Sugar Savvy

Pods. If I were to create a chocolate named Pods I would make chocolate eggs, which when you cracked them open a white chocolate alien would fall out, amidst a sea of M&Ms, like an alien explosion. A wasted opportunity unfortunately, Pods are actually chocolate wafer bowls filled with milk chocolate with a center of caramel. No aliens to be seen.

I first spotted these biscuity chocolatey treats two years ago, only then they were in rectangular boxes in the biscuit aisle. I tried them out of curiosity and was interested but not overwhelmed by the bowl-shaped parcels. Shopping recently I saw the same product now sold in foil bags in the bagged candy section of the supermarket. A relocation of a few metres, but it is an entirely new neighborhood. I think that this is a better place for Pods, these sweets are better associated with treats rather than snacks. They are extremely sweet and their ratio of biscuit to chocolate is not much to a lot.

The fact that Pods have changed homes is interesting as they are a relatively new product and are obviously searching for their market. My high school history teacher was fond of proving how old he was by stating that he remembered the days when Tim Tams were sold in the confectionery aisle, instead of the biscuit aisle where they have been for years. Tim Tams are now Australia’s favorite chocolate biscuit; so ubiquitous that any store stocking essentials such as milk and bread invariably has Tim Tams also on offer. Therefore, finding the right definition of a product can obviously work wonders for its sales.

I bought the revamped Pods to try and while sweet and tasty the same problem I had two years ago was still present. It’s just that the packaging is too darn good. The chocolate pictured on the front is in now way representative of the Pods. The photographed Pods are luscious and shiny, with oozing golden caramel and a dark biscuit layer. The actual Pods are dusty (presumably due to the wafer biscuit rattling in the bag), smaller than the photo and leak a limp, pale yellow caramel. After looking at the exciting photo I feel a little let down when seeing the chocolate biscuit.

So although I like Pods, I can’t help but be seduced by the packaging and not the product. Possibly some alien mind tricks at play?