Universal Yums Review: How To Tour the World With Snacks

Tasting snacks from around the world is a delicious way to travel and see the world. Even though travel may be restricted, it doesn’t mean the spirit of exploration has died.

Lovers of food, adventure, and travel can enjoy global snacks from the comfort of home. 

Universal Yums offers monthly snack subscription boxes from different countries around the world. 

We ordered a box to try it out and here’s our Universal Yums review.

What is Universal Yums?

Imagine being transported around the world, simply by opening a package that lands on your doorstep every month.

That’s exactly how Universal Yums works. The company, founded in 2014, is on a mission to bring the best snacks from different countries straight to your door.

Universal Yums is a monthly subscription box packed with sweet and savory treats from around the globe. Every box comes with a guidebook that includes recipes, trivia, cultural facts, games. and much more.

Each box highlights a specific country. The snacks are sweet and savory with a mix of flavors and textures. 

Our Universal Yums box was a delightful surprise from the United Kingdom. 

Without having to travel, the best part is still learning and enjoying popular local snacks from a particular country.

Universal Yums Review – How Does it Work?

The signup process on the Universal Yums website is clear and straightforward.

All you have to do is select the box and size of your choice, create an account, and pay. 

The process is easy and only takes a few minutes. Currently, Universal Yums offers shipping to the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and Israel.

Three Universal Yums Boxes

Yum Box

Yum Box

Universal Yums offers three box options to choose from.

The Yum Box is the basic box that has about 6 hand-picked local snacks.

Pricing starts at $13.75 per box on an annual basis or $15.00 month-to-month. Free shipping is offered within the United States.

Yum Yum Box

Yum Yum Box

The Yum Yum Box or medium box contains about a dozen snacks or so.

With the number of snacks, this size is perfect for three to four people. Pricing starts at $22.92 with the annual plan or $25.00 on a month-to-month basis.

Like the Yum Box, free shipping is offered within the United States.

Super Yum Box

Super Yum Box

The Super Yum Box or large box has more than 20 local and unique snacks.

This size is perfect for a family or trivia night with friends. Pricing starts at $35.75 on an annual basis or $39.00 month to month.

And, shipping is free within the United States.

Why Universal Yums?

While we already knew about subscription services that ship flavors from around the world, we had never tried any.

As digital nomads who are constantly traveling, we are never in a place long enough to try a box. 

With the pandemic and reduced travel, we were looking for fun ways to keep traveling through local specialties.

As soon as we got back to our base in Chicago, we ordered a box to finally experience the magic of Universal Yums.

What attracted us to Universal Yums was not only the unique focus on local snacks from a particular country but the cultural immersion component.

The booklet that comes in each box has interesting facts about the country and information about each snack item.

The origins of each snack are detailed and pretty fascinating. For instance, our June 2020 United Kingdom box told the origin story of crisps or potato chips. 

Apparently, the first known potato chips recipe was found in the 1817 cookbook, The Cook’s Oracle, by Englishman, William Kitchiners. 

Paying tribute to this U.K. invention and global phenomenon, our box had two tasty bags of potato chips.

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Universal Yums June 2020 Box Review – The United Kingdom

The noticeable blue and white illustrated box stands out immediately in the mail.

We ordered the Yum Box with six snacks and were surprised by the dense weight.

To give you a glimpse into the box, here are a few highlights of the snacks and cultural booklet.

Be sure to watch the video for our detailed reactions to the U.K. Yum box.

Universal Yums Snacks

We couldn’t wait to open the box. Everything was packed tightly with a “Welcome to the United Kingdom Card” sitting right on top.

Feeling like Christmas in June, we struggled to resist the urge to immediately rip open everything in the box.

The selection of snacks was pretty well balanced between sweet and savory. The flavors were fun and unusual. 

The lamb and mint potato chips were unexpected, followed closely by banana flavored toffee.

And our favorite was the Dean’s Shortbread cookies which were light, crumbly, and irresistible.

Universal Yums U.K. Booklet

To go even deeper into the country, the booklet was quite informative.

The first two pages have interesting tidbits about the four countries that make up the United Kingdom.

There is also a simple US classic recipe for Cottage Pie, which we look forward to making.

The Trivia challenge in the middle of the booklet was fun to test our knowledge of the United Kingdom.

