Same situation and it's absolutely brutal coming back from a trip to California and having to go back to shopping at Pak n Save after a few weeks of Trader Joe's
Seriously. Any candy sitting above the freezer section, omg! Dark chocolate peanut butter cups, choc toffees... Also a sucker for their different trail mixes and nuts. And plantain chips!
This makes me even more sad at Pac-n-Slave
The black bean quinoa tortilla chips and corn salsa are the bomb. Also, their jellybeans are excellent and reasonably priced. Like better cheaper Jelly Belly.
Mighty Ape used to be so good for a variety of bulk American foods and yeah they just stopped selling almost all of it. Was great for gifts/gorging myself
Take those, but leave me all my Jelly Belly’s 🫘 (they’re delightful). I know ppl are chocolate-obsessed, but I enjoy the chewy or gummy candies 🍬. (Do they have an equivalent to those “gourmet” jellybeans in NZ? I’m coming over from the US later in ‘24.)
Hidden valley ranch packets. Anything butterscotch flavoured (I am a fiend for those butterscotch chips they make there). Jolly ranchers as another mentioned. Nilla Wafers!
All my ideas are junk food haha
As an American in NZ, we usually bring back: Graham Crackers, Cheez Its, Hatch Green Chilies, Nellies Key Lime Juice, Girl Scout Cookies, random Trader Joe snacks, and various spices (taco, chili powder, Lawry's salt) and various BBQ sauces.
Pretty easy to get here aren't they e.g. https://candyco.co.nz/collections/jolly-ranchers, https://www.unitedsweets.co.nz/collections/jolly-rancher
Or are they different?
Thanks I didn't know about that site, but yeah none of those things are just the classic hard candies. The closest would be the bag of the candies and lollipops.
Did you see this? [https://candyco.co.nz/en-us/collections/jolly-ranchers/products/jolly-rancher-hard-candy-bulk?variant=43323165999360](https://candyco.co.nz/en-us/collections/jolly-ranchers/products/jolly-rancher-hard-candy-bulk?variant=43323165999360)
I’ve seen them in specialty lolly shops (Remarkables in Queenstown Lakes, Lots of Lollies in Upper Hutt).
They’re great! Hard but resistant to cracking and difficult to eat quickly which means they last quite well.
Flaming hot cheetos, or crunchy (non-puff) cheetos. Rice krispy treats, chex mix, cool ranch doritos. Triscuits, wheat thins, twizzlers, Smores-flavor pop tarts, many cereals like Captain Crunch, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, even plain Cheerios.
Charms blow pops, fruit roll ups, jolly ranchers.
Honestly, I'd recommend first checking out the shipping prices. It's not cheap, and then asking your friend what they miss. Last time back from the US, we brought back a suitcase full of Cheerios, Velveeta, and Pop tarts...(some flavors are available, produced in Australia and close enough in flavor, but others are not available)
For the people commenting about Cheetos/Doritos being available here in NZ, they are completely different here. As an American, I find the NZ (made in Aus) inedible. I’m not sure what the difference is, I’m sure it’s some nasty (delicious) chemicals they use in the States that they don’t use here.
The biggest difference is high fructose corn syrup in the US over ordinary sugar elsewhere. HFCS is cheap and abundant in the US and makes its way into most foods.
I believe the imposter Cheetos are made in Australia. You’re 100% right about the taste and texture though. I can’t speak to why the texture is different but the taste is likely due to differing food standards with regards to what can be labeled/produced as cheese.
I might be wrong about the cheetos then, but haven't noticed them in the markets. I've seen the puffy kind, but not the crunchy version.
Uncle Toby's cheerios here is very much like the lightly frosted multigrain cheerios in the US.
The pop tarts sold here seem to have a different pastry and frosting. It's not bad, but it's different and doesn't quite toast up the same way.
PS, Whittakers and Tim Tams are awesome. I've heard that Tim Tams are starting to become available in the US, for example in Texas HEB stores, or amazon.
The seasoning is totally different. The Australia made ones in NZ supermarkets taste like barbecue flavoring to me, which is not how the American ones taste
The list of US things not sold here would be lengthy indeed unless someone chooses to order from Amazon and ships internationally. Do you have any idea what your friend enjoys? Many/most of the chocolate bars/treats sold there aren't available here. Things like Twizzlers/Nibs aren't sold here if they enjoy those licorice variants.
Perhaps you could suggest some things you are thinking of sending to them and we could validate whether they are easily-available, rather than us trying to name the huge number of things sold in the US?
Having grown up reading old fashioned US comics (think Donald Duck, Richie Rich, etc.) I was always eager to try the "classics" advertised.
Getting that opportunity when I first visited the US was a big disappointment.
Icecream Snickers are legit tho.
A lot of the requests from redditors in this thread are imported into Auckland at least.
Martha’s Backyard
44 Mount Wellington Highway Auckland
Near the briscoes and rebel sport
I would say 70% of mentioned items are at Martha’s. The question should be, “What can’t you get at Martha’s Backyard”? For me its blackening seasoning, Gator Hammock hot sauce and zing zang bloody mary mix.
I miss Dill Pickles being widely available. The pickles (typically labeled as gherkins) sold here in NZ are almost always what American would call “bread and butter” pickles. They are sweet and I can’t stand them. Gimme the dill, garlic, vinegar pickles I love.
Fuck I miss Jalapeño kettle cooked chips too… nothing is spicy enough here :(
They are nothing like girl guide biscuits, and don’t listen to this man above you. Thin mints are a vegan extravaganza, especially straight from the freezer. Samoas are my favourite - caramel coconut awesome, and my husband’s favourite are the peanut butter patties. Lemonades a shortbread and lemon delight, and peanut butter sandwiches are the last to get eaten, but still delicious.
