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Sep 14, 2023

Every Snack And Drink Inside This Year's Oscars Swag Bag

The Academy Awards is about more than just winning a golden statue. Bringing

The Academy Awards is about more than just winning a golden statue. Bringing home an Oscar certainly cements the recipient's place in history, opening doors that may have previously been closed by recognizing the winner's achievement by their voting peers. But just being nominated is also a significant achievement, with contenders often remarking that it is not about winning; it is about the work and what an honor it is just to be recognized for it. They likely also realize a major perk of the nomination is that it guarantees them an incredibly luxurious swag bag, with this year's offerings being one of the most decadent.

The Los Angeles marketing company to the stars, Distinctive Assets, has curated a fabulous, fascinating selection of products. (Beyond offering their products, brands pay $4000 for the privilege of participating in the fun.) The "everyone wins" gift bags include an array of unique, fun, and different offerings (with a total value of over $125,000!) from plastic surgery and body sculpting to facial remedies, spa treatments, and luxury vacations to Italy and Canada for nominees to enjoy between film projects. Better still, it includes an indulgent selection of culinary delights in case anyone gets hungry during the multi-hour ceremony or is in need of a late-night sip or bite when the party is over. Here are the snacks and drinks the A-listers will enjoy this year.

What would a night at the movies be without popcorn? While the bucket you get in the theater consistently satisfies, the at-home microwave version doesn't always hit the mark. If you struggle to catch the bag at the optimal time to ensure the popping of the kernels is complete without entering the burnt, chemically-tasting abyss, you are in luck. Opopop has arrived to rescue you from the uneven bag of partially popped seeds on one end and the charred extreme on the other.

Opopop's fun flavor combinations, which include wasabi, salted umami, Chedapeno, birthday cake, vanilla cake, and more are cooked in its reusable microwave popcorn popper that promises to end any unfortunate microwave incidents. Each kernel of Opopop is covered in a unique blend of seasonings, providing an enhanced snacking experience. Non-GMO corn is the base for each product, each popcorn is gluten-free, and all packaging is recyclable.

The sweet and salty combination of chocolate-covered pretzels undergoes a bedazzled embellishment of flavorful flair courtesy of Westchester County's Posh Pretzels. The company is the brainchild of a mother of two who wanted to create a sweet treat that was also a stylish, sophisticated gift.

Each pretzel is hand-dipped in sweet Belgian chocolate and hand-covered with dozens of revolving flavors. The dipped and drizzled selections range from red velvet and caramel toffee crunch to unique combinations like apple crisp and lemon drop which are paired with white chocolate. The stuffed pretzel options include Nutella, peanut butter and jelly, and Oreo.

This year is the fifth time Post Pretzels has been a part of the swag bags treats, and the company offers the same Oscars gift box the stars receive on its website. The golden Oscars gift box includes six dark chocolate-covered pretzels sprinkled with gold crystals, perfect for glamorous snacking.

Among the most affordable offering in this year's bag is a bottle from Frontera Wines. The wine is a part of the portfolio of Chile's largest wine producer, Vina Concha y Toro. The company's brands include a range of premium quality, high-end wines, like those from Vina Don Melchor, and affordable options costing around $5 to $6 from producers like Frontera and Sunrise.

Frontera focuses on producing varietally correct selections that can be enjoyed any time of day by any wine drinker, from the novice to the connoisseur. The Chilean producer helps you celebrate the little things and special occasions throughout the day with 10 Spotify playlists pairing music with each wine style they produce, including big and bold reds, smooth and sexy reds, and a selection of songs from Grammy nominees.

Sadly, they haven't put together a playlist for the Oscars. We would love to see the brand pairing options for best song nominees like "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR" or Lady Gaga's "Top Gun: Maverick" tune "Hold My Hand".

There has been a long debate over the supposed health benefits of chocolate. High-quality dark chocolate contains antioxidants and flavanols, which reduce inflammation, improve brain function, and boost immune and cardiovascular health. However, chocolate is high in sugar and calories, meaning enjoying it in moderation is best with any chocolate.

Good Girl Chocolate hopes to help with that by creating gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate treats that allow you to satisfy your chocolate cravings without destroying your diet. The products contain low glycemic sweeteners, like organic coconut sugars, organic cacao beans, and organic agave, instead of highly processed corn syrup or refined sugars.

Options include bite-size truffles, 70% cacao dark chocolate bars, and indulgent bars of brownies and fudge. The company is also ready to satisfy the sweet tooth of those living a Keto-diet with its sugar-free, vegan, non-GMO chocolate fudge bars containing 52% cacao and sweetened with organic xylitol.

