From Japanese Kit-Kats to French 7 Up, our obsession with obscure snacks has opened up new ways to find them.
As I slid my way through customs the first time I return from a slip to Japan , I had to declare over $ 300 deserving ofsnacksand drunkenness crammed into my bag . bottle of melon cream soda were tucked between my apparel amid an assortment of Kit - Kats in smell like cherry tree blossom andapple pieand a miscellanea of micro chip speckle with flaky nori or salty ume . For me , a trip does not feel complete unless you come back home with a firing of snack .
But for others , collation can be an entrance to a unexampled culture and culinary art , without have to in reality travel to a faraway destination . Such is the case for many of the customer that visitExotics Only LA , a globally inspired snack and drink store locate in South Gate , California . “ I figure myself when I was grow up and I did n’t get to travel , ” explains Christopher Henriquez , the co - founder of Exotics Only . “ So my goal is to provide community of interests that do n’t have access to these type of snacks or even love about these billet an chance to check about acculturation , to educate — which is one of the loose ways because food is a universal language . ”
It begin with grape succus . Henriquez had a mind - blowing experience drinking import Welch ’s from Japan that became the accelerator for opening Exotics Only . “ My brother had ease up me the juice for my natal day and I had never tried anything like it , anything even tight to it , ” Henriquez reminisce . “ I just could n’t wrap my password around how good it was ; there ’s nothing in America that reaches it . ”
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
The experience and the flavors escape from Henriquez so profoundly that he know he want others within his South Los Angeles community to have their own Japanese grape succus moment . Exotics LA launched in September 2020 , in the thick of the pandemic , when the appetite for change of location was at its high . The order come pouring in and Henriquez was capable to move his operation outside of his mom ’s habitation into a brick and mortar , which has now been candid for over six month .
snack are a lifelong love affair for Akinkuotu . Growing up in the suburbs of Minnesota , Akinkuotu would help her parent stock vending machines — in the main for her personal increase so she could pocket the leftover bite and ensure there would n’t be anything she ’d discover ‘ exceptionable . ’ “ That was the first prison term I was really thinking about bite outside of myself , ” she says .
That experience , paired with trips to theAsianandAfrican supermarkets , led her to a fascination with fresh snacks . “ Segwaying into adulthood , when I was journey one of the thing that I would do would be to go to grocery store or to corner stores and just see what was around , to see what ’s playfulness , ” Akinkuotu explicate .
The interior of Exotics Only LA which carries snacks from around the globe.|Photo courtesy of Exotics Only LA
When the pandemic strike and travel halted , starting Unsnackable provide Akinkuotu a way to continue perfect her writing without the pressure of formula ontogeny . “ This was a matter I could do where I could interact with writing about food without it being personal and very emotional — because indite about your own food can feel very daunting . So I was like , allow me compose about these things I ’ll never get to judge . ”
For research function , Akinkuotu relies on the algorithm of societal medium , which has mold itself to her captivation with obscure snacks . She keep up Latvian teens on Instagram to see what they ’re crunch on and dives late into Wikipedia pages , translating the names of alien chip bags or glutinous candies . She ’ll meander through TV on YouTube , parse through the dimly translate bits to seemukbangshots of people around the humankind enjoying bites of chocolates or sips of soda pop .
One of the reasons Americans are now so interested in snacks from elsewhere is because of social media . There are subscription boxful that tout oecumenical travel through candies and swallow , likeUniversal YumsandTry the World , and ones specific to body politic or region , likeBokksuandTuk Tuk Box . “ hoi polloi desire to deform , ” Henriquez tell , “ and that ’s why social metier has been one of the bighearted contributor to our success . ”
Rose grape-flavored Oreos from China|Photo courtesy of Exotics Only LA
Akinkuotu find the interest to be very American . “ We kind of assume that everything will be accessible to us , ” she explains , “ sometimes in spoiled ways — like there is this American mindset that want to possess everything . ” In a fashion , bragging on societal medium about the untouchable can feel like embezzlement . But , with regard for factor and flavour , snacks can also be an opportunity for cultural interchange .
“ collation are kind of an entree to the flavors of a culture ; you could see the ways that people in those culture opine about food and relish and pairing things , ” Akinkuotu allege . “ If it ’s something sight marketed , you know it ’s going to be something a lot of people from that polish like . Snacks introduce you to something in a less daunting mode . ”