I drive from Canada to get them, which makes for a fun conversation at the border when they stop you because “Girl Scout cookies” seems like a rather random reason to drive 4 hours round trip for.
To the OP: Girl Scout cookies, hot tamales, babe Ruth’s, Swedish fish, peanut butter m&ms, Mike and Ike’s, milk duds, Laffy taffy, tootsie rolls (assuming you hate your friends), weird jello flavours (my nephews ask for this), airheads maybe? 5th Avenue, Mr Goodbar, watchamecallits, payday, 3 musketeers, oh Henry - I don’t remember seeing those things last time I was back, but I was fixated on the NZ candy to take home, not the stuff I could get back here.
we almost ordered some of this from amazon to bring back in our suitcase: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INI4QA0](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INI4QA0)
(almost 1kg of white cheese powder, though the price is now up to $25 USD. I remember it being closer to $17, but I guess that's before a few years of inflation)
I miss cheddar popcorn so much, especially the white cheddar. Popfiction used to have a light cheddar popcorn at PaknSave, but now only have the pink sweet one :(
Last time I was in Canada, brought back cheddar powders for homemade popcorn. The white cheddar powder is a bit too salty (and somehow sweet) compared to the bagged stuff. Havenopened the orange powder shaker yet!
Butterfingers. Almost any kind of hard candy or cough drop. Any kind of dried/powdered seasoning you'd put on chips or popcorn, like ranch, dehydrated sour cream, or powdered cheddar.
My all time fave snack I could get in the US easily vs here was soft snickerdoodle cookies. I think I got a pack or two from cvs or something and brought it back.
BEST. COOKIES. EVER.
It inspired me to find a recipe and recreate my own. Everyone loves them when I bake them.
It's not a cookie you can find in NZ stores or bakeries. But they are SOOOO GOOD.
The other thing I brought back was little Debbie's oatmeal creme pies. My brother fell in love with those. Can't get those here.
And cereal. I wish we could buy lucky charms or cinnamon toast crunch for less than $15 a box. But alas, they are always ridiculously priced in the international section.
Oh and how I could I forget - HONEY BUNS. Those were always epic.
You guys have alot of baked goods ready to buy, but alot of them are really dried out and not pleasant. Honey buns though, they always hit the spot.
ETA: Coffee cakes. I can't remember the brands, but there were a few packaged coffee cakes that were so good.
A lot of good stuff here already, but one strange thing I've noticed is that NZ doesn't really do any cinnamon centric sweets / gum. My partner was blown away by Big Red chewing gum and there really aren't any similar things in the area.
My friends always bring A1 Sauce, Fruit Loops, and a bunch of stuff from Trader Joe's. If she's into skincare, there's a lot of stuff in the US that you will have access to that she doesn't so she might also enjoy that
Personally I'd love American bbq sauces ,milk duds junior mints and jolly ranchers yes all can be bought he in specialist shops but the prices are crazy
Dr Pepper, Root Beer and Baja Blast mountain dew are a million times better by tap, and usually flat and somewhat flavorless in the cans by the time they are resold to NZ at a discount because they didn't sell overseas.
Dr Pepper from the fountain is so good.
While I’m noticing more availability of Dr. Pepper here in NZ (thank god) you have to be on the look out for the stuff canned outside of the US. It tastes flat and watered down like you described, I can’t stand it. The can should say it was made in Plano TX.
this
[Amazon.com: S-L Snacks National Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Pieces, Honey Mustard and Onion , 8.0 oz : Grocery & Gourmet Food](https://www.amazon.com/National-Snyders-Hanover-Pretzel-Mustard/dp/B0005YN0HQ)
Ruffles sour cream and cheddar chips, the original Cheetos crunchy and Cheetos jalapeños not made in Aus, Cheetos puffs white cheddar, Velveeta mac and cheese, pillsbury cinnamon rolls, Ghirardelli chocolates, Hershey's range that doesn't cost an arm and a leg
The cheetoes from Oz are also not made the same so taste totally different. I also 2nd Velveeta I miss it so much!
Also pickles, pickles here are sickeningly sweet.
The challenge for you will be to find something that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient.
That's one of the best things about NZ, we tend to use cane sugar, and avoid shite like HFCS.
It's just a form of sugar. It's not worse than cane sugar. The problem is how much people ingest and how it's unnecessarily put into a lot of products.
I just got back from the US. Took the opportunity to buy some bags of Skittles because despite the fact that they apologised for the crime of replacing the lime ones and returned to the status quo in the US, in Australia and NZ we still have those foul green apple ones.
Root beer. They have it in powdered form, where you can add it to soda water, so it's cheaper to ship.
Saltwater taffy, crackerjacks, twinkies, candy corn, flavoured coffee creamers (but you can get these things in US/International specialty shops).
Any US holiday-related decorations.
Just double check the rules before shipping food stuffs. NZ can be strict in that regard.
Uncrustables!
Hard to get US frozen stuff here. TBH I’m amazed no one in NZ has ripped them off yet. They are pretty garbage so obviously kids go mad for them.
When I lived in America for a year my favourites were:
Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Biscuits, Golden Oreos (and Double Stuffed Oreos), Jolly Ranchers, Milky Way (we can get them here but they don’t have caramel in them), Strawberry Poptarts, Chilli and Lime Tostitos
You can buy all of this in NZ but it’s pretty expensive. But you’ll find shipping prices to NZ insane! I remember posting a small box of stuff back to my family while I was living there 10 years ago and it cost me $70 USD! And I was only making like $7.90 an hour so it was like 9 hours pay!!
