changing.Thanks for being on the show. You'll
(20:44):
be back for the next episode.
I'll be here.
(21:09):
All right, folks, stick aroundbecause after this break, I'm talking
to the inventor of a brand newJapanese candy that's chewy, unexpected,
and healthier than you think.We'll be right back. Welcome back.
Our guest today is MichaelRosenzweig, founder of Pac Pack Snacks,
a company inspired. Inspiredby the wildly popular jelly snacks
(21:30):
he discovered while living inJapan. After losing his job during
the pandemic, Michael decidedto do what any reasonable person
would do. Start a candycompany. Michael, welcome to the
show.
Thank you for having me.
So you're trapped in anelevator with the buyer at Walmart
for 30 seconds. You gottapitch them Pac Pac Snacks. What is
Pac Pac Snack?
It's a jelly company. We makeslurpable gummies with all natural
(21:52):
flavors. You've seen how mochiand Pocky have done in the category
for Walmart. This is the nextbig trend. The innovation we're bringing
is great global flavors, areally unique eating experience that's
memorable and recognizable,and great packaging. Kids love it.
It's gonna be a treat that thewhole family can enjoy. It's a great
place. Great fit for Walmart.
(22:13):
Sold. I'll buy it all. Bringit all to me. I have to say I'm a
huge fan of Pac Pac Snacksbecause when you approached me a
few years back and I tastedit. But when you say slurpable, it
genuinely is slurpable. It'sso interesting because I feel like
it's a crossover between jelloand gummies almost. And it's almost
like, wet, so to speak. So youopen the package and you just, like,
(22:34):
you suck it or you. And itjust melts almost in your mouth.
It is something so unique.Where did you come up with this idea?
So I lived in Japan. My cofounders grew up in Japan, works
in the US and we were both,like, wanting to start a company
during the pandemic. I hadwanted to do something that was healthy
candy. So we were looking atdifferent vegetables and figuring
(22:55):
out what we could do withthat. And there's a product called
Konjac. It's popular in Japan.I wouldn't say it's wildly popular,
but it's definitely like aningredient that's used all over the
place.
It's a root, right?
Yeah, it's a vegetable. And soit's got this fun little springy
texture and pretty much notaste. And so the texture is definitely
(23:17):
unique, but the more you kindof slurp and eat them, the more addictive
they become. And they'rereally. And then because it's a vegetable
gelatin, it's like, it's kindof like a clean eating experience.
So it's almost like eating alittle bit something that satisfies
like candy, but feels almostlike eating something a bit more
nutritious.
Yeah, that's crazy, because ifanyone were to tell me, hey, I'm
(23:38):
gonna start a candy company,I'm just like, what are you doing?
These conglomerates thatalready have pretty much cornered
the candy market, how on earthdid you even think about candy out
of all things?
With candy, like, thepackaging can be so fun. So when
I was a kid, like, I love art.That's one of my other passions.
And I've always, like, lovedart on packaging. And with candy
in particular, it can be sofun. So I both wanted to be a candy
(24:03):
entrepreneur, but also havethis kind of, like, artwork and start
my own brand. Not that Idesign. I have, like, really well
talented illustrators. But Iwanted to merge the two. And the
thing is, yes, there are,like, big conglomerates that really
dominate, and it's hard tocompete against with big budget,
well established awareness,great products. But I think focusing
(24:24):
on something unique and reallyconveying your passion for it and
advocating for it is like, youhave to find your start with your
niche and go from there.
Is Konjac going to be the nextbig mochi, you think?
Well, I don't know if it'sgoing to be as big as mochi per se.
I mean, people would want themore and more they try and get used
to it, like, they fall in lovewith it. And I do think, like, our
(24:45):
market is growing, so I dothink there's a lot of room to grow,
and I would love for it to beas ubiquitous as mochi in the future.
Well, you meet a JapaneseAmerican or even a Japanese here
in the US and they taste yourcandy. Are they like, this is my
youth. Like, what is.
Yeah, like, we have a lot ofJapanese customers who love it. Like
my. I have a. So I study. Igot my master's degree in international
(25:08):
studies. I did business andinternational studies and focused
on Japan. So like, my Japaneseteachers, like, when I show them
to her, she's like, she, sheloves them and. Which has been really
cool. So there's like a lot ofpositive reception from different
communities that have eitherexperienced or are new to it. And
be it the flavors, sort of thetexture and the ingredient, or just
(25:29):
like the fun packaging,there's like a lot of ways for people
to kind of like, kind of enterinto the pack pack world and fall
in love with it.
Fantastic. Is there, is therea snack trend in Asia that you still
haven't seen here that maybebelongs here in the.
US So one thing that I sawthat was like, pretty interesting
is there's a lot of likesavory salty snacks with sweet flavor
(25:52):
seasonings. So almost likefried squid or like kind of like
dried fish jerky with like,like pickled plum flavoring and all
these kind of like savorysweet combinations. And it just made
me think because, like, rightnow I would say in the US we've got
like tinned fish and a lot oflike a lot of tinned fish. And so
I wouldn't necessarily sayit's what it's going to lead to,
(26:12):
but I would be like, well,maybe they'll do like fried fish
with like sweet flavoring orlike more like spicy flavorings,
or maybe there's someiteration of like the tinned fish
craze that will move inch intolike chips.
