Category: Spotted on Shelves

Update (11/5/2012): It turns out it’s on shelves now. Here’s our review.

The Limited Edition Milky Way French Vanilla and Caramel won’t be available until February 2013.

Yup, Mars announces new candy bars half a year before they’re scheduled to be released. What an awesome way to build up excitement, let all of us forget about it, and then surprise us again when they finally release it.

About two weeks after you read this post, you’ll probably forget it’s coming because, to be honest, the combination of French vanilla-flavored nougat and caramel is kind of forgettable.

The 1.72-ounce Limited Edition Milky Way French Vanilla and Caramel bar will have a suggested retail price of $1.09.

Here are some new products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. We may or may not review them, but we’d like to let you know what new items are popping up. We’ll also occasionally throw in an unusual product.

Over the years I’ve been jealous of Canadians because they have ketchup potato chips readily available. Sure, a few companies here in the States make them, but it’s not as if I can walk into almost any store and pick them up like Canadians can. However, the new Lay’s Spicy Ketchup potato chips, which have been appearing on shelves here in the United States, give me hope that someday all Americans can have easy access to ketchup flavored potato chips. (Thanks Peter for the photo!)

To enjoy the flavors of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, and Reese’s Puffs, I can either pour any of the cereals into a bowl and add milk. Or I can preheat my oven, make the muffin mix batter, pour the batter into the individual cups in a muffin pan, place the pan in the oven, wait a bunch of minutes while it bakes, pull the pan out of the oven, and let them cool before eating. Or I can have someone else make the muffins for me. (Thanks Adam for the photo!)

Also, if I want to enjoy the flavor of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I can eat one of these Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal bars. Hey, General Mills! I’m still waiting for Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavored milk. Oooh, two Box Tops for Education! (Thanks Adam for the photo!)

To enjoy a birthday cake, I can either buy birthday cake flavored Italian ice. Or I can preheat my oven, make cake batter, pour the batter into a cake pan, place the pan in the oven, wait a bunch of minutes while it bakes, pull the pan out of the oven, let it cool, spread a layer of frosting on top of the cake, and then cut a piece to enjoy. Or I can have someone else make the cake for me. (Thanks anonymous person for the photo!)

SQUEEE!!! Hello Kitty hand wash!

If you’re out shopping and see a new product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, email it to us at theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com with “Spotted” in the subject line, and you might see it in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Hey! I REALLY like those Starbucks Refreshers, so much so that I wish they came in a snortable form.”

If so, your wish will soon come true because next month Starbucks will offer a VIA Ready Brew version of their Refreshers.

(Note: Please don’t snort the VIA Refreshers)

Some of you might be thinking, “Hey! Those Starbucks Refreshers thingies sound familiar.” They should because earlier this year Starbucks introduced a line of ready-to-drink canned Refreshers, which you’ve probably passed by at your local grocery store. Here’s a Google search query for canned Starbucks Refreshers reviews.

According to the blog, Starbucks Melody, Starbucks VIA Refreshers will be hitting stores on July 10 and come in two flavors: Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime. Making one is as easy as making a regular VIA coffee–just add water and stir. A Starbucks VIA Refreshers package will contain five mix packets, each of which will make a 16-ounce serving.

If you’ve sampled a Starbucks VIA Refresher, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Source: Starbucks Melody

According to the Option Pitch and Waffle Crisp blog (our reviewer Adam’s blog), Post has pushed out a whole line of breakfast cereals called Good Morenings. Before you scroll down and leave a comment about how I spelled “Morenings” wrong, let me stop you and tell you that’s how Post spells it.

Thanks, Post and other companies that make up their own spelling of words! I bet teachers everywhere can’t wait to correct the following sentence: I’m xtremely sorry I didn’t say “Good Morening” 2 the studentz.

The Post Good Morenings cereal line comes in a number of flavors:

Berry Loops

Waffle Crunch

For those of you who believe HFCS not only stands for High Fructose Corn Syrup, but also Heavy Fat Causing Sweetener, you’ll be happy to know the cereals don’t contain high fructose corn syrup. However, according to the website My Fitness Pal, the cereal line’s sugar content ranges between 9-13 grams.

If breakfast cereals are one of your main sources of vitamins and minerals, each serving of Good Morenings is an excellent source of B vitamins and a good source of other vitamins and minerals.

If you’ve tried any of the Post Good Morenings cereals, let us know what you think of them in the comments section below.

Source: Option Pitch and Waffle Crisp

Update: Click here to read our Vicks ZzzQuil review

You know how on the packaging for NyQuil there’s a warning to let people know they shouldn’t be operating heavy machinery after taking it. Well, the folks at Vicks NyQuil have a new product that shouldn’t be taken before operating any heavy machinery — ZzzQuil.

I’m not making that name up. That is what this new over-the-counter sleeping aid to help occasional sleeplessness is called.

The active ingredient in ZzzQuil is diphenhydramine HCI. According to the ZzzQuil website, the diphenhydramine acts as an antihistamine blah, blah, blah… Ugh. That explanation is so boring, it’s putting me to sleep. I guess ZzzQuil is so powerful that explaining it makes me drowsy.

While ZzzQuil comes from the same folks who brought us the sleep inducing, NyQuil, it doesn’t help with colds or the flu like NyQuil does. ZzzQuil comes in a berry-flavored liquid version and in LiquiCap form.