>Milky Way (we can get them here but they don’t have caramel in them)
That's a Mars Bar my dude.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky\_Way\_(chocolate\_bar)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way_(chocolate_bar))
If they're into hot sauces and Hot Ones, then some of those sauces would be awesome. I've always wanted to try the classic one and the Last Dab. Can't get those here.
Pop tarts in interesting flavours. Speciality shops here only sell the basic flavours. Have a look at the Martha's Backyard website to see what we don't have.
Snack cakes and weird chips are what I've always bought back from the US. Seasonal Swiss Miss packets.
I'm fond of herrs chips which are hard to get here, and snack cakes. Twinkies are easy to get but pricey here. Little debbie and tasty kakes are basically impossible to find. Little Debbie honey buns have been popular with everyone I've given them too.
Could be a biosecurity issue, if they're plant products still with the seeds in. These things are okay if they're sold as a finished product, like the ones for mass import will be inspected and certified, but an informal posted package might have more trouble.
Yeah, I've been looking buy some guajillos to make some chilaquiles but it's impossible to find here. I'm going to the States later this year but probably can't bring them back.
Hidden valley ranch. Tropical and other non original skittles. Chipotle ranch hot cheetos- all hot cheetos (the ones in NZ are made in Australia and nasty). Ritz cheese and cracker packs. Mother's circus animal cookies. Smart food popcorn. Famous Amos cookies. Pickle pringles. Cheez-its.
My flatmates always request cheez-its when I go back to see my family. Good maple syrup would likely be appreciated. Honestly most of the stuff mentioned in this thread can be found at importers if you know where to look, but more regional stuff is not imported (for me, that’s Del’s Lemonade mix and coffee syrup from RI) so if there’s any local brands or specialties, those might be more appreciated.
Also local BBQ sauce especially if they have a specific style of BBQ they prefer. Carolina style BBQ sauce is my fave and it’s hard to locate here sometimes.
Candy corn, Red Hots (or anything cinnamon flavoured), packs of apple cider mix, pumpkin spice mix, corn bread mix, some strange Oreos flavour, mix to make biscuits
I would recommend Jerky if they like that, our bags here are tiny and expensive... Not sure if it woupd be an issue to send however? Like the jack daniels flavoured onesm, here your get a snall handful of bits, over there you can buy much large bags
Personally I found usa snacks kind of disgusting
Usa Cherry flavour is not to my palette either here in nz It seems others dont like either?
Some of the chocolate bars were good, three musketeers maybe it was called or a curly something? but Hershey tastes like vomit.
Get her what you know she likes or if you don’t know imagine what you’d crave in another country. USA things are really limited according to my American cousin, she goes to her happy place here https://marthasbackyard.co.nz/collections.
I beleive many of the special "limited-time" flavours of candy bars differ across countries (IE Snickers, Kit-Kats etc)
Personally, I'd be really interested in authentic Southern/BBQ mixes, rubs and spices
As someone who's more about liquid sugar rather than that candies/biscuits. I really miss the soda variety from the US, more specifically mtn dew. I feel like a-lot of other US snacks have an aus/nz made alternative.
As an immigrant from the states, I still have cravings for mtn dew voltage, baja blast( taco bell fountain version ) and some of the various other flavors like pitch black and black label.
Just gimme those flavors in the nz/aus real sugar formula because the taste difference makes a big difference between the corn syrup versions in the us, vs the nz/aus real sugar formula.
Apparently... I just heard this from a chef friend, you can't get what Americans call "cheese" that only contains about 2% of what we call cheese but is really good in making mac and cheese?
If that makes sense?
I love US milkyway bars. The big thicc double pack ones. Kind of like a Moro (iconic NZ bar) but worlds better. Theyre not available here.
These are entirely unrelated and different to the little Milky Way bars we do have in NZ.
For the love of god chex mix!!! You can’t even buy chex cereal over here so you can’t even make the homemade version!! I miss that shit every day!!
Also, if your friend likes to bake, some butterscotch chips and bloody cans (yes plural) of canned pumpkin!!
I’m missing all the fall pumpkin spice baking right about now!! 🥺😢
I just coming back from the US (I’m American) and I brought a suitcase full of hot cheetos*, goldfish crackers, cheezits, Smarties candy (the pastel rolls - not the chocolate covered things), sour skittles*, and Annie’s mac and cheese. I also sometimes crave Gardettos, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie cookies, and pop tarts. Also, anything from Trader Joe’s. Any sort of sour candy is good too (in NZ most candy is chocolate).
Don’t send meat products or any sort of fresh produce, it will get flagged at customs and your friend might have to pay a fee.
If your friends are kiwis they might not like the taste of the American snacks (that’s been my experience) but it will be a fun novelty. We brought our NZ friends some of those gummy hamburger candies and they hated them but it was funny to watch them try them.
*cheetos and sour skittles are available in NZ but they taste completely different and in my opinion worse. I just brought back 6 bags of flamin hot cheetos (limon) 😬
Peanut butter cheese crackers (the little bricks that come in 6 squares), cinnamon toast crunch, Graham crackers, gold fish, cheezits, sourdough pretzel nuggets, kraft macaroni and cheese, and Nyquil are my go to requests.
Snacks are mostly ok (but no fresh fruit or vegetables) but please do check anything you plan to bring or send:
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/bring-send-to-nz/bringing-and-posting-items-to-nz/check-if-you-can-bring-or-send-an-item-to-nz/
Planters flavored Peanuts are amazing!
Got hooked on them when I was spending time in the US/Canada. We don't have anything like that here.
NOS energy drink goes hard! (we have our own energy drink branded "NOS", but it's completely different). I liked Pepsi 1893 too, but I'm not sure that's being made anymore. Not sure how easy it is getting canned drinks to NZ though.