If there's a trend, a candytrend here in the US that you could
ban, which one would it be?
You know, when they had likethe Harry Potter like booger jelly
(26:34):
beans or like, I think likegross out candy really works for
kids, but it's one of thosecandies that you definitely phase
out of.
I absolutely agree. And mykids have made me taste some of the
vomit candies. And I mean,yeah, jelly beans has done really
a disservice to my childrenand their palate. And it's funny
because my kids won't eatroasted broccoli, but they'd happily
eat a booger candy. So I don'tunderstand where that comes from.
(26:58):
Okay, I see that. I could seebanning those. I'm fine with banning
those from the adult candy section.
Maybe keep it for the kids.I'm like, I don't need that anymore.
I do want to say that your PacPac candies, they're not that sweet,
and they're not that bad foryou either.
Well, it's a vegetable, soit's like we're playing in the candy
section. And the space I sawwhere there was an opportunity is
(27:18):
something that's for peoplewho love candy but don't want to
have something a little lesssugary, a little bit lighter. What
I like about these two is,yeah, they're light. They're not
too sugary, but the flavor isreally. It satisfies. So that's what
I was going for.
Yeah, it really is. If Marscame up to you, is there enough konjac
in the world for them to takeover your business?
(27:39):
Is there enough konjac?
I have no idea.
Is there enough konjac in the world?
If they wanted to expand it,you know, nationwide? Do we have
enough konjac on this planetto get your candy on the shelves?
I will go whisper to the konjac.
All right. Good to know thatone of the things that Japanese people
are obsessed with are Kit Kats.
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Oh, my goodness. And you gointo a Japanese market, and Kit Kats
(28:01):
of every kind of flavor arearound. I have found some interesting
Kit Kat flavors at the market.Let me know what you think of these.
Right. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
Cough drop Kit Kats. Chocolatethat tastes like a throat lozenge.
What do you think?
Is it like, robitussinflavored or like.
I've never tasted it. I don'tthink. Maybe it tingles when you
eat it and your throat opensup or something. I don't know.
(28:22):
Pass. I think. Pass. I don't know.
Soy sauce Kit Kat.
I would try. Yeah. I mean,maybe. Would you try that one?
I mean, if someone put a gunto my head. I'm trying wasabi Kit
Kats. Okay.
They're fair. That's fair.Because so Cold stone did that. I
tried that in high school.Like, wasabi ice cream. It was just.
(28:42):
No, it didn't work. It didn'twork. Did it not work?
Baked potato Kit Kat.
Okay. Yes. We're gonna say yesto one of these. Yes. That's awesome.
I'm like, that's a good.
That's the one I would say noto, man. I mean, do you melt it and
you drink it? Like, how doesthat work?
How does that work? They'reall kind of crazy. Edamame Kitkat
One thing about, like, livingin Japan that was so fun is, like,
(29:05):
you travel and all theseplaces kind of have, like, their
local specialties of, like,the foods, and I think that's how
they like. Okay, well, thisplace is famous for edamame, so we're
gonna have an edamame Kit Kat.Or this place is famous for strawberries.
So it's like a strawberry KitKat. Because there, if you like,
let's say you travel to theequivalent of Pennsylvania, it's
like, well, you're gonna goback to Tokyo and bring your friends
some food from this place. AndI think the KitKat did a really good
(29:29):
job of being part of that byhaving a Kit Kat from there.
What if there's a region inJapan that's known for their anchovies?
Are they gonna have anchovy KitKat?
They might. I mean,.
This is. This is perhaps theweirdest one.
Okay, okay.
Hokkaido melon and cheese KitKat.
I don't know.
I'm gonna stick with Pac Pacs.
Yes.
(29:49):
I'm stick with.
They should do a Pac Pac KitKat. Right?
They should do. There you go.
Something, you know, maybe akonjac jelly cake.
Yes.
I don't know that.
Yes. Where can people find Pac Pacs?
Well, so we just launched inWorld Market. That's one of our newest
retailers. We're available onAmazon and our website, packpacksnacks.com.
So that's P A C P A C snacksdot com. And our retailer list is
(30:12):
growing. So if they just checkour store list, we're growing into
more and more stores, which isreally great. I love the support.
Fantastic. Michael Rosenzweigof Pac Pac Snacks. Thanks so much
for being here.
Thank you for having me.
I look forward to your newflavors and for all our listeners
out there, thanks for hangingwith us. Follow us on the Always
Hangry podcast wherever youget your podcast, and Visit us at
(30:33):
alwayshangrypodcast.com forepisodes, updates, and much more.
I'm George Duran. Until nexttime, stay hungry.
It is so embarrassing for meto eat chicken wings because I do
love them. But then when youlook around and there's a giant pile
of bones in front of me,there's a little shame to go with
that.
It just kind of like,moderates you. You're like, oh, I
already have had that much.That's a good reminder.
