Update 10/6/18: Try The World has vastly updated how they do business since my original post below. We had a good run of delightful boxes that arrived in beautiful packaging, on time, and full of quality products. That has changed. How so? Try The World no longer offers country boxes – they give you a random assortment of items that have no cohesive theme, don’t ship on time, sometimes skip months for no reason, and the overall quality of the product and packaging has taken a serious nose-dive. A TRY THE WORLD MEMBERSHIP IS SO NOT WORTH IT. I really wanted this company to make it. I did. I loved getting our box every month. Now, Try The World can try making itself better. But first it should try to avoid bankruptcy, where it is likely headed, judging from its behavior these last few months.
Hubby and I have been subscribers of Try The World since Christmas and recently received our second box – the Venice box – in the mail. So, I thought I’d write a review.
Contents of the Try The World Venice Box
“What’s Try The World?” you ask? I have to admit, I was hesitant to sign up for it because I found it via a Facebook ad. Normally, I ignore Facebook ads… and I would say that one out of 2 times I actually clicked on them and ended up buying something, I have been horribly disappointed. (I’m looking at you, Elizabeth Ann shoes – my husband ordered your Purse N Boots boots for me after I begged him to buy me them for Christmas in December…it’s April, and still no boots? Seriously?)
But, Try The World did not disappoint. It delivered – and so far it’s two for two in keeping its promise to deliver curated, gourmet food from different destinations throughout the world to our doorstep.
It’s basically a “[fill in the food here] of the month” membership club that is so much cooler than a _____ of the month membership. For the wanderlust-stricken self-proclaimed foodies out there (well… like me), here’s a chance to discover and enjoy local delicacies from around the world, without leaving home. If you’re feeling gun-shy, you can opt for a short membership of only one month, all the way up to the full year membership. I don’t like doing anything halfway…so we are “all in” at the one year membership level. That means we get a box every two months. I kind of wish it was every month. Ok, I definitely wish it was every month.
More than just delivering edible goodies to your door, the beautiful packaging and presentation set this business apart from the rest. The Culture Guide (pictured above) accompanies each box and explains what each of the products is, provides recipes to try using some of the enclosed treats, a guide to the culture of a certain destination (for Venice it was Venetian music and film) and creates an experience, rather than just receiving some stuff. What’s more is that each box is curated by a food expert. For example, the Venice box was created with the oversight of David Rosengarten, who counts “James Beard Award Winner” and host of over 2,500 Food Network shows, among his accomplishments.
We have found that a one-year subscription to Try The World also makes a great, thoughtful and unique wedding gift to couples who love to travel and love food and trying new things. One of our couple friends that we gifted a membership to sends us notes when they receive their box every other month, giving us tips on what their favorite products are and what I should call “dibs” on before I let the husband have any. Haha!
By far, the coolest part of Try The World for me personally is that the Holiday Box, our first we received, included Goiabada Sauce by Bazzar, a Brazilian restaurant that also sells its own sauces and spreads. Coincidentally, hubby and I ate at Bazzar when we were in Rio de Janeiro a couple of years ago and I really wanted to buy some things to take home with us, but couldn’t at the time. I feel like I got a do-over on that now, which is awesome. And, they have an online store where you can go on and buy additional or full sizes of the products you like best whenever you like.
As for the food, well… we have been hoarding most of it because it’s “too good to waste” on normal everyday meals and snacks. We need to get over that. The treats that we’ve allowed ourselves to tuck into have been delicious – particularly the Urbani chocolate truffle, dutch waffles and Swiss chocolate from the holiday box.
This post was not sponsored by Try The World and it only contains my views and opinions. Those opinions have drastically changed from when I originally wrote this post. Sorrynotsorry.