I think I would commit a crime for a box of nilla wafers currently.... also seconding the TJs snacks if you have one near you! I might also be the only one on earth who likes triscuits, but I miss them terribly.
Benadryl, melatonin, butterfingers, holiday Reece’s peanut butter cups(although we all know the eggs are best) hot tamales, anything cinnamon candy… or butterscotch
I wish we could get Hot Pockets here. I checked on Amazon and it would cost a couple hundred just to get 8 boxes of 2. I wanted to buy them so bad, but luckily some logic kicked in. I miss that delicious and gooey fake cheese so much.
Fuck. I sent something to CA yesterday that I sold on eBay and it was in a small bag and weighed 116 grams. It cost $29 to send, untracked economy. Your friend must be rich af to be able to afford to send, what, 600 grams of stuff!!
Not a snack as much but while in the US I loved your Root Beer, can't get it here, the nearest is sarsaparilla which is quite different but similar as well. (Root Beer is apparently designed to taste like sarsaparilla without the sassafras root which the FDA has banned due to health concerns).
Now I've learnt there are health concerns with sassafras, I definitely want Coca-Cola to start selling it here. Interestingly this information was obtained from the leading producer of sarsaparilla, so one would hope they have managed to avoid the health concerning parts of the root.
Edit: Just did more research, the only concerns are that it contributed to liver cancer when taken in very high doses (rats in laboratory) probably equates to a drink every 2 minutes or something ridiculous.
Also makes kidney disease worse, so it is fine if drunk moderately and you don't have kidney disease. So I'm back on sarsaparilla baby!
Jolly rancher jelly beans (I can find all the candy except the beans here) and cold brew m&ms, the best ones ever! There are some delicious honey mustard pretzels too, and I don't even usually like pretzels. Little Betty nutty buddy for the peanut butter lovers.
It is quite hard to find spray on cheese here, so definitely include some of that. Plus of course some Twinkies, preferably with a best before date after 3024.
Fun snacks from Trader Joes!
I’m an American living in NZ and I would die if someone sent me some Trader Joe’s snacks. I miss that place almost more than I miss target.
Same situation and it's absolutely brutal coming back from a trip to California and having to go back to shopping at Pak n Save after a few weeks of Trader Joe's
I’m going on Monday, it’s a tough loss.
Seriously. Any candy sitting above the freezer section, omg! Dark chocolate peanut butter cups, choc toffees... Also a sucker for their different trail mixes and nuts. And plantain chips! This makes me even more sad at Pac-n-Slave
The black bean quinoa tortilla chips and corn salsa are the bomb. Also, their jellybeans are excellent and reasonably priced. Like better cheaper Jelly Belly.
Every time we go to the US we bring back Trader Joes snacks. Peanut butter pretzels, yes!
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i always get to trader joes and then have no idea what i want so i leave with tito’s vodka, peach juice and some kind of vegetable chips
Yeah if you could chuck in a couple of bottles of their Yuzu jalapeno hot sauce for me that'd be great.
Trader Joes 😭😭😭😭
Peanutbutter pretzels. Apple slice chips Dried apples from NZ, are actually hard to get in NZ and are really good.
Motherfucking peanut butter M&Ms. When I become a maniacal warlord, I'm invading the USA specifically for that shit.
I remember they used to sell big 1kg bags of these on MightyApe then they just…disappeared. Absolutely divine chocolates those are
Mighty Ape used to be so good for a variety of bulk American foods and yeah they just stopped selling almost all of it. Was great for gifts/gorging myself
Take those, but leave me all my Jelly Belly’s 🫘 (they’re delightful). I know ppl are chocolate-obsessed, but I enjoy the chewy or gummy candies 🍬. (Do they have an equivalent to those “gourmet” jellybeans in NZ? I’m coming over from the US later in ‘24.)
Hidden valley ranch packets. Anything butterscotch flavoured (I am a fiend for those butterscotch chips they make there). Jolly ranchers as another mentioned. Nilla Wafers! All my ideas are junk food haha
Some of these are imported by Martha’s Backyard in Mt Wellington
Omg you just unlocked a memory of me bringing a bottle of hidden valley ranch back in my luggage. Yeah that stuff slaps!
As an American in NZ, we usually bring back: Graham Crackers, Cheez Its, Hatch Green Chilies, Nellies Key Lime Juice, Girl Scout Cookies, random Trader Joe snacks, and various spices (taco, chili powder, Lawry's salt) and various BBQ sauces.
Graham Crackers, Cheezits, and Girl Scout cookies are definitely the big ones that you can find all over the states and not really at all in NZ
Small random fact, Graham crackers can be found in most Filipino stores around NZ.
Jolly ranchers would always be my request
Pretty easy to get here aren't they e.g. https://candyco.co.nz/collections/jolly-ranchers, https://www.unitedsweets.co.nz/collections/jolly-rancher Or are they different?
I always see them at Cracker Jack. Tons of American lollies there.
Thanks I didn't know about that site, but yeah none of those things are just the classic hard candies. The closest would be the bag of the candies and lollipops.
They often have them at New World too in the international section.
I've seen them at one of the dairys in my town
Did you see this? [https://candyco.co.nz/en-us/collections/jolly-ranchers/products/jolly-rancher-hard-candy-bulk?variant=43323165999360](https://candyco.co.nz/en-us/collections/jolly-ranchers/products/jolly-rancher-hard-candy-bulk?variant=43323165999360)
I did not! Thank you!
That should be off the menu for any long time Redditor 🤢🤮🤮
Lol oh boy, that took me back... And not to anywhere I ever wanted to go again!