That's not gonna moderate me.Welcome to the Always Hangry podcast,
where we break down the way weeat. The good, the bad, and the completely
(00:24):
ridiculous. I'm your host,George Duran, and on today's show,
why buffets turn us intocompletely different. And the latest
food scam, using AI to fakebad takeout for refunds. Plus, has
the protein craze goneofficially too far? And finally,
I'll sit down with theinventor of a brand new Japanese
candy that's unlike anythingyou've ever tasted before. Joining
(00:48):
me now is the fabulously funnyand wonderfully opinionated Carla
Walsh.
George, it's such an honor tobe here.
Karla, you just came into NewYork City, and, I mean, this is not
where you live, right?
Correct.
So it's very good that yourhotel is right across the street
because you're able just tocome in and join us. I love the way
you kind of not just visit anddo things like, I think you're running
(01:08):
a marathon or.
A 5K, doing a Hyrox.
A Hyrox. I don't know whatthat is. I'll never know what that
is because it's probablysomething with sports. But then you
also kind of take time to eat.
Yes, absolutely. Eat, explore.I'm doing a boat tour. Went to a
musical.
How's the hotel, by the way? Nice.
Yeah, it's lovely.
Yeah. Does it have a buffet,by the way?
No. Buffet.
Yeah. That's very commontoday, though. You see a lot of hotels.
(01:30):
I go to a lot of hotels. Andthere's like, the morning breakfast
buffet.
Oh, absolutely. I grew up in afamily that was, like, very into
the Holiday Inn Express. Youknow, you've got the whole spread
of the cereal, like tubs, theeggs that are remarkably rubbery.
Yes, they are, actually. Andmake your own waffle sometimes.
Yes, absolutely. With too much syrup.
(01:51):
Kids go crazy about that. Thebuffet, I kind of despise it. What
do you think about buffets in general?
Not for me. I love that peoplelove them, but that's never going
to be a place that I choose todine. I just am not a quantity over
quality kind of a person.
Have you ever been to a great buffet?
Like, I feel like A Europeanhotel breakfast buffet.
(02:14):
I'd like to go to, like, ahigh end Japanese hotel breakfast
someday.
I bet that would be epic.
Man, I could just imagine whatit would be like. Some fun facts
about buffets. In 2008, therewas a study done about eating behavior
and obesity at Chinesebuffets. Okay, so it's very common
to see the Asian buffets, theChinese buffets, even Southeast Asian
Indian buffets. But Thesescientists observed 213 adult diners
(02:37):
at an all you can eat Chinesebuffet. And they secretly tracked
their habits as they atethrough the buffet.
Oh, that's. I feel like youneed to sign a waiver.
Here is what they observed atan all you can eat Chinese buffet.
These scientists observed thatthey found that people with higher
BMIs were. Were more likely touse chopsticks instead of forks and
knives at a Chinese buffet.
(02:58):
Oh, that's interesting.
Yeah, I mean, I think I eatfaster with a chopstick, especially
noodles and even rice dishes.Because with chopsticks you bring
it closer to your mouth, likea trough, kind.
Of like scoop it in.
Yeah. And you work quicklyinto eating it.
Interesting.
Yeah. So the heavier peoplewere using chopsticks, eating faster
that way.
I mean, that's great thatthey're so adept with the chopstick
(03:21):
because some people, I seethem kind of fumble with that.
Unless you're like, justskewering the sushi and just shoving
it in your mouth, Then it'seasier that way too.
That's not ideal.
Heavier diners were morelikely to face the buffet than thinner
diners who had their backsturned to the buffet.
Oh, interesting.
That's crazy.
Yeah. I wouldn't think aboutthe navigation of the room, I guess.
(03:42):
I guess people are also theheavier people who eat more. They're
just kind of like serving,like, is it open again? Let me grab
my.
What are my other options?
Maybe some.
That's fair.
Yeah. Yeah. Diners with lowerBMIs were more likely to survey the
buffet before digging in.
I do that. I do a lap, but you don't.
Yeah, but the thing is that Ido that too, and I'm definitely not
(04:02):
in the lower BMI party.
I think this could hold truefor, like, anyone. I think it's just
strategy.
Always. You walk into a buffetand you want to be like, I gotta
see what there is before.Cause if you fill up on one thing
and then by the end of it,your plate is full and you find out
that there's.
Wait, I missed the pudding.
Yeah, exactly. What's adessert? Like, you have only so much
(04:23):
allocation Exactly.
If there's a soft surf machinethat changes the game.
Holy crap. The soft surface.Of course, I would just get my whole
dinner plate and just put thesoft serve on top. That's all. I
would just do that if I werein that situation. Another study
earlier this year found outthat people eat more when there's
more variety at the buffet.
Yeah, that makes sense.
That totally makes sense. Imean, even like the Thanksgiving
(04:44):
meal table, definitely you'rejust gonna eat more.
Because I have a scoop of each.
Absolutely. Some researchersthink buffets activate a scarcity
instinct, this abundance thatcan possibly disappear later on.
So holy crap, we may lose thisfood. Let's eat more of this.
It's a limited time offer.
Studies found people overeatmore at an all you can eat places,
partly because they alreadypaid a fixed price. They want their
(05:07):
money's worth value. I totallyget that.
I could see that too.
Yeah. And then they alsocreate these fake food priorities.
So, you know, hey, I paid forthis. I want shellfish, shrimp. I
want the more expensive stuff first.
Yeah.
