Universal Yums Subscription Box Review – January 2017

Universal Yums is a snack subscription box that sends out snacks and candies from a different country monthly. 

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

This review is of the Yum Yum, $25 a month, box. 

The Subscription Box: Universal Yums

The Cost: $14.00/month for the Yum Box, $25/month for the Yum Yum Box. Free shipping to the U.S.

The Products: "The contents of the boxes change each month as we try to highlight the best snacks from each featured country. However, you can always expect a mix of flavors: salty, sweet, spicy, fruity, and more. Only authentic snacks from the featured country."

Ships to: U.S., Canada, U.K., and Israel

Check out all of our Universal Yums reviews and find similar boxes in the Snack Subscription Box Directory!

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This month, the featured country was Ukraine.

The glossy booklet describes each item inside...

... plus fun cultural details about the nation.

The box included a TON of small candies:

Let's get started!

Svitoch "Chervonyi Mak" Candy

This chocolate was on the deeper, darker side, which made it feel decadent despite being such a simple candy.

Glass of Milk Caramels

I've never really thought of "milk" as a flavor until this box. These caramels have a creamy "milk" center—it's smooth, rich, and has the most subtle vanilla-ish sweetness.

Velvet Night (Barkhat Nochi) Chocolates

I loved this little chocolate. There's one whole hazelnut and a pinch of crushed hazelnut inside, which give this otherwise creamy treat a bit of texture. I really like hazelnut flavors, so I thought this was a great find.

Fizzy Boom Hard Candies

If you're a fan of Pop Rocks, you'll enjoy these fruity, fun candies.

Oreiro Apricot and Cream Bon Bons

I love the unique, sweet, almost citrus-y flavor of apricot. This little wafer is crispy on the outside and deliciously creamy on the inside.

Crazy Bee Candies

First thing's first—there's no honey to be found here! The booklet describes these fruity, chewy candies like Gushers, which I think is accurate. They're filled with sweet, tangy juice, which bursts in your mouth as you enjoy them.

Sour Cream with Herb Breadsticks

On to the snacks! These "breadsticks" reminded me a lot of long, skinny croutons. (For me, that's a good thing, because I LOVE croutons, haha!) They had a great sour-cream-and-onion kind of flavor that you'd find on your favorite chip, but with a heartier texture.

Red Caviar Breadsticks

I didn't enjoy these breadsticks as much, but that's just because I'm not as much of a caviar fan. The flavor was very true to caviar—the deep, fishy flavor filled my mouth and bloomed through my sinuses with one bite. I'd liken it to truffle flavors, in the way that it's an unusual, acquired taste. If you're a fan of caviar, though, these could be right up your alley!

Roshen Creme Brulee Chocolate Bar

This bar was soooo goooood. I'm a big chocolate fan, so I'm always pleased to find treats like this one in snack boxes. The inside of each brick was smooth, creamy, mildly sweet, and rich with a dulce-de-leche-like flavor.

Svitoch Peach Yogurt Milk Chocolate Bar

I would never have expected peach and chocolate flavors to go so well together, but this bar showed me otherwise. Each square is sandwiched around a bit of peachy cream, which brings a bright freshness to the rich chocolate.

Who Said Muuu?

This was another treat where "milk" was a featured flavor. This bar reminded me a lot of those koala cookies you can find at Asian grocers (or in snack subscription boxes!), in that the exterior was crisp and light, but the filling was dense and rich. This filling was way thicker and smoother than in those kinds of cookies and had a fresh, cool, cream taste that I really liked. "Milk" is really becoming one of my favorite flavors!

Macho Forest Mushroom Chips

These potato chips really do taste like mushrooms! One bite and the earthy, umami flavor filled my senses. I think there's a hint of herbs mixed in, too. These chips were very addicting for mushroom fans like me.

Kruasel Croissant with Mochaccino Filling

As packaged croissants go, this one was pretty tasty. I'll always prefer a croissant fresh (the flaky layers get a bit gummier and dense when they've been in a wrapper for awhile), but this one does a nice job. The best part is the filling, which is mostly chocolatey in flavor but has a subtle coffee taste to it. Those coffee notes give this snack a delightful, breakfast vibe.

Macho Bacon Peanuts

Need I say more? These peanuts have a salty-sweet, smoky taste to them that makes them hard to put down!

Verdict: I liked this month's assortment from Universal Yums! There was such a great mix of items—I really love that the company finds products from vendors that are cultural staples in the country at hand or key up-and-comers. There are 14 different kinds of items in this box, which shakes out to about $1.79 an item. That's probably high for the different hard candies (even though you get two or three of each), but given the thoughtful curation and the context the booklet gives for each treat, I think this box gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

Have you tried Universal Yums yet?