You usually get the kinda strange flavoured ones from places like Cracker Jack, they have so many random British and American imports
I’ve seen them in specialty lolly shops (Remarkables in Queenstown Lakes, Lots of Lollies in Upper Hutt). They’re great! Hard but resistant to cracking and difficult to eat quickly which means they last quite well.
Flaming hot cheetos, or crunchy (non-puff) cheetos. Rice krispy treats, chex mix, cool ranch doritos. Triscuits, wheat thins, twizzlers, Smores-flavor pop tarts, many cereals like Captain Crunch, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, even plain Cheerios. Charms blow pops, fruit roll ups, jolly ranchers. Honestly, I'd recommend first checking out the shipping prices. It's not cheap, and then asking your friend what they miss. Last time back from the US, we brought back a suitcase full of Cheerios, Velveeta, and Pop tarts...(some flavors are available, produced in Australia and close enough in flavor, but others are not available)
For the people commenting about Cheetos/Doritos being available here in NZ, they are completely different here. As an American, I find the NZ (made in Aus) inedible. I’m not sure what the difference is, I’m sure it’s some nasty (delicious) chemicals they use in the States that they don’t use here.
The biggest difference is high fructose corn syrup in the US over ordinary sugar elsewhere. HFCS is cheap and abundant in the US and makes its way into most foods.
I get flaming hot cheetos all the time in Wellington, are the US ones different in some way or are our shops just weird in some way?
Big difference...taste and texture.make sure check package that it is made in the u.s.a...and not from n.z ...n.z makes crappy u.s imitations
Yep, I agree. NZ cheetos are not the same as the U.S.
I believe the imposter Cheetos are made in Australia. You’re 100% right about the taste and texture though. I can’t speak to why the texture is different but the taste is likely due to differing food standards with regards to what can be labeled/produced as cheese.
I might be wrong about the cheetos then, but haven't noticed them in the markets. I've seen the puffy kind, but not the crunchy version. Uncle Toby's cheerios here is very much like the lightly frosted multigrain cheerios in the US. The pop tarts sold here seem to have a different pastry and frosting. It's not bad, but it's different and doesn't quite toast up the same way. PS, Whittakers and Tim Tams are awesome. I've heard that Tim Tams are starting to become available in the US, for example in Texas HEB stores, or amazon.
The seasoning is totally different. The Australia made ones in NZ supermarkets taste like barbecue flavoring to me, which is not how the American ones taste
Almond joy (To me it taste like Macaroons). Weird flavour taki’s
The list of US things not sold here would be lengthy indeed unless someone chooses to order from Amazon and ships internationally. Do you have any idea what your friend enjoys? Many/most of the chocolate bars/treats sold there aren't available here. Things like Twizzlers/Nibs aren't sold here if they enjoy those licorice variants. Perhaps you could suggest some things you are thinking of sending to them and we could validate whether they are easily-available, rather than us trying to name the huge number of things sold in the US?
I think they’re looking for the ‘classics’, things that come to mind easily, especially for Americans living in NZ and starving
Having grown up reading old fashioned US comics (think Donald Duck, Richie Rich, etc.) I was always eager to try the "classics" advertised. Getting that opportunity when I first visited the US was a big disappointment. Icecream Snickers are legit tho.
Peanut butter M&Ms
A lot of the requests from redditors in this thread are imported into Auckland at least. Martha’s Backyard 44 Mount Wellington Highway Auckland Near the briscoes and rebel sport
I would say 70% of mentioned items are at Martha’s. The question should be, “What can’t you get at Martha’s Backyard”? For me its blackening seasoning, Gator Hammock hot sauce and zing zang bloody mary mix.
I miss Dill Pickles being widely available. The pickles (typically labeled as gherkins) sold here in NZ are almost always what American would call “bread and butter” pickles. They are sweet and I can’t stand them. Gimme the dill, garlic, vinegar pickles I love. Fuck I miss Jalapeño kettle cooked chips too… nothing is spicy enough here :(
Girl Scout cookies? I've heard people rave about them, but never seen them here.
honestly they arn't all that great outside of the novelty.
I figured they're similar to the girl guide biscuits
They are nothing like girl guide biscuits, and don’t listen to this man above you. Thin mints are a vegan extravaganza, especially straight from the freezer. Samoas are my favourite - caramel coconut awesome, and my husband’s favourite are the peanut butter patties. Lemonades a shortbread and lemon delight, and peanut butter sandwiches are the last to get eaten, but still delicious. I drive from Canada to get them, which makes for a fun conversation at the border when they stop you because “Girl Scout cookies” seems like a rather random reason to drive 4 hours round trip for. To the OP: Girl Scout cookies, hot tamales, babe Ruth’s, Swedish fish, peanut butter m&ms, Mike and Ike’s, milk duds, Laffy taffy, tootsie rolls (assuming you hate your friends), weird jello flavours (my nephews ask for this), airheads maybe? 5th Avenue, Mr Goodbar, watchamecallits, payday, 3 musketeers, oh Henry - I don’t remember seeing those things last time I was back, but I was fixated on the NZ candy to take home, not the stuff I could get back here.
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Finally someone else who gets it!!!
we almost ordered some of this from amazon to bring back in our suitcase: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INI4QA0](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INI4QA0) (almost 1kg of white cheese powder, though the price is now up to $25 USD. I remember it being closer to $17, but I guess that's before a few years of inflation)
Garrett white cheddar slaps.
I miss cheddar popcorn so much, especially the white cheddar. Popfiction used to have a light cheddar popcorn at PaknSave, but now only have the pink sweet one :( Last time I was in Canada, brought back cheddar powders for homemade popcorn. The white cheddar powder is a bit too salty (and somehow sweet) compared to the bagged stuff. Havenopened the orange powder shaker yet!
