I tried these out with DH. (DD at 2 is not a very constructive panel member)
Q1 What was your overall impression of the product? Did you enjoy eating them or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
We liked them! They seemed quite unusual to start with (it's like switching to wholegrain pasta, it kind of feels like it falls apart while you eat it, even though it doesn't - as you taste all the flavours) But they're really crunchy and crisp like which is great and we thought the flavours mostly worked well with the different texture.
I am not sure about the packaging, I've seen sunbites in the supermarket before but not bought them because the pastel colours made me assume they were some kind of aimed-at-women-diet-crisp, and I really hate that kind of advertising so didn't even look really. I like all of the details, fonts, pictures, logos etc I'm just not sure about the colours - a bit brighter maybe?
There's quite a lot of info on the back about how these are healthier crisps, but when I looked at the strip on the front the percentages seemed quite big to me, a lot of the not-potato-crisps like wotsits etc are less than 100 calories (and advertise that pretty prominently) for comparison.
Cheddar: We thought these were definately more cheesy than oniony. Also, although the first taste was really strong and good it seemed to wear off after a few bites, leaving the rest of ecah crisp seeming a bit bland?
Onion & Rosemary: Nice consistent flavour, one of both our favourites, the rosemary is pretty strong aftertaste but we liked that.
Sweet Chili: I thought the flavour was a bit inconsistent with some crisps seeming much sweeter than others. We both really liked the spicy aftertaste, it was at a pleasant level a little bit tongue tingly but not too much that a person whose not really into spice wouldn't like it. Maybe not spicy enough for a spice fan. I thought they were a bit sweet in general.
Sour Cream: Fine, but same problem with the cheddar with the flavour dying away. I thought maybe they were a bit unexciting.
Sea Salted: These were really interesting! There was definately much less salt than a normal salted pack of crisps but it didn't seem disappointing (the way it does when you crave salt and have an under-salted pack!) as it really enhanced the natural flavour of the wholegrain.
Q2 How would you describe Sunbites to a friend who didn't know what they were?
Me: Wholegrain crisps.
DH: Crisps. But not potato ones. Wholegrain ones! They're quite like flavoured tortilla chips.
Q3 Which flavour did you like the most? Are there any other flavours you'd like to see in the range?
Me: Rosemary & Onion and the Sea Salted were my favourites. If you made more flavours I'd like something a bit exciting and different which we haven't seen before, crisps always seem to be the same flavours here. My favourite snack at the moment is Tyrells Sweet & Salted popcorn - maybe there's something in that?
DH: Sweet Chili and the Rosemary & Onion. He'd like something meaty, like crispy bacon.
Q4 Thinking about Sunbites in comparison to other snacks, can you think of one feature which makes Sunbites different? If so, what is it?
Me: I don't think they're very different in terms of flavours, it's just the wholegrain really.
DH: The wholegrain makes them extra crunchy.
Q5 If it came up in conversation, do you think you'd recommend Sunbites to your friends? If so, why? If not, why not?
I think I would, especially the Sea Salted to anyone who needs to cut down on salt but loves salty crisps! Also, if we were talking about snacks that were a bit different or unusual.
Actually my mother-in-law loves them and recommend them to us (she likes the sweet chili) before MN asked for entries for this.