Which is bizarre because you.You eat whatever you want to eat.
Right, Right.
But people are just focusingmore on the expensive stuff.
(05:27):
Oh, that makes. I mean, Icould see that.
So if you went to a buffet andthere was crab legs and fried chicken,
where are you going to?
Depends on what mood I'm inthat day. I think I probably wouldn't
think about the value savings.
That's why you're lower bmi,you know, because you have those
priorities, which are morelike, eh, whatever I want. But people
who want their money's worth,they're going for the crab legs.
(05:48):
Yeah.
That's so interesting, becausefried chicken is cheaper than fried
crab legs.
Do you feel like the Las Vegasbuffet culture, is that still around?
Well, I did a Food Networkshoot one time for buffets in Las
Vegas alone.
Oh, wow.
Crazy observations. And I gotto get to know the manager there,
and they were telling me someincredible stories. One of the stories
is that there are people wholiterally go to the buffet, get the
(06:10):
crab legs or the shrimp or thelobster, and they have removed the
entire tray out of the buffetand placed it on their table.
And.
And they've kind of engorgedon all the crab legs or lobster.
What do you do as a manager inthat situation? Like, how do you
even navigate that?
You start crying a little bit,and you hopefully fill up that spot
(06:31):
with more of the crab legs, ifyou have any left.
Wow.
Yeah. So that's why a lot ofthese buffets have Started implementing
rules and fees whenever youovereat and you have too much food
on the plate.
Where do you get those rules?Like, is it a waiver that you sign
before you approach?
A lot of these buffets havelisted it.
Okay. Like on a wall.
Yeah. So some of the rulesthat buffets. All you can eat. Buffets
(06:53):
have. Are you ready?
Yeah.
No sharing.
Okay.
Time limits. Some people havebuffets open for four hours max.
I don't know if I could eatfor even two hours at a buffet, but
four hours is crazy. Yeah,that's pretty insane. There's kids
pricing, but kids pricingsometimes is not about age. It's
about height.
Height. Wow. Okay. I havenever heard of that before.
(07:17):
They come and they have like aheight board and they measure each
kid.
And it's a roller coaster.
Yeah. So they go by height.No. Takeout.
Yes.
Here's some of the placeswhere people have taken out from
all you can eat buffets intheir purses.
Oh, gosh.
In their backpacks. They bringtheir own Tupperware from home.
No.
Ziploc bags and stroller compartments.
(07:38):
Oh, my gosh. Well, I mean, Ilike the eco friendly Tupperware
angle. I mean, at leastthey're like reusing as a container.
But I don't know, that stillfeels kind of sketchy.
Can you believe just pullingout a Tupperware and just like shoving
the chicken or whatever. Justlike kind of just putting the plate
right in there.
Right.
I would love to see that.
I mean, it's one of thosecatch 22s, though, because if they
(07:59):
took it, it's not like they'regonna reuse that somewhere else.
It's just a shame because theyprobably take more than they would
have if they weren't takingsome home.
Well, the problem with that isalso is that you have this variety
of different foods. And what,are you just gonna mix it all in,
like an omelette inside ofyour Tupperware?
Yeah, I guess it's like one ofthose bowl things.
A trough.
Yeah.
This is an interestingpsychology behind buffets. Here are
(08:21):
some of the ways people hidetheir shame over overeating at buffets.
Oh, I don't like that theyhave shame at all. That makes me
sad.
I am. I'm part of this group.Okay, so take it easy there.
Okay.
Pretending this is your last plate.
Okay.
Hiding how many trips you've made.
Uh huh. That makes sensebecause they kind of.
Walk from different areas anddifferent angles.
Yeah. Just kind of did halfplate. It's fine.
(08:43):
Yeah, it's fine. Okay.Avoiding eye contact with staff members.
I could see that.
Totally.
Yeah.
I do that all the time. When Iover order, like any fast food place,
I'm kind of just a littleashamed that I cover my eyes a little
bit. I can't speak to someone.Like, I have the shoe forks.
Yes.
Using smaller plates todisguise volume.
Okay.
(09:04):
Yeah. So you kind of looks.Looks like, oh, I'm just having a
little bit.
Yeah.
And it's. But you're piling iton, of course. Getting rid of dirty
plates on your table. So itlooks like you've only had one serving.
I mean, that is onlyappropriate. It's like when you get
chicken wings, right?
Absolutely.
If they keep picking up thebones, then it's a little bit less
embarrassing.
It is so embarrassing for meto eat chicken wings because I do
(09:27):
love them. But then when youlook around and there's a giant pile
of bones in front of me,there's a little shame to go with
that.
It just kind of like moderatesyou. You're like, oh, I already have
had that much. That's a good reminder.
That's not gonna moderate me.What I do is I put it shared bowl
for chicken wings. Soeverybody just pops their chicken
wings.
There you go. Yeah. It's likethe olive pits.
Yeah. And people think that,oh, my gosh, she thought of everything.
I'm just thinking aboutmyself. I'm just trying to hide that
(09:49):
shame. That's all I'm tryingto do.
It's a group project.
Right. So there's a fun fact.In 2018, a German triathlete named
Jaroslav Bobrowski was bannedfrom an all you can eat sushi restaurant
in Bavaria after reportedlyeating close to 100 plates of sushi
in one sitting.
