Trader Joes Sweet Potato Tots
In the past few years, the sweet potato has been popping up on restaurant menus across the United States — as an ingredient in a main dish, buttered and sugared for a sweet side dish or, most often, fried and seasoned. With more fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C, the sweet potato is perceived by consumers to be a better-foryou alternative than “regular” potatoes, even in fried form. And sweet potato fries now can be found in grocery freezer cases across the country.
But Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s put a new spin on the popular snack/side dish with the introduction of Trader Joe’s Sweet Potato Tots. The bite-sized nuggets go from freezer to oven to table in about 30 minutes and retail in a 16-ounce bag. We purchased three of the products at a Chicago-area store for $2.49 each, and asked our Test Drive panelists to give them a try.
Product Comments
Ricardo: Even though I typically don’t like sweet potato products, I found these to be very enjoyable. I made them in a toaster oven, and they turned out nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. After cooking, I thought they looked very much like the photo on the bag, which is a big plus for me. I would definitely eat these again.
Suzanne: The product has a nice sweet potato flavor, but they do not crisp up as ordinary tater tots do and tend to fall apart easily. But the flavor outweighs the lack of crispiness. Overall, I think it’s a flavorful product.
Joey: The sweet potato tots tasted flavorful and savory. They are not too salty, and the taste of the sweet potato comes through very well and unhindered.
Packaging Comments
Ricardo: I like the packaging. It shows the product in the center of the bag with a lot of detail, and it looks very appetizing. And the orange color framing the photo definitely grabbed my attention without being too bright.
Suzanne: The packaging looks attractive, yet ordinary. The poem on the back of the packaging does not seem to be too impressive to me. The product is low in fat and of good nutritional value.
Joey: The packaging uses a nice variety of colors, and I like the liberal use of orange. The text with the orange background gives the packaging an autumn-esque look.
Note: Test Drive delivers honest, yet totally unscientific feedback on a new store brand product and its packaging each month. Our panelists give a green light to items/packaging they like a great deal; a yellow light to items/packaging they deem “acceptable;” and a red light to items/packaging not meeting their expectations.