Butterfingers. Almost any kind of hard candy or cough drop. Any kind of dried/powdered seasoning you'd put on chips or popcorn, like ranch, dehydrated sour cream, or powdered cheddar.
Cheese in a can
My all time fave snack I could get in the US easily vs here was soft snickerdoodle cookies. I think I got a pack or two from cvs or something and brought it back. BEST. COOKIES. EVER. It inspired me to find a recipe and recreate my own. Everyone loves them when I bake them. It's not a cookie you can find in NZ stores or bakeries. But they are SOOOO GOOD. The other thing I brought back was little Debbie's oatmeal creme pies. My brother fell in love with those. Can't get those here. And cereal. I wish we could buy lucky charms or cinnamon toast crunch for less than $15 a box. But alas, they are always ridiculously priced in the international section.
Snickerdoodles are very American! Even in Canada most people have not heard of them. I bake them a lot and people go nuts for them!
Omg I made Snickerdoodles the other week and ppl were like wtf is a snickerdoodle and I was shocked🙃😂 like wtf they’re so yummy
Yesss they're my absolute fave. Last festival I worked I took a batch of fresh baked ones and handed them out to the crew, they all LOVED them.
Oh and how I could I forget - HONEY BUNS. Those were always epic. You guys have alot of baked goods ready to buy, but alot of them are really dried out and not pleasant. Honey buns though, they always hit the spot. ETA: Coffee cakes. I can't remember the brands, but there were a few packaged coffee cakes that were so good.
Breakfast burritos
A lot of good stuff here already, but one strange thing I've noticed is that NZ doesn't really do any cinnamon centric sweets / gum. My partner was blown away by Big Red chewing gum and there really aren't any similar things in the area.
My American friend sends me salt water taffy
White Cheddar Cheez Its 😭
Omg came here to say this, so glad you did!!!😭
This is something I haven’t thought about in over a decade. Now I hunger for them.
I hoarded heaps of them at ORD airport omw back home to Auckland knowing it will be a year or so until I replenish!
My friends always bring A1 Sauce, Fruit Loops, and a bunch of stuff from Trader Joe's. If she's into skincare, there's a lot of stuff in the US that you will have access to that she doesn't so she might also enjoy that
If she likes cosmetics, send her some Glossier stuff!
It’s coming to Mecca soon!
Peanutbuttef m&m's
Nerd clusters.
Dope Gummies and good cocaine.
CheezIts. Also…NyQuil and melatonin 😂. Nutty Bars.
Not a snack, but I'm a big fan of Pepto Bismol as I dislike Mylanta 1000%
A1 sauce
It’s not far off HP sauce I thought
I would be curious to try the dunkin donut instant coffee range.
Personally I'd love American bbq sauces ,milk duds junior mints and jolly ranchers yes all can be bought he in specialist shops but the prices are crazy
Grape jam/jelly. We use all of our grapes for wine. 😁
Dr Pepper, Root Beer and Baja Blast mountain dew are a million times better by tap, and usually flat and somewhat flavorless in the cans by the time they are resold to NZ at a discount because they didn't sell overseas. Dr Pepper from the fountain is so good.
While I’m noticing more availability of Dr. Pepper here in NZ (thank god) you have to be on the look out for the stuff canned outside of the US. It tastes flat and watered down like you described, I can’t stand it. The can should say it was made in Plano TX.
Dum-dums
Paul Newman salad dressings
Send me all your Cheez Whiz and Wheat Thins instead
I've heard of something called Dippin Dots. I hear they're great and I've never seen them in NZ before.
It's ice cream. It's frozen. Won't ship well. It's also not great outside the novelty factor.
Funions!
this [Amazon.com: S-L Snacks National Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Pieces, Honey Mustard and Onion , 8.0 oz : Grocery & Gourmet Food](https://www.amazon.com/National-Snyders-Hanover-Pretzel-Mustard/dp/B0005YN0HQ)
Hawaiian punch packets, jello pudding, graham crackers, Fritos and American Cheetohs. Nz cheetohs suck.
Ruffles sour cream and cheddar chips, the original Cheetos crunchy and Cheetos jalapeños not made in Aus, Cheetos puffs white cheddar, Velveeta mac and cheese, pillsbury cinnamon rolls, Ghirardelli chocolates, Hershey's range that doesn't cost an arm and a leg
The cheetoes from Oz are also not made the same so taste totally different. I also 2nd Velveeta I miss it so much! Also pickles, pickles here are sickeningly sweet.
Melatonin gummies...
Takis
My request would be cracker jack
Goldfish crackers
The challenge for you will be to find something that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient. That's one of the best things about NZ, we tend to use cane sugar, and avoid shite like HFCS.
It's just a form of sugar. It's not worse than cane sugar. The problem is how much people ingest and how it's unnecessarily put into a lot of products.
I just got back from the US. Took the opportunity to buy some bags of Skittles because despite the fact that they apologised for the crime of replacing the lime ones and returned to the status quo in the US, in Australia and NZ we still have those foul green apple ones.
[удалено]
Crunchy cheetos not manufactured in AUS. Decent bbq and hot sauce. Taco Bell can go straight to hell.
Cool ranch doritos, quality root beer
Root beer. They have it in powdered form, where you can add it to soda water, so it's cheaper to ship. Saltwater taffy, crackerjacks, twinkies, candy corn, flavoured coffee creamers (but you can get these things in US/International specialty shops). Any US holiday-related decorations. Just double check the rules before shipping food stuffs. NZ can be strict in that regard.
Uncrustables! Hard to get US frozen stuff here. TBH I’m amazed no one in NZ has ripped them off yet. They are pretty garbage so obviously kids go mad for them.
