Featuring candy, chips, cookies, drinks, and frozen treats from forty different countries, Exotic Snack Guys “became famous from TikTok,” according to Felisha Madison, manager of their Briarwood Mall outpost.
Founded in the Chicago area in 2023, the company has grown to about fifty locations, according to its website, by “[s]couring international marketplaces for unique and limited items.”
A perusal of the shelves revealed many unfamiliar varieties of some otherwise household names—strawberry Snickers bars, roasted seaweed–flavored Lays Stax.
“We get a lot of that ‘Oh my God! You can only find this in Canada, and you guys have it here!’” Madison reports. Tiger kebab chips from Egypt are strong sellers. Freezer case offerings include Dubai chocolate bars and Japanese mochi ice cream in grape, mango, and mandarin.
For the truly adventurous, says Madison, $25 or $50 mystery boxes are packed with assortments from throughout the shop—“all but the ice cream!”
Exotic Snack Guys, Briarwood Mall (JCPenney wing). (414) 852–9016. Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. exoticsnackguys.com
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