Universal Yums Review

About Universal Yums

Universal Yums is a monthly snack box subscription that takes you around the globe. Every month, you’ll receive snacks from a new country, but you won’t know which one until the box is delivered!

The excitement of trying new snacks from different countries has attracted notable media attention, as the brand has been raved about in Forbes, Daily Mail, New York Magazine, Buzzfeed, WIRED, The New York Times, Delish, and many more news sources. 

On social media, the brand is doing pretty stellarly: with 142k followers on Instagram and 350k on Facebook. 

This Universal Yums review will take you on a trip into the details of what this subscription service offers: how does it work? What plans are offered? How reasonable is Universal Yums price-wise? What are the snacks like? What are customers saying? And even more FAQs.

Overview of Universal Yums

Universal Yums was founded in 2014 by Cincinnati natives Monique Bernstein and Eli Zauner. They were your typical millennial couple, both working cogs in the big corporate machine, with less than $5,000 in savings. 

Only 21 and 24 at the time, they had big dreams of traveling the world together but their minds cooked up something even better: a plan to travel the world through snacks^[1].

Snacking is a great way to introduce new flavors into your life and try fun combinations. According to this study^[2], it’s important to enjoy these treats in moderation as the impact of frequent eating on health outcomes remains largely unknown. 

Literature suggests that consuming nutrient-poor snacks may be associated with eating in the absence of hunger, eating away from home or work, and food insecurity. Even though these factors can be directly associated with poor dietary choices in some populations, the motivation to snack as well as the health impact of snacking is subject to further investigation. 

Monique and Eli created Universal Yums to give people like them a way to explore the world from their own home, trying out snacks people on the other side of the planet love to munch on.

Over the years since founding the company, Monique and Eli have watched their cool idea transform into a huge success.

Part of the mission is to give customers a learning experience, not just a tasting experience. This is why the Universal Yums box includes a booklet with trivia and games, and, in the larger subscription boxes, recipes, too. 

Snackers can not only learn more about different cultures through their taste buds but also their minds.

Food plays an integral role in our lives and the food we eat is intricately intertwined with our culture. You can learn a lot about a particular culture by exploring their food which pays homage to the flavors and ingredients that can have deep roots in history. This study^[3] suggests that the choice of food practices can be influenced by one’s identity and has been evaluated with the idea of maintenance of cultural identity in migrant populations.

Their products are made all around the world, but the company operates from their Roseland, New Jersey warehouse and headquarters. 

Before our Universal Yums review goes on to answer the big questions and take a look at some of the brand’s tasty snacks, we’ll drop a quick summary of their highlights. See for yourself:

Highlights

• Free shipping in the US
• Ships internationally
• Gift-giving subscription plan
• The Yum Shop sells individual products

How Does Universal Yums Work?

Universal Yums has a simple subscription program. You choose between one of 3 plans:

1. Yum Box
2. Yum Yum Box
3. Super Yum Box

No matter how many “Yum”s you choose, or how super they are, you can select the country of your first box: will it be Greece, Korea, or Turkey? Choose wisely. First impressions, people. 

Next, you get to choose whether you want the Prepaid 1-Year plan or the Month to Month plan. The 1-Year is a good deal because you get one month free. But let’s see the differences between each Yum Box plan.

Firstly, the standard Yum Box is the most basic plan. You’ll receive 5-7 snacks in each box that are the most important ones to the country’s munchie culture. You also receive a 12-page booklet of trivia and other games to complete while you snack. 

Each Yum Box is $16 if you select the Month to Month plan or $14.67 if you select Prepaid 1-Year.

If that’s too bare-bones for your tastes, check out Universal Yums Yum Yum Box. That’s right, double the Yum. Or, in reality, it’s 10-12 snacks in each box, but you get an additional 5 snacks. 

And with more snacks comes more exploration: your booklet comes with an extra 4 pages of fun, including trivia, games, and recipes now, too! 

For the Yum Yum Box, it’s $27 per box with the Month to Month or $25 per box if you choose the Prepaid 1-Year plan.

Lastly, you can go big with the Super Yum Box. This is the same 10-12 snacks from the Yum Yum Box plus an additional 8 snacks for a total of 18-20 snacks. 

You receive the same 16-page booklet of fun trivia, games, and recipes, just an extra amount of snacks to munch on while you have fun.

The Super Yum Box is $41 if paid monthly with the Month to Month plan or $38 if paid yearly with the Prepaid 1 Year plan. 

Universal Yums snack boxes are shipped around the 15th of the month, meaning they arrive 1-7 days later for US customers.

If you’re saying to yourself, “Gee, I sure wish there was a way to buy international snacks^[4] separate from the subscription plans,” well then, rejoice: there is!

The Yum Shop exists to give you a chance to explore snacks from around the world at your own pace. Go nuts with your international snacking.

