It seems that sample boxes are becoming super popular these days with more start ups offering sample boxes for niche interests. Well, as you’ve probably guessed, there are sample boxes for Hawaii, too.
We were recently offered a free box from the folks at The Tiki Box. We then purchased two more boxes to have a bigger sample size for review purposes.
A monthly Tiki Box costs $15 which includes shipping. The company is only shipping to the United States, though they are working towards expand and shipping to more locations in the future.
The dimensions of the box are approximately 9″ x 5.5″ x 1.75″. The company manages to pack between nine to ten different products in each of these compact boxes. It is exciting to open each box to see what’s inside each new box.
Each Tiki Box includes products from Hawaii as well as Asian snacks. From the boxes we sampled, there are far more Asian snacks than there are Hawaii-sourced snacks. At first, we found that ratio to be disappointing. Now we look at it as if it’s a chance to discover new tastes from Asian cultures.
I asked the owner why they put such an emphasis on Asian snacks and this was his interesting response,
Because Hawaii is the melting pot of the Pacific and heavily influenced by the Asian culture, we feel it is important to include these Asian snacks to really give our customers a true taste of Hawaii. Think of it as a mix plate of snacks if you will.
Each box includes a card listing each item along with their ingredients. I’ve noticed that some of the ingredients in the Asian products include MSG, which is a controversial ingredient. I do try to steer clear of MSG to avoid migraines, but I did consume some of the samples that included MSG and I didn’t get a headache. It could be that the samples are really only just bite-sized, so the MSG intake was so miniscule.
The samples are either big enough to share or if the packaging is in a small size, two of the smaller items are normally included. It seems to be sized for two people.
Here are the products from the boxes we tried:
March Tiki Box
- Guco Pretz Salad
- Shelly Senbei Rice Crackers
- Island Princess Honey roasted Macadamia Nuts
- Hawaiian Sun Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clusters
- Beans Group Garlic Peas
- Hawaiian Host Maui Caramacs
- Diamond Bakery Lilikoi Creem Sandwich Crackers
- Li Hing Mui Drops
- Hong Yuan classic Guava Hard Candy
May Tiki Box
- Shelly Senbei
- O Hawaii Island Lava Passion Fruit Brittle
- Island Princess Lightly Salted Macadamia Nuts
- Island Princess Choco Mochi
- Li Hing Mui Drops
- Almond Crunch
- Milk Chocolate-Dipped Macadamia Shortbread Cookies
- Dark Chocolate -Dipped Macadamia Shortbread Cookies
- Aloha Gourmet Coconut Candy
June Tiki Box
- Almond Cookie
- Mochi Balls
- Mini Nori Arare
- Aloha Gourmet Soft & Sweet Papaya
- Wasabi Pistachio Crunch
- Aloha Gourmet Pineapple Chewy Peanut Cake
- Mauna Loa Honey Roasted Macadamia Nuts
- Diamond Bakery Lilikoi Creem Sandwich Crackers
- Clear Ume Candy
- Aloha Gourmet Dark Kona Coffee Candy
Overall, it has been interesting to try The Tiki Box. I’ve tried products that I’m not sure I would have otherwise encountered. I would prefer a bigger emphasis on Hawaii-sourced products.
Have you tried The Tiki Box? What are your impressions?
Sheila Beal
2 comments
That looks amazing! I love the way they sent you something different every month.
No need to resort to groveling for Hawaii snacks on the Reddit Snack Exchange. reddit.com/r/snackexchange
The Tiki Box people (And snack-food fans on vacation) should visit a local store called Don Quixote which is just a few blocks outside of Waikiki. They get all sorts of wacky Japanese versions of popular American snacks like Blueberry flavored Oreo Cookies, Custard filled Ritz Crackers, Wasabi and Cheesecake flavored Kit Kat’s etc, etc… (You never know what you’ll find) I think these types of snacks and candies make great gifts to bring back to the Office after you return from your Hawaii vacation.
It sounds interesting, but looks like you assume all the risk: “Any merchandise purchased from our Site will be shipped by a third party carrier. As a result, title and risk of loss for such merchandise will pass to you upon our delivery to the carrier.” And there are no returns if you are disappointed. Still, it might be nice to send a friend who isn’t here in the Islands.
I do agree they should put more emphasis on Hawaiian products if they are going to call it “Hawaii’s favorite treats.”