That got us wondering, so we talked to some of our employees who introduced us to their favorite snacks.

Dawn – Seattle POS Coordinator

First up is Dawn, who loves the mochi crunch with nori variety of Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn. According to her, the combo of melted butter and furikake flavor compliment each other, making this “a very shareable snack!”

Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn is indeed quite shareable — if you don’t eat it all for yourself first! This snack combines the buttery goodness of popcorn, savory furikake nori toppings, and the smooth-crunchy combination of mochi rice crackers. These add up to create an addicting savory taste married with a satisfying texture.

For Dawn, the kicker is the addition of mochi rice crackers, which she says, “adds so much texture to the popcorn.” Their inclusion takes spiced up popcorn and turns it into a much more substantial snack with multiple textures. We think Dawn’s right — these are just delicious.

Deanna – Seattle Grocery Assistant Manager

Meanwhile, our Seattle grocery assistant manager, Deanna, also reaches for some seaweed-infused goodness. Instead of popcorn, though, her favorite is Karamucho chips.

These potato chips are hardy and come in many varieties — Deanna’s preference is the hot chili with seaweed flavor. Along with the umami quality imparted by the seaweed, the hot chili adds another tasty element. As Deanna puts it, “I love that they have just the right amount of spice…they’re so addicting and so tasty!”

And while one chip might not light your mouth on fire, it’s almost impossible to stop at just one. When it comes to Karamucho hot chili and seaweed chips, you’ll come for the savory and spice but stay because no one can bring themselves to put them down!

Janet – Seattle Cashier

Seattle cashier Janet has another savory pick: Jagabee Potato Crisps, lightly salted. As she puts it, “it reminds me of eating McDonald’s french fries,” but without the hassle of actually having to leave the house to go get french fries!

These interesting little crisps are kind of like a combination of fries and potato chips. In other words, they’re delicious. Furthermore, they have no trans-fat and this variety only contains three ingredients: potatoes, vegetable oil, and salt. Sometimes the simplest snacks are the tastiest, and Jagabee Potato Crisps sure seem like proof of that. Their crispiness, smidge of salt, and the natural yumminess of potatoes adds up to create the perfectly addicting salty snack.

Steven – Renton Grocery Clerk

One of our Renton grocery clerks, Steven, reaches for the Koala’s March mini-cookies. After living in Japan where he would eat them all the time, he’s happy to have these fun little koala cookies back in the PNW, too.

These creme-filled biscuits’ most common filling is chocolate, strawberry, and matcha. According to Steven, “they’re a fun little treat” that can satisfy your sweet tooth without leaving you overloaded by sugar when you’re done. These bite-sized cookies are kind of the perfect sweet treat — they give you a dose of sweetness plus the satisfying texture of coco creamy goodness inside the crunchy cookie.

Kristine – Renton Cashier

Another Renton employee, Kristine, also knows her choice of snack.

While she’s been with us for two years, Uwajimaya locations have only been carrying Le Bon pastries for less than a year — but have already become one of Kristine’s favorites. Her baked good of choice? The green bean bun, which “is always the right amount of sweetness [and] the bread is always nice and soft.” And listening to that description, we’re feeling that craving now too. Dang.

Ming and DJ – Bellevue Supervisor and Renton Seafood Clerk

While they work in different parts of two different stores, DJ and Ming have the same idea: Calbee chips, which come in a boatload of varieties. They have different favorites: DJ goes for the shrimp chips, while Ming’s chip of choice is Calbee’s pizza. (This is the same company that makes Janet’s favorite Jagabee potato crisps, too — clearly they’re doing something right to be this popular.)

DJ likes that they go with many different foods, plus “they’re fun and different.” Ming meanwhile fell in love with Calbee chips while visiting a friend in Japan, but couldn’t get ahold of them in the US until we started stocking them recently. This made her day, as she says, “I was so excited when we started carrying them as a new item!”

Jeanette – Beaverton Grocery Clerk

Jeanette’s favorite is another savory choice, Marukyo’s rice cracker mix. Besides being generally tasty, this mix serves an extra special purpose for her: as her go-to snack for when she’s watching movies, “it reminds me of home — Hawaii — and brings back memories of Consolidated Theatres with family friends.”

As the Marukyo rice cracker mix expert, Jeanette has a couple recommendations besides eating it by itself. To make it even better, she likes to combine it with popcorn or chocolate. Which, honestly, sounds super freaking delicious.

Jerry – Bellevue Grocery Clerk

Lastly, Jerry finishes the list with a sweet treat, Meiji Gummy Choco. And as the brand behind so many of our favorite childhood sweets, it would feel like a travesty if nobody here mentioned a Meiji product. So thank you, Jerry, because just like the Meiji classics like Kinoko no Yama (those little chocolate mushrooms), Yan Yans, and Hello Pandas, Gummy Choco is delightful.

His love for Gummy Choco is similar to why we love all these kinds of sweets: “I had a lot…when I was little. It’s easy to eat and I still love them!” They’re ideal for both kids and adults alike and are proof that even as you grow up and your tastes change, some treats you’ll always be fond of.

We hope you’ve got some foods on hand that’ll satisfy your sweet tooth or savory tooth when you most need it. But if you find yourself in our neck of the woods and want to try something new, hopefully our staff’s recommendations can give you some inspiration!