Next in our Universal Yums review, we’ll look at some of the brand’s customer favorites when it comes to delicious munchies. You don’t wanna miss this!

Universal Yums Box Review  

We couldn’t help ourselves. We needed to check out what kind of awesome delicious snacks the brand has in store, and they all look so delicious, every last one.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Waffles

Oh. My. Belgian. God. These look way too good. It’s what’s to be expected from Belgium’s culinary specialty: chocolate. 

With this snack, you get rich Belgian chocolate covering a crisp waffle. It’s dark chocolate, FYI, and $6 per waffle on the Yum Shop. 

Do be warned that because it’s chocolate, it could get a little melty on the way over to you, so get it in the fridge before you partake in this waffle-y good-tasting treat.

Dutch Candy Cars

Vroom, vroom. Hop into Dutch snack culture with these strawberry, cherry, and blackcurrant gummies shaped like cars. Adorable, really. 

They are classic gummies done in Dutch fashion, so you’ll have to try them out yourself to taste the difference. A pack of 6 is $6.

Pulled Pork Crisps

A meaty chip for the savory snackers out there. Fun fact: these German chips are actually vegetarian^[5], So don’t shy away if you’re not a carnivore. 

They taste like delicious German BBQ pulled pork and kind of look like bacon in a chip. These delightful snacks come in packs of 2 for $3.

Cinnamon Sugar Churros

Hailing from Korea, these are cinnamony-sugary goodness in mini snack bite form. 

Authentic Korean street food^[6] includes some delectable cinnamon sugar treats, so this snack will give you a taste of that culture in an addictive, crunchy bite. They come in packs of 2 for $3.

Is Universal Yums safe? 

Yes, Universal Yums is safe. The food comes from all over but is shipped out from the brand’s New Jersey warehouse. If you find that one of your snacks is stale or otherwise unsnackable, contact customer service to be sent a new one. No snack goes unsnacked!

How many countries does Universal Yums have?

Universal Yums has snacks and boxes from all over the globe. Past boxes have come from:

• Italy
• Columbia
• Indonesia
• Ukraine
• Turkey
• Austria
• Brazil
• Scandinavia
• Philippines

…And more!

Who is Universal Yums for? 

Universal Yums is for anyone and everyone as long as the brand ships to your country. The subscription boxes do not accommodate food allergies or dietary restrictions^[7], so beware of that, but there’s no other reason why the brand can’t have something for everyone.

Comparison: Universal Yums vs. Nurture Life

You might be reading this Universal Yums review shaking your head because there are brands similar to it. One of those brands is Nurture Life. We’ll make it simple and break it up into commonalities and differences so you can see the benefits of each.

Shared Nurture Life and Universal Yums qualities:

• Food delivery
• American company

Nurture Life’s differences:

• Delivers food weekly
• Delivers meals, not snacks
• Food is for kids
• Accommodates allergies

If Nurture Life sounds like something more your style, check out our Nurture Life subscription review.

How Much is Universal Yums?

The Universal Yums experience ranges from $14.67/box to $41/box. It all depends on the type of Box and the renewal plan you choose. Check out all the options below: 

Yum Box:

• Month to Month: $16/box
• Prepaid 1-Year: $14.67/box, total $176 

Yum Yum Box:

• Month to Month: $27/box
• Prepaid 1-Year: $25/box, total $297 

Super Yum Box:

• Month to Month: $41/box
• Prepaid 1-Year: $38/box, total $451

Universal Yums Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

No Universal Yums review is complete without looking at customer ratings. We scoured the brand’s website, TrustPilot, My Subscription Addiction, and Facebook to find the cold hard truth about the brand.

Firstly, their official site has glowing reviews, to no one’s surprise. 96% of customers recommend the service to friends and are raving about how exciting it is to “travel” to new places every month via snack boxes. 

Couples make “date nights” out of the boxes, parents make it into a fun, educational activity with the booklets and the snacks combined, and employers make it into corporate office fun. Overall, customers are saying “it’s like Christmas” when the boxes arrive with fresh new snacks.

On My Subscription Addiction, customers rated the subscription service an overall 4.3/5 stars. Most comments were positive, with many buyers saying they loved the “adventure” of it all, the good customer service, and that the boxes “ALWAYS arrive on time.” 

 “Whether we like all the treats or not we still enjoy how nicely this box is put together (the card with all the treat/country facts is great),” wrote one happy buyer.

Unfortunately, some people are dissatisfied with the service. One Universal Yums review shared that one of the products was so “beyond stale”. We also found several comments from people who hadn’t received monthly boxes or Yum Shop purchases on Facebook.