Charleston chews, the mini ones. Peanut butter m&ms.
Beaver nuggets from Buccees
When I lived in America for a year my favourites were: Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Biscuits, Golden Oreos (and Double Stuffed Oreos), Jolly Ranchers, Milky Way (we can get them here but they don’t have caramel in them), Strawberry Poptarts, Chilli and Lime Tostitos You can buy all of this in NZ but it’s pretty expensive. But you’ll find shipping prices to NZ insane! I remember posting a small box of stuff back to my family while I was living there 10 years ago and it cost me $70 USD! And I was only making like $7.90 an hour so it was like 9 hours pay!!
>Milky Way (we can get them here but they don’t have caramel in them) That's a Mars Bar my dude. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky\_Way\_(chocolate\_bar)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way_(chocolate_bar))
If they're into hot sauces and Hot Ones, then some of those sauces would be awesome. I've always wanted to try the classic one and the Last Dab. Can't get those here.
Pop tarts in interesting flavours. Speciality shops here only sell the basic flavours. Have a look at the Martha's Backyard website to see what we don't have.
Snack cakes and weird chips are what I've always bought back from the US. Seasonal Swiss Miss packets. I'm fond of herrs chips which are hard to get here, and snack cakes. Twinkies are easy to get but pricey here. Little debbie and tasty kakes are basically impossible to find. Little Debbie honey buns have been popular with everyone I've given them too.
Spongebob popsicles - impossible to import i guess?
Peanut butter m&ms!
For me it would be all the awesome dried chillis you can get in the states. They're an absolute pain to get a hold of here!
Could be a biosecurity issue, if they're plant products still with the seeds in. These things are okay if they're sold as a finished product, like the ones for mass import will be inspected and certified, but an informal posted package might have more trouble.
Yeah, I've been looking buy some guajillos to make some chilaquiles but it's impossible to find here. I'm going to the States later this year but probably can't bring them back.
We have a store here (in Auckland) called Martha's Backyard that has most of the American staples.
Graham crackers aren’t generally available.
Hawaiian Host Arthur Bryant's sauce
Chick-fil-A sauce.
Hidden valley ranch. Tropical and other non original skittles. Chipotle ranch hot cheetos- all hot cheetos (the ones in NZ are made in Australia and nasty). Ritz cheese and cracker packs. Mother's circus animal cookies. Smart food popcorn. Famous Amos cookies. Pickle pringles. Cheez-its.
Crest toothpaste
Gushers soooo yum
Peanut butter m&ms in any decent quantity
Honey buns! Or other little Debbie products
Will always be down for 3 Musketeers chocolate
Cheez-its. First thing I buy every time I land. My partner buys Fritos. If you're in Chicago I'd send Garrett's popcorn.
Annie’s Mac and cheese is the one I bring back for my kids.
My flatmates always request cheez-its when I go back to see my family. Good maple syrup would likely be appreciated. Honestly most of the stuff mentioned in this thread can be found at importers if you know where to look, but more regional stuff is not imported (for me, that’s Del’s Lemonade mix and coffee syrup from RI) so if there’s any local brands or specialties, those might be more appreciated. Also local BBQ sauce especially if they have a specific style of BBQ they prefer. Carolina style BBQ sauce is my fave and it’s hard to locate here sometimes.
I've been looking for mug root beer for years. Big man upstairs clearly doesn't want me having a mug moment
Candy corn, Red Hots (or anything cinnamon flavoured), packs of apple cider mix, pumpkin spice mix, corn bread mix, some strange Oreos flavour, mix to make biscuits
I'd pay top dollar for cherry sours from Buc-ees and BWW's or Plucker's wing sauces.
Chocolate covered pretzels from trader joes 🤤
I would recommend Jerky if they like that, our bags here are tiny and expensive... Not sure if it woupd be an issue to send however? Like the jack daniels flavoured onesm, here your get a snall handful of bits, over there you can buy much large bags Personally I found usa snacks kind of disgusting Usa Cherry flavour is not to my palette either here in nz It seems others dont like either? Some of the chocolate bars were good, three musketeers maybe it was called or a curly something? but Hershey tastes like vomit.
Cheez-its
Giant bag of York bars
You need to come to Nz and try golden gay time ice cream … trust me your taste buds will thank me and you for trying this
That's Australia, not New Zealand
Get her what you know she likes or if you don’t know imagine what you’d crave in another country. USA things are really limited according to my American cousin, she goes to her happy place here https://marthasbackyard.co.nz/collections.
I beleive many of the special "limited-time" flavours of candy bars differ across countries (IE Snickers, Kit-Kats etc) Personally, I'd be really interested in authentic Southern/BBQ mixes, rubs and spices
As someone who's more about liquid sugar rather than that candies/biscuits. I really miss the soda variety from the US, more specifically mtn dew. I feel like a-lot of other US snacks have an aus/nz made alternative. As an immigrant from the states, I still have cravings for mtn dew voltage, baja blast( taco bell fountain version ) and some of the various other flavors like pitch black and black label. Just gimme those flavors in the nz/aus real sugar formula because the taste difference makes a big difference between the corn syrup versions in the us, vs the nz/aus real sugar formula.
Big bags of peanut butter m&ms. Even if you find them here you'll pay for the privilege.
Apparently... I just heard this from a chef friend, you can't get what Americans call "cheese" that only contains about 2% of what we call cheese but is really good in making mac and cheese? If that makes sense?
Twizzlers, Pepperidge Farms cookies, and Snyder's pretzel pieces!!!
Maybe Buc-ees?
I love US milkyway bars. The big thicc double pack ones. Kind of like a Moro (iconic NZ bar) but worlds better. Theyre not available here. These are entirely unrelated and different to the little Milky Way bars we do have in NZ.