Wow.
The cost of the buffet was $18.
(10:10):
Oh, my gosh.
He'd been intermittent fastingfor 20 hours and eating during the
four hour window. He went totip afterwards and they refused the
tip instead got a ban.
Wow. Wow. Have you heard aboutthose all you can eat sushi places
where they, like, charge youwhen you don't finish what you ask
for?
There is a lot of that goingon, actually. So they do charge you.
(10:31):
And what's interesting is thatthey charge you by either a flat
fee or by weight.
Oh, I heard by piece. Okay,wait. Wow.
They sometimes weigh inside ofthe restaurant and they weigh how
much you have left over. WhenI was working at the Food Network,
I did again the show aboutbuffets in Las Vegas, and the manager
told me that there were thesepeople who would go to the buffet
(10:53):
where there's sushi with anigiri sushi. You know, the individual
pieces.
Oh, yes.
And they would just pluck thefish from on top of the.
Whoa.
Onto their plates. And theywould leave.
Just leave the rice. Oh, no.
That's what they would do.
They didn't have fish flavoredrice just sitting there.
Well, then they startedchanging the buffet, and they started
putting makis, which are therolls. Except they started poking
(11:13):
the fish out. No.
Oh, my gosh. This is just so wild.
It's wild enough that theystarted just serving sashimi.
Yeah. I think that you gottaplay to your crowd.
(11:45):
Okay, let's take a quickbreak. When we come back, we're talking
AI powered fake refunds, andwe're playing our newest game, trend,
or trash. And later on, I'llmeet the creator of a brand new Japanese
candy made of konjac, whateverthat is. All right, we're back. Carlo,
when you travel in cities, doyou always order into your hotel
(12:07):
room? Do you ever order intoyour hotel rooms or are you always,
like, occasionally?Occasionally. Why is that?
Because sometimes after a longtravel day or if I have, like, a
big event the next day, I justwant something easy.
Well, what's interesting isthat people are now using AI image
editors like ChatGPT and suchand these tools to actually change
the look of their food so itlooks either moldy or raw. Send it
(12:30):
into the doordash people andget their money back.
That is so wild. I would neverthink of that.
I think a lot of people havethought about that and so much that
they're losing money off ofit. And now they're posting it online
and telling other people, lookwhat I did. Look how much money I
made out of this.
Oh, wow. So they're outing themselves.
They're outing themselves. Oneguy aied a photo of his rare burger
(12:50):
to look well done and got hismoney back. Another guy aied his
chicken to look raw and gothis $26 back from DoorDash.
Wow.
One person AI'd a McDonald'sdelivery that was left on his porch
with a squirrel eating thefrench fries. No.
Oh, my gosh. Okay, wait. Whorepays? Is it the door? Is it doordash
(13:11):
or is it the restaurant?
Well, that is the problem isthat most of the time, doordash doesn't
pay the restaurant, and therestaurant gets dinged for that.
Oh, that's awful. They'realready getting a bad end of the
deal.
I think people, if they thinkthat it's a larger, quick service
restaurant, like McDonald'sand such are like, well, how much
profit could they possiblylose from it? By the way, the guy
with the squirrel, they didn'tget his money back.
(13:33):
Oh, my gosh. That's so wild.
People are adding mold totheir foods. They are putting flies
on their pastries.
No. Well, I mean, that seemsthat just happens.
What's also happening is thatsome of these delivery companies,
the people who are deliveringit, are making AIs at their front
doors with the food in there,saying it's been delivered.
(13:55):
Oh, my gosh. And then keeping it.
And then keeping it.
What? Wow. What is happeningto society, George?
It's AI warfare with the fooddelivery companies.
It is. And there's no way tosort out truth from lie.
Just go out and eat at therestaurant, man.
I know.
That's the way to do it.
It would fix it. That's thesolution here.
Here's a solution, I think.Okay, FaceTime.
(14:16):
FaceTime. A live callimmediately to get your refund.
Just kind of show it on cameraand be like, look at this.
I know. It's like, all thismakes no sense to me because it's
like, probably $15.
That's true. But then $15times, you know, 10,000 per day.
It adds up.
It does add up. But for thatindividual, it's like, what is your
time worth to fight for this?
(14:37):
$15, I guess. I mean, it costsnothing to AI a photo, so why not
just, you.
Know, do a quick. But yourtime is worth. That's what I think
about a lot of things. It'slike, how much time would this be
worth if I was working?
All right, we're going to goto a new segment called Trend or
Trash.
Oh, great.
Yeah. Where we discuss foodtrends to see if they're worthy of
being trendy or just somethingnobody asked for.
(15:00):
Awesome.
You do a lot of trends withyour reporting?
I do a ton, yes.
And how do you look for these trends?
All over. It might be, like,on Instagram reels, because I'm not
on TikTok. I'm a dinosaur. Soby the time things get to Instagram
reels, they're a little bit.Yeah. Over. But social media, I keep
an eye out on, like, anythingon, like, news shows. I look at what,
(15:23):
like, other, like,influencers, bloggers, whatever,
are leaning into.
And then do you walk to thefood shows as well and be like, what's
going on?