Questions like “what is the national animal of Scotland” or a word that Shakespeare invented” had us scratching our heads.

The descriptions about the snacks were fun and we loved the inclusion of a bite from every country. 

One of our favorite sections was the list of suggested iconic songs to listen to. Songs by the Spice Girls, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, David Bowie, and more, are accessible online. 

The final page drops a hint to the next destination. Spoiler alert – the July 2020 box goes on a tropical adventure to Thailand.

Verdict – Our Overall Impressions of Universal Yums United Kingdom June 2020 Box

This was our first box, and with nothing to compare it to, we thought the experience was great.

Pros – Universal Yums Review

We liked the selection of original snacks. The snacks are difficult to find in the US making the experience special and memorable.

The diversity of snacks was also quite impressive even in the smaller Yum Box. 

The mix of sweet and salty flavors and unique textures was a treat for the taste buds in every bite.

One thing we particularly appreciated was the full sizes of snack items in the box.

The booklet was surprisingly detailed and rich with fun facts and games.

The stories behind the snacks as well as the nutritional information was also helpful.

The ordering and shipping process was simple and pain-free. The website is very clear and navigating your account is clear and straightforward.

We went with the month to month option and it was easy to order and cancel the subscription. Shipping was also quite fast.

Most importantly, we loved the fun and surprise element. We were excited to open the box and had so much fun tasting the different snacks.

Cons – Universal Yums Review

While we enjoyed the variety of snacks, we didn’t love everything. Nonetheless, we enjoyed giving everything a try. 

We were surprised there were no chocolates in the box. With the popularity of Cadbury’s chocolate around the world, we were slightly disappointed.

While the focus is on snacks, it would have been nice to have something to go with the recipe also included.

It could be a spice or a sample of Worcestershire sauce for the Cottage Pie recipe.

Is Universal Yums for You?

If you’re the kind of person that’s always open to trying something new, you’ll love the monthly surprise in a box.

The  Universal Yum Box does a great job of bringing the adventure of travel to your doorstep.

Even though we didn’t know what to expect with our United Kingdom box, we were pleasantly surprised.

If you have children or looking for fun ways to entertain guests, take a surprising adventure with Universal Yums.

The subscription plan is flexible and you can also gift a Yum Box to friends or family.

Universal Yums Review – Frequently Asked Questions

Does Universal Yum Accommodate Food Allergies?

As noted on their website, Universal Yum, cannot accommodate food allergies or special dietary requirements.

 The booklet in each box contains a list of ingredients and nutritional information for each snack.

You may use that to determine if and how much of the snacks you can eat.

Is Universal Yums Safe?

The Universal Yums website clearly states the direct relationship they have with the companies that make the products.

They have full transparency into the ingredients and the way the products are manufactured.

All snack items were neatly packaged and well sealed in the June 2020 box we received.

Everything we ate was fresh and tasty. Safely was the least of our concerns.

Can I Give Universal Yums Box as a Gift?

One thing we appreciate is Universal Yums flexible subscription plan. If you want to give the gift of travel to your friends and family, gift subscriptions are available. 

Simply choose the time frame from the 1, 3, 6, or 12 month gift periods. The first box comes with a gift note for your personalized message.

Can I Buy Products From the Universal Yums Shop?

Even though you cannot buy previous Universal Yum boxes, you can shop for individual products.

You can search the Universal Yum Store by type of snack or country of origin and purchase fun treats.

If you liked a particular snack, you can buy it directly from the Universal Yum store. 

Universal Yums Shipping Time

Universal Yum boxes ship automatically on the 15th of every month. Depending on what day of the week the 15th falls, shipping within the U.S., will take about a week, or five business days.

Once we signed up, we got an email telling us when the box had shipped and it arrived a few days later.

How Can I Cancel My Universal Yums Subscription

Canceling your subscription is easy, and is done right on the website. You simply log into your account, click on “Manage Subscriptions” and click “Cancel”.

This makes it easy to give Universal Yums a try, without having to jump through hoops to cancel.

Universal Yums Coupon

Universal Yum offers a FREE month when you subscribe for a year.

No coupons necessary and the offer applies to all three sizes of boxes offered.

Simply use this link to subscribe and get started.

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