Froot Loops Jelly Beans

Today we take a look at one of the big new releases from last season, Froot Loops Jelly Beans!

Froot Loops were not one of my favorite cereals growing up, but we had them once in a while. Let’s see if they can trigger any waves of nostalgia, or at the very least, some tastebud tingles.

Size and shape

At first glance, these immediately bear a striking resemblance to Starburst Jelly Beans. They have the same slightly-smaller-than-average size, they are similarly oblong with no dimple, and they also have very good consistency across the bag. Those first two points together are worth knocking a bean off, but it’s a very appealing visual presentation on the whole.

4 out of 5 beans

Chewability

Biting into these jelly beans further cements my suspicion that they share a common heritage with Starburst Jelly Beans, because these Froot Loops beans seem to chew identically to how I remember Starburst beans chewing – which is to say, perfectly.

5 out of 5 beans

Texture

Here again, the Starburst similarities continue: we have a very smooth shell of adequate thickness and smooth (but not perfectly so) insides. The shell could hold together into better chunks, but this is another strong category.

4 out of 5 beans

At this point, I am prepared to assert that these are exactly the same as Starburst Jelly Beans, but with different flavors. Of course, that makes “How do they taste?” the question of the day.

Taste and flavor

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is “not great”.

One interesting thing to note is that, like other common fruit-flavored cereals, Froot Loops cereal has only one flavor, despite having loops of different colors. Froot Loops Jelly Beans, however, definitely have distinct flavors, even if the distinctions are incredibly subtle. The packaging gives no indication of what the intended flavors are, and they are so bland that I can’t even be sure what the red and blue beans are meant to represent (probably cherry or strawberry and blueberry or blue raspberry, respectively).

All of the flavors bear a certain lactic quality, which I will consider a successful attempt to conjure up the impression of a bowl of cereal as you eat these.

As stated, though, these are just not that interesting or tasty.

4 out of 10 beans

The one-of-each test

Perhaps the ultimate test of a bag of jelly beans is how enjoyable it is to take one of each flavor and eat them all at the same time.¹

Fortunately, the physical characteristics inherited from Starburst make chewing six of these beans a relatively manageable task. Unfortunately, there is just no flavor separation, given how close the flavors already are to one another.

5 out of 10 beans

Conclusion

I suspect we’ll continue to see a new entry from an established brand into the jelly bean field every year, but mediocre efforts like this one just feel like a cash grab, sadly.