Adult-tasting Toppo with a sweet/salty flavor combo

Caramelized hazelnut Toppo

Brand: Lotte

Price: 217 yen

Place of purchase: 7-11

Rating:

I'm a pretty big fan of all the stick-based snacks (Pocky, Pretz, Toppo), but I would say that Toppo are probably the variety I buy the least. I'm not sure why that is, though! These new caramelized hazelnut Toppo's caught my eye recently, and they are really delicious -- definitely a more adult-feeling Toppo product! The scent of these is a bit reminiscent of caramel popcorn thanks to the sweet caramel/hazelnut chocolate and the salty pretzel sticks, and flavor-wise it's a bit in line with that, too. As a fan of the salted caramel flavor combination, this was a winner for me.

I think these are being marketed as a premium Toppo product, and they are priced higher than the standard chocolate variety -- I feel like that might end up being a deterrent to get people interested in this flavor. If you could go with the safe bet of chocolate over this one, and it was cheaper on the wallet, then I'm sure a lot of folks would choose that route. Overall though, a fun new option if you like the sweet and salty flavor combination, just wish they were a smidge cheaper to feel like they were on par with other Toppo flavors. Keep an eye out for them at your local convenience stores/supermarkets if they sound interesting to you.