Reviewing Pop Daddy Pretzel Sampler Pack and Strawberry Shortcake Pretzels

I bought these for full price on their TikTok Shop in June 2025. They all came together. Individual release dates for these different flavors may vary.

Strawberry Shortcake

Score
6 / 10

Review
My second favorite in this pretzel assortment box. The flavor is an authentic creamy strawberry with no artificial or punchy flavors. It’s quite pleasant, and I can really appreciate how authentic it tastes. Coupled with the pretzel, I can fully imagine the full strawberry shortcake-like flavor. Moreover, any salty pretzel flavor mostly sits in the background, with the strawberry taking center stage.

French’s Mustard

Score
5.5 / 10

Review
Get some French’s Mustard, add a little bit of water, and there you go, that’s the exact seasoning here. It’s a slightly restrained version of mustard—not punchy or sour; it instead feels like it’s trying to please a wider audience. Nonetheless, the flavor works well with the pretzel, though I’d rather just have a plain pretzel and dip it in normal-strength mustard!

Frank’s RedHot 

Score
4 / 10

Review
One of the most flavorful in the box and also my least favorite. Simply put, I hate Frank’s RedHot. It’s too black pepper-y, and it feels spicy just for being spicy—okay, I’m getting sidetracked…

These pretzels are the real deal with authentic RedHot seasoning coating them. You’re hit with the same level of spiciness and seasoning you get from the regular hot sauce. No frills or thrills here; it’s as if you coated your pretzels with the real thing.

Old Bay

Score
5.25 / 10

Review
I’m not familiar with Old Bay seasoning, and coming into this, I expected some sort of light seasoning. Instead, the flavor here is much more bold than I imagined. Frankly, I can’t tell what it all is; all I know is that it’s seasoned well, sits on the savory side, and, overall, is a punchy and pleasant flavor that works well with the pretzel. My issue, though, is that while it’s uniquely good, I just don’t see myself buying these again—I’d rather buy something on the sweeter side.

Maple & Brown Butter 

Score
5.25 / 10

Review
This has cinnamon and sugar vibes. More or less, it’s lightly sugary sweet with a hint of maple and something else that sort of reminds me of a cinnamon-like flavor—I suppose that’s the brown butter! Either way, these are just okay. Frankly, I wish they were sweeter and that the maple was stronger because, as it is, I really have to try to visualize the sweet maple—like, if you blindfolded me, I would have guessed “a pretzel with a tiny bit of sugar, cinnamon, and some other warm flavor.”

Thai Curry Honey 

Score
5.25 / 10

Review
Wow, that’s the real deal. It’s like I’m eating a lightly spicy Thai curry with a hint of sweetness. The seasoning is bold and authentic. Not to mention, the salty pretzel flavor and texture pair pretty well with it too. If you’re looking for one of the more unique pretzel flavors in this box, this might be it, especially if you want something on the spicier side.

While I liked it, I didn’t really enjoy it per se. A few sticks in, and I think, “Hmm, this is interesting and pretty good, and definitely one of the weirdest and most unique ones here… but, eh, I’m good; I want something else—I’m glad I tried it, at least.”

Birthday Cake

Score
7 / 10

Review
Opening this bag up, I immediately smell a sweet, birthday cake-like flavor. And indeed, biting in—for a pretzel, man, it’s sweet, perhaps the sweetest one on this entire list! Granted, the salt does tone it down to a manageable level, but if you aren’t used to sweets, get ready!

But seriously, these are sweet birthday cake tasting—the real deal—they are absolutely coated with sugar crystals and flavor! Of course, it’s not an exact birthday cake taste because, obviously, it’s also a salty pretzel stick, but that mostly sits as the background flavor as the birthday cake takes center stage. Overall—and I say this as a pretzel hater and sweets lover—these aren’t too shabby, and, moreover, would go great with some frosting as a dip!

Long story short, these are my favorites in this box because of their sweetness and flavor.

Beer Cheese

Score
5.5 / 10

Review
I am definitely tasting a beer cheese-like flavor. There is clearly an almost bitter cheese flavor with… malt? I’m not exactly sure. Either way, it’s cheese, and cheese is good. It’s not punchy by any means; it more so sits on the pleasant side. In fact, I could see myself picking away at these at a bar, perhaps dunking them in mustard, waiting for my drink or food. The flavor fits the vibe without being too much or overbearing, though that’s also its weakness—the flavor isn’t as strong as I’d like.

Dill Pickle

Score
5.25 / 10

Review
You know those pickle-and-vinegar-flavored chips you see in stores? They’re usually pretty punchy and sour. Imagine that, but watered down. These pretzels are exactly that: watered-down pickle flavor. The punchiness and vinegar are mostly gone, and you’re left with the essence of the once flavorful cucumber. It’s great if you can’t tolerate normal pickle or vinegar flavors, but a big disappointment otherwise.

Smoked Gouda

Score
7 / 10

Review
So boring. In fact, I can’t even tell if it’s gouda cheese exactly, as the flavor is really plain. I guess I get some super mild essence of cheese… and that’s it. They could have done so much more with this: add some smoky or grilled flavor, and absolutely, positively, quadruple that supposed cheese flavor. As of right now, you mostly get a plain-ish pretzel flavor.

Cinnamon Sugar

Score
5.5 / 10

Review
I had high hopes, given these rocked my favorite flavor duos, but unfortunately, it just fell on “Well, I expected a lot more.”

Obviously, there’s a dusting of cinnamon and sugar, but that’s really all there is, a dusting. It’s decent and passable, though it clearly needs at least double the sweetness and cinnamon to really get it going. This feels like a pretzel that could be used as an introductory flavored pretzel to newbies, but for those experienced and wanting something sweet and dessert-like, these fall behind.

Peppercorn Ranch

Score
5.25 / 10

Review
Peppercorn? Ranch? I don’t get much of either. I can sort of taste a light black peppercorn taste and maybe some creaminess? I definitely don’t taste any ranch—ranch is supposed to be that “in your face” creamy and flavorful delight that works on everything, but here—if it is here—it is anything but. Essentially, these are too lightly seasoned to make out the full extent of their advertised flavors.

Garlic Parmesan

Score
5.5 / 10

Review
I love garlic parmesan, especially when my snacks like chips are flavored as such. These pretzels, while they have that flavor, feel much more tame. I taste the garlic and cheesy parmesan; it’s just not strong enough for my taste buds to fully enjoy. And that’s really it—a light coating of real-tasting garlic parmesan seasoning on some pretzels. Perhaps they’ll come back around and add more of it to kick it up a level.

Mexican Street Corn

Score
5.75 / 10

Review
One of the tastier ones in this pretzel bunch. It’s genuine, authentic Mexican street corn flavoring. I can taste the corn, creaminess, and the accompanying complementary seasoning. Further, the light saltiness of the pretzel works well in conjunction with it. Overall, I think it has about the right amount of seasoning, not too strong or too light. It’s enjoyable enough and unique; however, even though I’m a general fan of this type of flavor, I’d rather get it on regular potato chips instead of a pretzel.