Universal Yums Review: Snack Your Way Around the World 🌎🍫🥨
Hey there fellow snack lover! If you‘re anything like me, you‘re always on the hunt for fun and tasty new treats to try. So when I first heard about Universal Yums, the subscription box that delivers a curated assortment of snacks from a different country to your door each month, I was instantly intrigued.
I‘ve been a happy Universal Yums subscriber for the past 8 months, so I‘m excited to share my full review of this delightful service with you. We‘ll dive into all the delicious details together, from how it works and what‘s inside the boxes to the pricing, customer experience, and more. Let‘s get snacking! 😋
What is Universal Yums? 🤔
In case you‘re not familiar, Universal Yums is a monthly snack subscription box that lets you taste your way across the globe without ever leaving home. Each box is themed around a different country and includes a variety of unique and authentic snacks curated from that destination. Past featured countries have included Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and Poland, just to name a few.
But Universal Yums is so much more than just a box of international munchies. What really sets this service apart is the immersive cultural experience that comes with each delivery. In addition to full-size snacks, you also get a colorful booklet packed with trivia, games, recipes, and fun facts about the month‘s spotlight country. It‘s like a mini travel guide and educational activity book all rolled into one.
The Universal Yums journey began in 2014 when husband and wife duo Eli and Monique decided to start a snack subscription service that celebrated diversity and brought people together through food. As Eli explained in an interview with Cheddar:
"We were a young couple, just married, and didn‘t have a ton of money to travel. We really wanted to see the world and thought there would be a way to explore different cultures from home. And we thought, what better way to do that than through snacks?"
Fast forward seven years, and their scrappy startup has grown into a thriving company with over 300,000 social media followers and "tens of thousands" of active subscribers in 10 countries, according to Monique. But she says their mission remains the same:
"We want to bring people together, spread joy, and celebrate the diversity of our world through food. That‘s really the heart behind everything we do at Universal Yums."
How Does It Work? 📦
Signing up for Universal Yums is super easy. Here‘s a quick step-by-step:
- Choose your box size
- Select month-to-month or annual prepaid subscription
- Pick the featured country for your first box
- Receive your box around the 15th of each month
- Snack, learn, and repeat!
Universal Yums offers three box sizes to fit different snacking styles and budgets:
| Box | What‘s Inside | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Yum Box | 5-7 snacks + 12-page booklet | $15/month |
| Yum Yum Box | 10-12 snacks + 16-page booklet | $25/month |
| Super Yum Box | 18-20 snacks + 16-page booklet | $39/month |
Prices based on month-to-month subscription. Annual prepaid plans offer a slight discount.
I started with the Yum Yum Box to get a good variety without going overboard. I loved that I got to pick the country for my first month (I went with Greece 🇬🇷). After that, the featured country is a surprise, which adds a really fun element of anticipation to the whole experience.
What‘s Inside a Universal Yums Box? 🍬🍿
Opening my Universal Yums box each month feels like Christmas morning. The bright purple packaging never fails to put a smile on my face! Inside, you‘ll find your snacks tucked safely in colorful crinkle paper plus the travel guide booklet.
The snacks are always an eclectic mix of sweet and savory, crunchy and chewy, familiar and totally foreign. There‘s truly something for every taste bud. And I‘ve been consistently impressed with the quality, freshness, and authentic flavors in each box. You can tell everything is carefully curated straight from the source.
A few standout snacks from my boxes so far:
🇧🇪 Belgian Stroop Waffles: Two crispy, caramelized waffles with a layer of rich stroop syrup in the middle. Perfect with coffee or tea.
🇰🇷 Korean Honey Butter Chips: An addictive mix of salty potato chips coated in a sweet honey butter glaze. The ultimate combo of savory and sweet.
🇲🇽 Mexican Obleas con Cajeta: Delicate, crispy wafers sandwiching a thick layer of slow-cooked caramel made from goat‘s milk. A revelation.
🇿🇦 South African Biltong: Tender strips of spiced, dried beef that put American jerky to shame. So much flavor in every chewy bite.
What really brings the Universal Yums experience full circle is the travel guide booklet. It‘s printed on high-quality paper with bright, eye-catching designs. The 12 or 16 pages (depending on your box size) are jam-packed with cultural facts, local trivia, language lessons, recipes to try at home, and even a playlist of popular music from the featured country.
I always set aside time to snack and read through the booklet cover to cover. It‘s such a fun way to learn more about the country‘s culture, history, and food traditions. And I love that it includes interactive games and conversation starters to enjoy with family or friends.
One month, I invited my book club gals over for a Greek girls‘ night featuring the goodies and trivia from my Greece box. We had SO much fun tasting everything and testing our knowledge. The booklet shared a recipe for homemade tzatziki that was a huge hit too (pro tip: the Olive Oil & Oregano chips in the box are perfect for dipping 😉).
What Do Other Customers Think? 💬
Of course, you don‘t have to just take my word for it. Universal Yums has thousands of glowing reviews from happy customers across the web. On Trustpilot, the brand has an impressive 4.9 out of 5-star rating from over 2,900 reviews.
