Remember Gamer Grub? Inventor Keith Mullin claims his “cognitive performance snacks” will “boost your brain and speed your reaction time” to make you a more competitive gamer. I’ve since had an opportunity to sample the product, and while I don’t think it did much to enhance my IQ or make me quicker on the draw, it did a terrific job of satiating the munchies.
I went for “Action Pizza” first, mostly because I was curious how you could make anything other than pizza taste like that doughy, saucy, cheesey, sausagey delicacy. Since Mullin’s innovative packaging isn’t quite ready, he sent samples in old-fashioned foil packets. The package had labels glued on them, but there was no nutritional information or even much about the ingredients aside from a warning that some contained soy and peanuts.
A savory scent emerged from the packet when I cut the top off it; looking inside, I saw a mixture of peanuts, almonds, cashews, and what I guess was sesame crackers and perhaps soy crackers. Everything was covered in an assortment of spices, and it would leave a greasy mess in your hands if you were to eat it that way. To avoid that, I allowed the product to tumble out of the package directly into my mouth. Fortunately, I was able to avoid any George W. Bush pretzel moments.
Action Pizza was quite spicy and delicious, but I’m disappointed to report that it tasted nothing like pizza. My wife nibbled a few and agreed: There was no hint of tomato sauce, cheese, or crust—not to mention sausage or mushrooms. In fact, it tasted like any number of other salty mixed-nuts-and-crackers snacks you’ll find on grocery-store shelves.
I cleansed my palette by drinking several glasses of water over a three-hour period before sampling Sports PB&J. This one is sweet, rather than savory, and seemed to consist of peanuts, peanut butter chips, and dried strawberries and other fruits (but no raisins). In other words, it’s basically a variation on good ol’ trail mix. But the quality of the dried fruit was excellent, and it did very much remind me of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.
Gamer Grub is quite filling, so I waited until the next day to sample Strategy Chocolate (for breakfast). As you’ve probably guessed, this is also a sweet snack, consisting of chocolate-covered raisins, almonds, white-chocolate chips, and large dried cherries. I finished up the taste test by sharing Racing Wasabi with my wife for lunch. No surprises here, we enjoyed a savory blend of sesame crackers, almonds, and coated dried peas coated in wasabi. My wife pronounced this her favorite of the four samples.
The bottom line is that Gamer Grub breaks no new ground as a snack food. It’s quite tasty, and undoubtedly healthier than junk food, but the real attraction isn’t the food; it’s the container the snacks come in. If Gamer Grub is priced competitively with similar snacks, they’ll succeed; but if they’re priced too high, a lot of gamers might buy the product once for the container, and then refill it with something else.
Read our previous coverage of Gamer Grub.