This year's swag bag includes a popular tequila style that is changing people's idea of aged agave-based spirits. Antigua Cruz Añejo Cristalino tequila contains all the characteristics aging liquor in wooden barrels brings, including sweet spice and creamy honey. However, the liquid is a completely clear spirit. The 100% blue Weber agave tequila is from Jalisco's Los Altos Southern district. After stainless steel fermentation and distillation two times, the product is barrel aged for at least two years.

After the aging, the process gets interesting. The liquor is then carbon filtered removing the rich amber color imparted by the aging technique to produce cristalino tequila. The result is a 70-proof spirit that maintains the aged aromas and complex flavor of añejo, but with an appearance that is crystal clear. Per wine-searcher, a bottle of Antigua Cruz Añejo Cristalino tequila retails for around $47.

Staying hydrated is vital to surviving an early morning call time on set or lasting through a prime-time award show. Finding bottles S.Pellegrino in the bag will be a welcome surprise.

The production of the Italian sparkling water begins at high elevations in the jagged Dolomite Mountains in the foothills of the Italian Alps, where spring water flows from a natural spring in the San Pellegrino Terme area in Val Brembana. It takes 30 years for the water to flow from the mountains to San Pellegrino Terme naturally. Along the way, it absorbs natural minerals and nutrients from the earth, enhancing the flavor and enriching the water. Light carbonation of the water before bottling lends acidity and a light salinity to the product, giving S. Pellegrino its signature taste.

The theme of working sustainably with a focus on the environment carries through in many of the products in this year's swag bag, and none perhaps more so than CLIF Bars. The company's emphasis is on the health and well-being of the planet, the community, and its people, an ethos that should appeal to the recipients of the swag bag.

This year's nominee bags include CLIF Thins, a two-bar crispy, crunchy snack. Each package contains 100 calories and has five grams of fat in flavors like chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia nut. Though the sugar is about five grams per package, the other natural ingredients include non-GMO oat and brown rice flour, rolled oats, pure cane sugar, and unsweetened chocolate. If you find yourself fading during hour two of the Oscars telecast, this is the ideal snack to get your energy going again.

It is likely many Oscar nominees prepping to walk the red carpet in luxurious designer apparel probably last indulged in a carbohydrate a few weeks ago, meaning they will begin drooling over the idea of Ginza Niskikawa's shokupan artisanal milk bread awaiting them in their swag bag. The uber-unctuous, butter-infused bread is a delicacy in Japan. Thankfully, the company recently opened a brick-and-mortar outlet providing butter-fat-filled indulgence in Los Angeles.

Let's hope each nominee takes the time to eat every last crumb of the decadent bread with a silky texture and sweet, creamy flavor, as the LA Japanese bakery's $18 loaves of milk bread sell out in minutes. (The shokupan bread is the bakery's only product, which helps to explain why the loaf is so exceptional.) It is best right out of the oven, with the second day showing more of the sweet notes versus the yeasty, freshly baked, yeasty, buttery bread notes. The company offers nationwide shipping if they have not run out by the time you place your order.

With a focus on producing the most ethically made drinks possible, Harmless Harvest organic coconut water is a product that is easy to support. The Oakland, California-based company gives much of the credit for their focus and success to the team of workers in Thailand growing, harvesting, and producing organic Nam Hom coconuts. Meaning "the fragrant one," Nam Hom Thai coconuts are small and known for being sweet.

Focusing on the environment, the company has embraced regenerative agriculture practices in Thailand to ensure workers and the environment enjoy a quality life today and in the future. Harmless Harvest coconut water contains no sugars, preservatives, or additives that would otherwise mask the natural antioxidants in the water.

When these antioxidants mix with other natural elements, like light, the color of the water often turns a pinkish hue, which the company embraces as it is an entirely natural occurrence. The water is bottled in 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottles leaning into the company's commitment to sustainability.

Nominees will enjoy a personalized treat when they open their box of m cacao Expressio. It is notably the first box of chocolate to include a customized video embedded inside, allowing gift-givers to upload a slideshow or video message. You can offer words of encouragement, love, or friendship uploaded through the company's order portal, which will be transferred to the inside of the box, ready to be seen when your loved one opens the chocolates. Even better, they can enjoy your words of love while gobbling delicious m cacao chocolate.

The company is the brainchild of a former engineer turned pastry chef and a French chocolatier who came together to create flavorful chocolate creations in their Massachusetts-based confectionery. The gift box has a range of m cacao offerings, including caramels, chocolates, and truffles. Whichever offering the nominees receive, we hope they enjoy them with a cup of rich espresso, as it is the ideal pairing with chocolate (and the perfect pick-me-up for the morning following the ceremony).