Over on the Universal Yums Facebook page, there are over 4,000 5-star reviews praising the service for its convenience, variety, and exceptional quality. Several reviews even mention the joy of discovering a new favorite snack from another part of the globe. As one customer put it:
"Universal Yums is the highlight of my month, every month! It satisfies my wanderlust and love of trying new foods. Everything is always fresh and delicious. Plus, their customer service is top-notch. I‘ve been subscribed for over two years now and have loved exploring the world through their curated snack boxes!"
I also noticed some customers had issues with shipping delays or receiving slightly damaged snacks, which seems to be a risk with any food subscription box. However, Universal Yums customer service was always quick to replace the item or offer a refund, based on reviews.
Universal Yums Gives Back 💜
Another thing I love about Universal Yums is its commitment to giving back and supporting small businesses around the world. When you sign up, you can choose to round up your subscription cost to the nearest dollar and donate the change to Yum Cares, their charitable giving arm.
100% of the Yum Cares proceeds go to non-profit organizations addressing child hunger. Last year alone, Universal Yums donated over $150,000 to hunger relief programs like Backpack Buddies and Feed My Starving Children. As someone who experienced food insecurity growing up, this is a cause that‘s really important to me.
In addition to their monetary contributions, Universal Yums is intentional about supporting the local economies and artisans behind each product featured in their boxes, no matter how big or small. As co-founder Monique explained in an interview with Forbes:
"We work hard to find snacks that are authentic, high-quality, and ethically sourced. Many of the businesses we purchase from are family-owned companies passed down through generations. We want to honor their heritage while introducing their delicious creations to a broader audience and supporting their continued success."
Pricing & Subscription Options 💸
In terms of cost, I think Universal Yums offers great value for what you get. Here‘s a more detailed breakdown of their current pricing:
Month-to-Month Plans:
- Yum Box (5-7 snacks): $15/box
- Yum Yum Box (10-12 snacks): $25/box
- Super Yum Box (18-20 snacks): $39/box
Annual Prepaid Plans:
- Yum Box: $168 ($14/box)
- Yum Yum Box: $288 ($24/box)
- Super Yum Box: $432 ($36/box)
So with the annual plan, you‘re essentially getting a free box, which is a nice perk. Personally, I opted for the month-to-month Yum Yum Box so I could test it out before committing long-term.
It‘s also worth noting that shipping is free in the U.S. for all subscription plans. If you‘re gifting a box or live internationally, shipping rates vary.
Ways to Save 💰
On top of the savings from prepaying annually, Universal Yums occasionally offers special deals for first-time customers. I managed to snag 10% off my first box by signing up for their email newsletter.
They also have a pretty sweet refer-a-friend program (pun fully intended). For every friend who signs up through your link, you both get $5 in credits, aka "Yum Bucks," to put towards future snack hauls.
Shipping & Returns ✈️
All Universal Yums boxes ship out between the 5th-15th of the month, depending on your location. I‘m based in New York, and my box usually arrives right around the 15th like clockwork.
Shipping is free for all contiguous U.S. states and Washington D.C. There‘s an additional charge for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, and Canada based on USPS rates. You can also purchase individual boxes and Yum Shop items to be sent internationally to select countries for a flat fee.
In terms of returns, Universal Yums doesn‘t allow returns of opened food items for obvious safety reasons. However, if you receive any damaged or defective products, their stellar customer service team is happy to issue a replacement or refund within 14 days of delivery.
I actually had one incident where a bag of chips arrived crushed, and the Universal Yums team sent out a new bag immediately, no questions asked. Their service is friendly, responsive, and committed to making things right.
My Final Thoughts 🤔
After 8 months of joyful snacking with Universal Yums, I can confidently say this subscription is 100% worth it for adventurous foodies like you and me. It‘s truly the most delicious way to travel the world from the comfort of your couch.
Each month feels like unwrapping a special gift, handpicked just for you. The element of surprise keeps things exciting, and the curated selection never disappoints in terms of quality, freshness, and novelty. I always discover at least a few new snacks that I LOVE and would never have found on my own (looking at you, Biltong 🇿🇦).
But beyond satisfying my taste buds, Universal Yums feeds my mind and soul too. The travel guide booklets transform snack time into an immersive cultural experience unlike anything else out there. I‘ve learned SO much about different countries‘ histories, traditions, and people through the fun facts, trivia, and recipes inside.
Of course, like any subscription, Universal Yums may not be the ideal fit for everyone. If you have severe food allergies or follow a restricted diet, the limited ability to customize could be a dealbreaker. It‘s also a bit of a leap of faith since you don‘t get to pick your snacks or countries after the first month (part of the thrill for me, but I totally get the hesitation).
That said, for the vast majority of us snack lovers, Universal Yums offers a truly unmatched and joy-sparking experience. It‘s affordable, reliable, and endlessly giving, from the delight of trying new treats to the pride of supporting small businesses and the satisfaction of making a difference with every bite.
In a world that often feels divided, Universal Yums is a beautiful reminder of the power of food to bring us together. It opens our minds, expands our palates, and connects us to the diverse people and places that make up our global community.
So if you‘re ready to snack outside your comfort zone and embark on a tasty trip around the globe, I can‘t recommend Universal Yums enough. Trust me, your taste buds (and your travel bug) will thank you.
Happy snacking, adventurer! 🌍🧳🍿