And every so often. Yeah. Or Igo to, like, conferences where people
come and speak about thelatest products, research trends,
stuff like that.
The biggest trend that isstill around. It's been years now.
(15:43):
Is the protein trend.
Absolutely.
Are you done with the protein trend?
I have personally felt thebenefits of eating more protein,
but I'm not over the top aboutit. It's not taking over my personality
or lifestyle. It's justleaning into a little bit more than
I had in the past.
Yeah. I am also, actually. Andit must be psychological effect with
the trend. And also it kind ofmakes sense. More protein, more muscle
(16:04):
mass, more feel.
Better. Yeah. It's just likemy hair, skin, and nails are better,
but it's not like it'scrowding out carbs and fat. I still
eat those.
Right. You know, According toCargill's 2025 protein profile, 61%
of Americans said theyincreased their protein intake in
2024, up from 48% in 2019.
That's a big difference.
Huge. So there are a lot ofweird. Have you seen a lot of weird
(16:27):
items that have protein in it?
A lot? Yeah. And, like, whereyou wouldn't expect it to be snack
foods, desserts, anythingspecific. Protein ice cream is, like,
a huge trend. And, like,everybody's getting in on it. From,
like, classic brands like BlueBell to, like, there's like, a specific
protein ice cream brand thatfocuses directly on that.
(16:47):
Like, chunks of chicken insidethe guy.
Ew, no, just like, pints with,like, extra whey or something like
that. Popcorn. Like, one ofthe Kardashians released a protein
popcorn. Pretzels, chips,pasta. Pasta. Wait, candy?
Did you say pasta? Pasta withprotein inside?
Yeah.
What are we doing?
(17:08):
Yeah, well, it's like, beanbased, so, like, I mean, some of
this makes kind of sense, but,yeah, it's everywhere.
Pop Tarts has a protein.
Pop Tarts, Doritos. Yeah, Lotsof snack foods. I mean, soda, protein
soda.
Wait, so I'm sorry, how do youput protein in soda?
I need to look into theactual, like, product that they're
adding in there, but I'mguessing it's like another kind of,
(17:30):
like, powdery substance or something.
I went down a rabbit hole. Istarted doing some research and finding
some foods that have extraprotein in them because of this trend.
Okay, here's what I found. Ifound protein popcorn.
Yes.
The Khloe Kardashian.
Yep.
I don't know how you putprotein in popcorn.
I think it's in the dust.
It's milk protein isolate, apparently.
Yep. I bet it's in, like,cheese powder.
(17:52):
Protein water.
Yeah.
15 grams of ultra filteredprotein inside water.
Okay.
So what they do is they ultrafilter it. They remove the fat and
the lactose from the protein.
Okay.
And they put it inside thewater, and it's clear.
Can't you. Can't water just be water?
(18:13):
Apparently not.
Yeah.
We need to add stuff in it.
Okay.
So now you can drink yourprotein instead of drinking water.
Yeah. Does it taste like anything?
It tastes like chicken. Itprobably tastes like chicken.
Yeah.
Protein donuts.
Oh, okay. Yep. I've seen those.
I've tried those.
Are they any good?
By legendary protein donuts.Each donut has 12 grams of protein.
(18:34):
They were not bad.
I've had their pop Tarts, andI didn't hate them.
Yeah, that's exactly how Iwould describe them. I didn't hate
them. Yeah, it wasinteresting. And they had a little
entenmans y ness to it. Andthen there's a protein tortilla chip.
Okay.
Yep. I've seen those chirpchirps or chirps? Chirps, chirps,
chips.
Tongue twister.
It's one of those. Has madetortilla chips with cricket flour.
(18:58):
Oh, wow. Well, have you seenthe wild chips? W I L D E? They're
made from, like, chicken skin.
Yes.
Like pork rinds.
Yes. Didn't you send me aphoto of a chicken breast that was
hanging inside of a newspaper?Like a Hudson news thing? And at
an airport one time, you're.
Like, oh, my God. So it's notraw, everyone.
(19:19):
Oh, right, right, right.
This is like, a snack pack ofgrilled chicken. Like, they slice
it into strips and you have,like, a dipping sauce. So Trader
Joe's just released that too.And it has, like, a mustard sidecar,
and they give you, like, alittle wooden toothpick and you,
like, stab the chicken. Imean, to me, I'd rather have that
than a protein bar. So. Yeah,I get it often in the airport.
(19:40):
But was it refrigerated?
Yes, refrigerated. Yep. And itcomes with, like, a barbecue sauce
or teriyaki sauce. It'shonestly quite good.
I tried the Chirps Chips.
Okay.
With the cricket flour. Now,in Mexico, you have chapulines, which
is essentially thegrasshoppers that you definitely.
Had this on top of, like, esquites.
Yeah. Fifteen chips contain 4to 5 grams of protein.
That's not even that much.
Nope. And each chip has aboutone whole cricket inside of it for
(20:03):
the chip.
Yeah. I would just eat an egg.A little more protein.
Yeah. I would just eat a livecricket before I ate that. I would
need to taste that just so Ican say I don't like it.
Yeah.
I like the Idea of saying, I'meating protein chips and tortilla
chips, and I think if I putenough, like, you know, melted cheese
on it.
