Sometimes Foodie: So Freaking Cute, I HAD to have it

Sumikkogurashi Puccho (with Washi Tape!) - Hung Voung Market

Hello, my name is Maria, and I am a sucker for cute packaging and a craft supply hoarder. It's like this product was made for me.

I am not a San-X fan, in fact, I had to google these characters to even know what they were, but I couldn't resist a tiny roll of (potentially) adorable washi tape.

For those interested, these characters are Sumikkogurashi, pretty much adorable little animals/objects/anthropomorphic food who prefer living a solitary live in the corner of a room. An oddly specific interest for sure, and their bios indicate that each character has their own issues, like body insecurity, being generally fed up, and being discarded. The concept seems like a downer at first, but...same.

See for yourself:

Image © San-X

(Tapioca and Obake might be my favorites...)

Moving on, other than a little roll of washi tape, you also get candy!

Puccho is a candy I am very familiar with, but most of those reviews are still on my Tumblr. (One day I'll get both the Tumblr and official blog in sync.)

It's actually quite similar to Hi-Chew. It is a soft, bouncy, chewy candy that comes in all kinds of flavors, and the only real difference I see between Puccho and Hi-Chew are that Puccho pieces tend to be larger in size, and include mix-ins, like little round gummies as seen in the diagram below.

The package indicated the branding crossover, but not the flavor. At least not in English. After looking at the image, and the translated ingredients, I think this is melon, or melon cream soda flavor. Melon sodas are quite popular over seas, and judging by the ingredients, that makes the most sense. (If anyone can translate and let me know if I'm on the right track, it would be much appreciated!)

Inside, the candies are individually wrapped in silver foiled paper covered in random illustrations of the UHA Puccho mascot, similar to the zebra wrappers from Fruit Stripe Gum.

The candies themselves are a pale green color, with white stripes, and some yellow gummy inclusions peeking out of the sides with little to no smell at all.

I pop'd one into my mouth and started chewing. Melon flavoring can be hit or miss for me, sometimes it's sweet and refreshing, other times it's sickeningly artificial and teeters on pink bubblegum, thankfully this is the former.

As far as authenticity, I don't think this tastes like any real melon out there, it's more like an artificial mixture of fake honeydew, fake cantaloupe, and generic sweetness. It's not my favorite flavor of Puccho, but it's still edible and I'll have no trouble finishing the pack. If you like cream soda and fake melon flavoring, you'd probably love it.

Now for the washi tape!

Gathering context clues from the box, I think there are 10 different designs you could receive, and they really do think of everything, because the tiny box containing the tape has a little illustrated TAB you can cut out and use to make peeling the tape easier. Although washi tape is super easy to peel and use, it's still a thoughtful, and very cute, addition to the packaging.

So, what design did I get?

This green outdoorsy scene. I have to admit, I'm underwhelmed. It's cute, but not as cute as the other examples shown on the box art. Oh well. Will 2021 be the year I finally learn my lesson and stop getting suckered in by cute packaging? (I doubt it.)