Meanwhile, happy reviews called the service “adventure in snack form” and reported stellar customer service, a stark contrast to what the unhappy customers said:

“Ordered 2 separate gifts for my daughters. One was for 6 months and I accidentally hit 12 months for the other. Order completed before I caught it. Sent an email for help, AND , best customer service I have ever had. Found my order, corrected it and refunded my money.”

There is definitely some disagreement about whether the company is or isn’t reputable. Our Universal Yums review found the most common complaints are about packages not arriving or arriving late, customer service not responding, and snacks arriving stale. 

We also found the most common positives to be kind customer service, on-time deliveries, good-tasting snacks, and quality educational fun with the included booklets and recipes. It’s safe to say that your mileage may vary with this company.

Is Universal Yums Subscription Worth It?

Overall, this Universal Yums review found that the brand is worth a shot. 

But before you dive in head-first with the Prepaid 1-Year plan, we recommend trying out a month or two with the Month to Month, since refunds are not a thing. See how you like it, and upgrade to 1-Year if you do.

It looks like a lot of fun to receive snacks from a new country around the world every month, and with it, some educational trivia to learn more about the culture. 

If you’re a fan of geography, world culture, international cuisines, or just a big snack enthusiast, this is definitely a service to try out.

The Universal Yums box is recommended by plenty of parents, employers, and couples who all have different uses of the subscription and rave about it. Find your adventure and embark away.

Be wary if you have food allergies or dietary restrictions because this subscription cannot accommodate those needs. You can still browse the international selection of snacks from the Yum Shop and find the right snacks for you.

Universal Yums Promotions & Discounts 

We wouldn’t leave you hanging without a Universal Yums coupon code if we could find one, but unfortunately, there isn’t one currently available. We do have a lil somethin’ somethin’ when it comes to deals, though:

• Refer a friend for $5 off – both the referrer and referee get $5 off an order
• Follow Universal Yums on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date on all the latest deals

Sign up for Universal Yums Subscription

You can sign up for Universal Yums by following these quick steps:

1. Click “Get Started” on the site
2. Select the Box you would like: Yum Box, Yum Yum Box, or Super Yum Box
3. Select your first box country: Greece, South Korea, or Turkey
4. Select Prepaid 1-Year or Month to Month
5. Check out and wait for your first box of deliciousness to arrive!

FAQ

How much is Universal Yums a month? 

Paid with the Month to Month plan, the Universal Yums box costs the following for each plan:

• Yum Box: $16
• Yum Yum Box: $27
• Super Yum Box: $41

So, if you’re looking for the most affordable plan, go for the $16 Yum Box. If you’re shooting wide, go for the most pricy plan at $41.

Can you cancel Universal Yums at any time? 

Our Universal Yums review found that yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time! 

Any outstanding deliveries you have already paid for will still arrive, but if you are on the Month to Month plan and cancel before the renewal date, there will be no charge and no future boxes delivered.

For the Prepaid 1-Year plan, you can cancel anytime before the renewal date and still receive all the rest of your deliveries for the year, because they are already paid for, hence “Prepaid.”

The only time you can’t cancel any time is for a gift subscription. These are prepaid, so there’s no going back once you’re in. 

How do I cancel my Universal Yums subscription?

Canceling your Universal Yums snack subscription box is super simple and quick:

1. Log in to your Universal Yums account
2. Click “Cancel” for your active subscription.

That’s all! If you have any issues with canceling, just hit up customer support.

What is Universal Yums’s Shipping Policy?

For the contiguous/continental US, you get free shipping for your subscription boxes. Here are the full details of Universal Yum’s Shipping Policy:

• Ships via US Postal Service or FedEx
• Your first box delivery date depends on when you sign up
• After your first box, each box ships between the 8th and 15th of each month and arrives 1-7 days after shipping
• Shipping comes with tracking
• For Yum Shop purchases, there is a flat rate of $6 for shipping or free shipping for orders over $60

Our Universal Yums review also found that the brand ships internationally. Deliveries outside the continental US don’t qualify for free shipping, so here are the international fees for Yum Box, Yum Yum Box, and Super Yum Box in order of their listing:

• Canada: $4, $6, $13
• UK: $3, $6, $13
• Hawaii and Alaska: $2, $5, $14

A full list of international countries’ costs can be found on the site.

What is Universal Yums’s Return Policy?

Universal Yums doesn’t do returns. The brand says you should just email customer support if snacks arrive damaged or missing, and most of the time they will respond by sending you a new product. 

Apparently, refunds are only given “in rare instances,” so you’re most likely to just receive a new snack instead.

How to Contact Universal Yums

We hope you enjoyed reading our Universal Yums review. If you have any questions for the brand, you can reach out to them through the following 3 methods of contact:

1. Email [email protected]
2. Fill out the contact form on the site
3. Use the live chat on the site

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Looking for more great snacks? Check out our top list where we rank the best snack subscription boxes on the market!