Yeah, if you did, like, anacho situation.
Yeah.
Yeah. So, I mean, you'reobviously kind of not eating healthy
(20:24):
anymore there, but just put aton of processed cheese on the protein
chip, and it kind of balancesout, right?
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being onthis episode.
This was such a joy. I learneda ton.
There's so much to be learnedabout food out there, too. And I
think what you bring to theshow is, like, a lot of the trends.
You cover them. You know whatthere is out there, what's happening
constantly and changing.Thanks for being on the show. You'll
(20:44):
be back for the next episode.
I'll be here.
(21:09):
All right, folks, stick aroundbecause after this break, I'm talking
to the inventor of a brand newJapanese candy that's chewy, unexpected,
and healthier than you think.We'll be right back. Welcome back.
Our guest today is MichaelRosenzweig, founder of Pac Pack Snacks,
a company inspired. Inspiredby the wildly popular jelly snacks
(21:30):
he discovered while living inJapan. After losing his job during
the pandemic, Michael decidedto do what any reasonable person
would do. Start a candycompany. Michael, welcome to the
show.
Thank you for having me.
So you're trapped in anelevator with the buyer at Walmart
for 30 seconds. You gottapitch them Pac Pac Snacks. What is
Pac Pac Snack?
It's a jelly company. We makeslurpable gummies with all natural
(21:52):
flavors. You've seen how mochiand Pocky have done in the category
for Walmart. This is the nextbig trend. The innovation we're bringing
is great global flavors, areally unique eating experience that's
memorable and recognizable,and great packaging. Kids love it.
It's gonna be a treat that thewhole family can enjoy. It's a great
place. Great fit for Walmart.
(22:13):
Sold. I'll buy it all. Bringit all to me. I have to say I'm a
huge fan of Pac Pac Snacksbecause when you approached me a
few years back and I tastedit. But when you say slurpable, it
genuinely is slurpable. It'sso interesting because I feel like
it's a crossover between jelloand gummies almost. And it's almost
like, wet, so to speak. So youopen the package and you just, like,
(22:34):
you suck it or you. And itjust melts almost in your mouth.
It is something so unique.Where did you come up with this idea?
So I lived in Japan. My cofounders grew up in Japan, works
in the US and we were both,like, wanting to start a company
during the pandemic. I hadwanted to do something that was healthy
candy. So we were looking atdifferent vegetables and figuring
(22:55):
out what we could do withthat. And there's a product called
Konjac. It's popular in Japan.I wouldn't say it's wildly popular,
but it's definitely like aningredient that's used all over the
place.
It's a root, right?
Yeah, it's a vegetable. And soit's got this fun little springy
texture and pretty much notaste. And so the texture is definitely
(23:17):
unique, but the more you kindof slurp and eat them, the more addictive
they become. And they'rereally. And then because it's a vegetable
gelatin, it's like, it's kindof like a clean eating experience.
So it's almost like eating alittle bit something that satisfies
like candy, but feels almostlike eating something a bit more
nutritious.
Yeah, that's crazy, because ifanyone were to tell me, hey, I'm
(23:38):
gonna start a candy company,I'm just like, what are you doing?
These conglomerates thatalready have pretty much cornered
the candy market, how on earthdid you even think about candy out
of all things?
With candy, like, thepackaging can be so fun. So when
I was a kid, like, I love art.That's one of my other passions.
And I've always, like, lovedart on packaging. And with candy
in particular, it can be sofun. So I both wanted to be a candy
(24:03):
entrepreneur, but also havethis kind of, like, artwork and start
my own brand. Not that Idesign. I have, like, really well
talented illustrators. But Iwanted to merge the two. And the
thing is, yes, there are,like, big conglomerates that really
dominate, and it's hard tocompete against with big budget,
well established awareness,great products. But I think focusing
(24:24):
on something unique and reallyconveying your passion for it and
advocating for it is like, youhave to find your start with your
niche and go from there.
Is Konjac going to be the nextbig mochi, you think?
Well, I don't know if it'sgoing to be as big as mochi per se.
I mean, people would want themore and more they try and get used
to it, like, they fall in lovewith it. And I do think, like, our
(24:45):
market is growing, so I dothink there's a lot of room to grow,
and I would love for it to beas ubiquitous as mochi in the future.
Well, you meet a JapaneseAmerican or even a Japanese here
in the US and they taste yourcandy. Are they like, this is my
youth. Like, what is.
Yeah, like, we have a lot ofJapanese customers who love it. Like
my. I have a. So I study. Igot my master's degree in international
(25:08):
studies. I did business andinternational studies and focused
on Japan. So like, my Japaneseteachers, like, when I show them
to her, she's like, she, sheloves them and. Which has been really
cool. So there's like a lot ofpositive reception from different
communities that have eitherexperienced or are new to it. And
be it the flavors, sort of thetexture and the ingredient, or just
(25:29):
like the fun packaging,there's like a lot of ways for people
to kind of like, kind of enterinto the pack pack world and fall
in love with it.
Fantastic. Is there, is therea snack trend in Asia that you still
haven't seen here that maybebelongs here in the.