With a mantra proclaiming beauty from the inside and product names like "I am joy" and "I am merry," it is easy to fall for The Beauty Tea Company's loose-leaf tea products. Recipients will receive the company's limited edition all-natural tea collection, including Peace, Love, and Energy.

Each tea is imported from Asia and promotes holistic well-being to honor your beauty and the harmony of everything around you. The Peace blend promotes relaxation, blending lemon balm and lavender with caffeine-free Rooibos tea. The Love tea combines green tea with rose petals. The Energy option blends white tea with antioxidant-filled blueberries, promoting brain health and boosting energy.

Reviews suggest each is delicious, but we are especially drawn to Love as green tea is such a powerful superfood that delivers a healthy dose of anti-inflammatory properties that promote brain health, lower cholesterol, and protect your heart.

The Chai Box ethically sourced tea blends are the creation of founder Monica Sunny. Sunny is an American of Indian descent who grew up drinking spiced chai tea with her mother beginning at the age of two. She wanted to teach her children the heritage of the drink and its importance in her life. It was about taking the time to de-stress and relax with a cup of spicy tea, energizing her family for the day. With Chai Box, Sunny has created an array of teas blended from recipes passed down through the generations.

Each recipient will receive The Chai Box small-batch chai concentrate. The tea is produced in small batches in Atlanta, Georgia, and is made from responsibly a variety of responsibly sourced spices (options include sweetened or unsweetened). We suggest turning it into a portable boozy Chai Tea cocktail to sip throughout the show.

Tranquini's drinks will likely be a welcome swag bag addition for many anxious nominees as each refreshing, sparkling beverage contains stress-relieving adaptogens. Adaptogens have long been used in traditionall Eastern medicine to calm the nerves, helping the mind adapt to stress and tension, re-centering the body while improving overall health. Adaptogens are herbs and fungi, like American ginseng, offering immune support, and Asian ginseng, which helps mental and physical well-being.

Tranquini aims to help its customers and community relax, one adaptogen-infused drink at a time. These gluten-free carbonated beverages includes a mix of natural adaptogens, including lemon balm, green tea, and calming chamomile. Though each drink has zero sugar and minimal calories, they include natural stevia to sweeten the product. Flavors include ginger and lemongrass, hibiscus, and mixed berry.

Ready-to-drink cocktails continue to dominate the liquor industry, with the Distilled Spirits Council reporting today's consumers prefer the convenience of a pop-and-go beverage versus pouring and mixing one themselves. In 2021 Ysidro founders Monica Epstein and her husband Seth and wine importer Alex Dessouk partnered to create a sparkling sake beverage named after the patron saint of farmers, Saint Ysidro. It also happens to be the road that connects the co-founders in California's Central Coast region of Montecito, which inspired the product's name.

The low-alcohol beverage infuses organic West Coast-grown citrus, bringing a refreshing quality with a balanced flavor. If you're tired of the same old cocktail or want a change of pace from wine, beer, or hard seltzer, Ysidro is a great alternative.

For the eighth year in a row, Oscar nominees will receive a blanc par rouGe gourmet maple gift box from Produits d'érable Cumberland, Inc. Based in Quebec, the company offers high-quality maple-based products from Canadian forests.

With over 250,000 maple trees spanning four groves, Produits d'érable produces over 1 million pounds of pure, organic maple syrup which serves as the base of most products, the company has a wide selection of gourmet offerings, including jellies, barbecue sauces, dressings, and rubs, like maple and pepper jelly and onion and maple confit. Of course, the line product line also includes classic 100% maple syrup perfect for buttermilk Belgian waffles. Whether you win or lose, why not start the next morning on a high note?

The date is one of the healthiest superfruits grown worldwide. They are high in fiber and antioxidants, are filled with vitamins and minerals helping promote brain health, and dates can aid in blood sugar control. Bateel hand-harvested gourmet dates hail from sustainably farmed palm groves in Saudi Arabia's Al Ghat region, where over 100,000 date palms thrive in temperate climates shrouded by the Tuwayq Mountains.

The gourmet fruit company harvests over 3000 tons of dates each year, hand-stuffing the sweet gems with candied fruits and nuts, like pistachios and almonds, and then hand-packaged in custom-painted wooden gift boxes. The company offers various types of dates, including lower-sugar Khidri and creamy, smooth Sokari. Rather than a box of chocolates (which is so 1994), nominees can savor the unpredictability of the Academy Awards with this sweet assortment.