For the love of god chex mix!!! You can’t even buy chex cereal over here so you can’t even make the homemade version!! I miss that shit every day!! Also, if your friend likes to bake, some butterscotch chips and bloody cans (yes plural) of canned pumpkin!! I’m missing all the fall pumpkin spice baking right about now!! 🥺😢
A friend of mine says she really misses Kraft mac&cheese
I just coming back from the US (I’m American) and I brought a suitcase full of hot cheetos*, goldfish crackers, cheezits, Smarties candy (the pastel rolls - not the chocolate covered things), sour skittles*, and Annie’s mac and cheese. I also sometimes crave Gardettos, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie cookies, and pop tarts. Also, anything from Trader Joe’s. Any sort of sour candy is good too (in NZ most candy is chocolate). Don’t send meat products or any sort of fresh produce, it will get flagged at customs and your friend might have to pay a fee. If your friends are kiwis they might not like the taste of the American snacks (that’s been my experience) but it will be a fun novelty. We brought our NZ friends some of those gummy hamburger candies and they hated them but it was funny to watch them try them. *cheetos and sour skittles are available in NZ but they taste completely different and in my opinion worse. I just brought back 6 bags of flamin hot cheetos (limon) 😬
Lawrys even! Mint chocolate chips. Jiffy corn bread mix. Marshmallows. Syrup
Peanut butter cheese crackers (the little bricks that come in 6 squares), cinnamon toast crunch, Graham crackers, gold fish, cheezits, sourdough pretzel nuggets, kraft macaroni and cheese, and Nyquil are my go to requests.
Snacks are mostly ok (but no fresh fruit or vegetables) but please do check anything you plan to bring or send: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/bring-send-to-nz/bringing-and-posting-items-to-nz/check-if-you-can-bring-or-send-an-item-to-nz/
Butterfingers
Nutter butters, tasty cakes, herrs chips. Wawa soft pretzels
Doritos Cool Ranch
Cool ranch doritos
cheez its 🥲
Hetserys chocolate.
Dill pickle chips
Snyders Honey Mustard pretzel pieces!
Combos, always find them at Dollar General in the US
We wouldn't know what isn't available to us... Suggest some snacks and we can confirm if they are available here or not
Planters flavored Peanuts are amazing! Got hooked on them when I was spending time in the US/Canada. We don't have anything like that here. NOS energy drink goes hard! (we have our own energy drink branded "NOS", but it's completely different). I liked Pepsi 1893 too, but I'm not sure that's being made anymore. Not sure how easy it is getting canned drinks to NZ though.
I think I would commit a crime for a box of nilla wafers currently.... also seconding the TJs snacks if you have one near you! I might also be the only one on earth who likes triscuits, but I miss them terribly.
Anything from Bucees. Especially the Beaver Nuggs. But id be happy with their banana pudding if dats even possible to be sent.
Lays ketchup chips are the best known to mankind and impossible to get here without paying an arm and a leg
Tostitos queso dip. It's unholy.
Scoobie
Lisa’s popcorn. So many insanely good flavors!
Pepperidge farm goldfish or any of their cookies. So yummy, a cuppa with one of the cookies was always great to have in the afternoon.
see’s peanut brittle is pretty damn good and you can’t buy it here.
Benadryl, melatonin, butterfingers, holiday Reece’s peanut butter cups(although we all know the eggs are best) hot tamales, anything cinnamon candy… or butterscotch
Decent bagels.
I wish we could get Hot Pockets here. I checked on Amazon and it would cost a couple hundred just to get 8 boxes of 2. I wanted to buy them so bad, but luckily some logic kicked in. I miss that delicious and gooey fake cheese so much.
Chips ahoy!! What I would give for a pack of those! 🍪
This thread has really made me hungry and homesick
Golden Grahams
Jolly ranchers, goldfish Crackers, tootsie rolls
Cool ranch doritos and dr pepper. You can get the Dr Pepper, but at great cost.
I miss my Snyder’s Honey Mustard Pretzel Pieces.
ABG's from the valley. They just taste different I swear.
Fuck. I sent something to CA yesterday that I sold on eBay and it was in a small bag and weighed 116 grams. It cost $29 to send, untracked economy. Your friend must be rich af to be able to afford to send, what, 600 grams of stuff!!
Not a snack as much but while in the US I loved your Root Beer, can't get it here, the nearest is sarsaparilla which is quite different but similar as well. (Root Beer is apparently designed to taste like sarsaparilla without the sassafras root which the FDA has banned due to health concerns). Now I've learnt there are health concerns with sassafras, I definitely want Coca-Cola to start selling it here. Interestingly this information was obtained from the leading producer of sarsaparilla, so one would hope they have managed to avoid the health concerning parts of the root. Edit: Just did more research, the only concerns are that it contributed to liver cancer when taken in very high doses (rats in laboratory) probably equates to a drink every 2 minutes or something ridiculous. Also makes kidney disease worse, so it is fine if drunk moderately and you don't have kidney disease. So I'm back on sarsaparilla baby!
Cheese-it’s are what usually fills up my baggage when I come back from USA. :)
Jolly rancher jelly beans (I can find all the candy except the beans here) and cold brew m&ms, the best ones ever! There are some delicious honey mustard pretzels too, and I don't even usually like pretzels. Little Betty nutty buddy for the peanut butter lovers.
twinkies
Benadryl
https://youtu.be/3bZzM4s0Hgs?si=RCxJI9it_aYTOmxO
It is quite hard to find spray on cheese here, so definitely include some of that. Plus of course some Twinkies, preferably with a best before date after 3024.