US So one thing that I sawthat was like, pretty interesting
is there's a lot of likesavory salty snacks with sweet flavor
(25:52):
seasonings. So almost likefried squid or like kind of like
dried fish jerky with like,like pickled plum flavoring and all
these kind of like savorysweet combinations. And it just made
me think because, like, rightnow I would say in the US we've got
like tinned fish and a lot oflike a lot of tinned fish. And so
I wouldn't necessarily sayit's what it's going to lead to,
(26:12):
but I would be like, well,maybe they'll do like fried fish
with like sweet flavoring orlike more like spicy flavorings,
or maybe there's someiteration of like the tinned fish
craze that will move inch intolike chips.
If there's a trend, a candytrend here in the US that you could
ban, which one would it be?
You know, when they had likethe Harry Potter like booger jelly
(26:34):
beans or like, I think likegross out candy really works for
kids, but it's one of thosecandies that you definitely phase
out of.
I absolutely agree. And mykids have made me taste some of the
vomit candies. And I mean,yeah, jelly beans has done really
a disservice to my childrenand their palate. And it's funny
because my kids won't eatroasted broccoli, but they'd happily
eat a booger candy. So I don'tunderstand where that comes from.
(26:58):
Okay, I see that. I could seebanning those. I'm fine with banning
those from the adult candy section.
Maybe keep it for the kids.I'm like, I don't need that anymore.
I do want to say that your PacPac candies, they're not that sweet,
and they're not that bad foryou either.
Well, it's a vegetable, soit's like we're playing in the candy
section. And the space I sawwhere there was an opportunity is
(27:18):
something that's for peoplewho love candy but don't want to
have something a little lesssugary, a little bit lighter. What
I like about these two is,yeah, they're light. They're not
too sugary, but the flavor isreally. It satisfies. So that's what
I was going for.
Yeah, it really is. If Marscame up to you, is there enough konjac
in the world for them to takeover your business?
(27:39):
Is there enough konjac?
I have no idea.
Is there enough konjac in the world?
If they wanted to expand it,you know, nationwide? Do we have
enough konjac on this planetto get your candy on the shelves?
I will go whisper to the konjac.
All right. Good to know thatone of the things that Japanese people
are obsessed with are Kit Kats.
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Oh, my goodness. And you gointo a Japanese market, and Kit Kats
(28:01):
of every kind of flavor arearound. I have found some interesting
Kit Kat flavors at the market.Let me know what you think of these.
Right. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
Cough drop Kit Kats. Chocolatethat tastes like a throat lozenge.
What do you think?
Is it like, robitussinflavored or like.
I've never tasted it. I don'tthink. Maybe it tingles when you
eat it and your throat opensup or something. I don't know.
(28:22):
Pass. I think. Pass. I don't know.
Soy sauce Kit Kat.
I would try. Yeah. I mean,maybe. Would you try that one?
I mean, if someone put a gunto my head. I'm trying wasabi Kit
Kats. Okay.
They're fair. That's fair.Because so Cold stone did that. I
tried that in high school.Like, wasabi ice cream. It was just.
(28:42):
No, it didn't work. It didn'twork. Did it not work?
Baked potato Kit Kat.
Okay. Yes. We're gonna say yesto one of these. Yes. That's awesome.
I'm like, that's a good.
That's the one I would say noto, man. I mean, do you melt it and
you drink it? Like, how doesthat work?
How does that work? They'reall kind of crazy. Edamame Kitkat
One thing about, like, livingin Japan that was so fun is, like,
(29:05):
you travel and all theseplaces kind of have, like, their
local specialties of, like,the foods, and I think that's how
they like. Okay, well, thisplace is famous for edamame, so we're
gonna have an edamame Kit Kat.Or this place is famous for strawberries.
So it's like a strawberry KitKat. Because there, if you like,
let's say you travel to theequivalent of Pennsylvania, it's
like, well, you're gonna goback to Tokyo and bring your friends
some food from this place. AndI think the KitKat did a really good
(29:29):
job of being part of that byhaving a Kit Kat from there.
What if there's a region inJapan that's known for their anchovies?
Are they gonna have anchovy KitKat?
They might. I mean,.
This is. This is perhaps theweirdest one.
Okay, okay.
Hokkaido melon and cheese KitKat.
I don't know.
I'm gonna stick with Pac Pacs.
Yes.
(29:49):
I'm stick with.
They should do a Pac Pac KitKat. Right?
They should do. There you go.
Something, you know, maybe akonjac jelly cake.
Yes.
I don't know that.
Yes. Where can people find Pac Pacs?
Well, so we just launched inWorld Market. That's one of our newest
retailers. We're available onAmazon and our website, packpacksnacks.com.
So that's P A C P A C snacksdot com. And our retailer list is
(30:12):
growing. So if they just checkour store list, we're growing into
more and more stores, which isreally great. I love the support.
Fantastic. Michael Rosenzweigof Pac Pac Snacks. Thanks so much
for being here.
Thank you for having me.
I look forward to your newflavors and for all our listeners
out there, thanks for hangingwith us. Follow us on the Always
Hangry podcast wherever youget your podcast, and Visit us at
(30:33):
alwayshangrypodcast.com forepisodes, updates, and much more.
I'm George Duran. Until nexttime, stay hungry.
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