The rise of American Snacks in Ireland

I don't understand the popularity of Oreos. If they were part of any of those Christmas tins of biscuits they'd be the last ones left after all the good ones are eaten. Are they even all that cheap?

I thought it was just me. Incredibly bland. Ten years ago an Oreo was something in an American movie - now it seems like they’re in **** everything.

All my American family plunder the supermarket when they are back here to bring back Irish chocolate… you think it’s heroin they way they go for it. Same if we visit them… “don’t forget to take us Cadbury’s and King crisps ”

had a Hersheys bar recently, not great. Not fan of a lot of their confectionery, found it very artificial tasting. Their chocolate has the texture of plastic in many cases.

I was a child in the 90's/00's. When I was watching Americian programs. You'd see American Candy(as they'd call it).

It sounded interesting and of course you'd want to try it but it wasn't really an option.

Now with the Internet, online shopping parents buy it for their kids and you've fellas my age trying to cling onto their childhood.

So, I suppose there is a market for it.

I tried a few things in SuperValu but it wasn't anything special.

The eternal Irish fascination with all things Yank.

Apparently there will be a Wendy's opening at some point, yet again insane queues for what is basically junk food.

As ex-pat USA here, it's tricky. It's what you were raised on; I've tried quite awhile to find local 'equivalents' for the sweets (!) I enjoyed in the US, like York Peppermint patties and obscure chocolates like Scharffenbergers, to no luck. Really tried to learn to enjoy maltesers and various Cadbury chocolates, but just couldn't abide them.

As for crisps, just not going well. Sure, i can choke down a bag of taytos once in awhile, but bizarre flavours (prawn cocktail? Gag.) or even more amusingly named things like Buffalo chips just don't work. Keoghs sea salt is a fair equivalent to some US brands like Lays and Wise, but still not quite a match. I guess Walker's ready salt is probably the go-to crisp for me these days, it's thin and greasy like US crisps.

Krispy Kreme donuts are vile. Unless eaten warm fresh from the oven, they're grease bombs with cheap sugar frosting. Couldn't abide them in the US at all. In Ireland, really haven't looked into donuts beyond the occasional foray into the local bakeries, which have been really underwhelming, but most store-bought Irish pastry is crap, what with its boring flavorless British roots.

The same. They’re like bland bourbon biscuits. Don’t get the obsession with them at all

Aside from Reeses peanut butter cups, American confectionery that Ive tried is crap, the Reeses though, they are crack to me.

A lot of those american sweet shops are/were apprently fronts for money laundering, especially in London, was in the news a few months ago.

The sweets themselves though, absolute cack, with the few rare exceptions (The snyders pretzel pieces mentioned above being one). Cadbury's being bought by US conglomerate Mondelez 10 or so years back was a travesty, and you can see the deterioration in quality with them since, wouldn't touch a dairy milk any more now. Same cheap powdery crap that you get in most american chocolate.

I was in London recently and couldn’t get over the amount of them. In really high profile locations- nobody seemed to be buying anything and the prices laughable tbh. Must be at least 3 on Oxford Street