Frequently Asked Questions
Kooky is a British brand of healthy, all-natural fruit snacks. We offer a range of exotic dried fruit with a starkly different taste profile to what is currently available in the UK and Europe. These fruits have been consumed for generations not only in South East Asia, but also in India and South America.
Our fruits are sourced from sustainable farms in Thailand, which adhere to humanitarian guidelines of no child labour, a living wage and reasonable working conditions. The fruit have to go through strict quality control and are free of pesticides and additives.
We have 2 ranges of fruit snacks, offering different tastes and textures: our freeze dried fruit (jackfruit, mango and mangosteen) is light and crispy, while our gently dried fruit (dragon fruit Thai banana) is soft and chewy.
Kooky fruit snacks can only be found on our webstore at the moment. We will be delighted to inform you of any new distribution channels. Please subscribe to our newsletter.
Not at the moment but we are working on a way to make single packs available to you.
Not only do our fruits look different to what we know in the UK and Europe, they are also boast of an exotic taste profile with delicious tropical notes. With their eye-catching colours, intense flavours and host of health benefits, Kooky is a great way to consume these fruits that were previously a rarity in our part of the world!
Antioxidants are the superhero molecules that help to combat oxidative stress caused by free radical damage. Stress, pollution and many environmental factors lead to free radical formation, which in turn leads to cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammation and cell damage.
Freeze drying is a low-temperature dehydration process that takes 20-48hr and uses a complex method called sublimation (scientifically known as lyophilisation), which essentially turns solid ice directly into vapour, skipping the liquid stage. For more details, please refer to “How are the products prepared?”. The resulting fruit is lightweight, has a longer shelf life and retains more nutrients by weight compared to other dehydrating methods. Freeze drying is a process used by NASA to prepare astronaut food.
All our fruits are picked ripe to maximise flavour. They are hand-peeled, cut and washed, making each piece of fruit you eat, pretty unique. As part of the freeze dried range, jackfruit, mango and mangosteen are frozen at up to -40°C for many hours. Afterwards, under a vacuum condition, they go through the dry heat process to remove the water content. The resulting fruit is yummy and crispy!
Dragon fruit and Thai banana are gently baked at a slowly increasing temperature (up to 40-45°C). They become deliciously soft and chewy!
Dragon fruit and Thai banana are gently baked at a slowly increasing temperature (up to 40-45°C). They become deliciously soft and chewy!
Fear not, this is nothing nasty like sugar or mould! It’s actually part of the banana’s anatomy and is the tissue between the skin and fruit. You may notice these ‘stringy bits’ when peeling a fresh banana. During the drying process, these bits are left behind as a powdery white residue, which is completely natural and totally edible.
Our products are 100% natural and packed with essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals (please refer to individual product description) and antioxidants. This makes them the perfect snack, super healthy and satisfyingly delicious.
The short answer is YES! Processed/refined sugars are the enemy that increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, acne and weight gain. Naturally occurring sugars (the ones found in fruit) are much better for you nutritionally as they don’t cause spikes in blood-sugar levels. Kooky fruit snacks are also packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and phytochemicals, which bring a wealth of health benefits, making them a wholesome treat that can be enjoyed by all.
They most certainly can! This is simply done by immersing the fruit in water or spritzing it with water. Rehydrated fruit is perfect for pies, cobblers, on top of yogurt, a warm bowl of oats, blended into your favourite smoothie or used in tea to add flavour.
We want to keep things “au naturel” here at Kooky so we don’t believe in adding harmful preservatives or sulphites to our fruit just to make them look brighter or last longer. The drying process removes sufficient moisture to keep our products stable and delicious till the Best Before date on the back of our packs.
All our fruits are 100% natural, nothing naughty added! This makes them suitable for all our Vegetarian and Vegan friends. They are cut, dried and packed in a site purely dedicated to fruits and vegetables.
Yes! Our snacks are 100% fruit.
Yes! Our fruits are 100% natural. They don’t contain ingredients of animal origin and certainly don’t contain any alcohol/ethanol. They are also carefully cut, dried and packed in factories that have Kosher and Halal certifications.
The farming landscape in Thailand is different to that in the UK and Europe – as such, most Thai farms follow GAP (Good Agricultural Practices), a set of standards issued by the FAO (The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation). The UK/EU’s definition of ‘organic’ is far less common in Thailand and not widely practised. At Kooky, quality raw materials are critical to our snack and our beliefs. We check our fruit harvests stringently and only source fruit that are tested to be free of pesticides and chemicals.
Our Thai suppliers are well-established companies in Thailand, holding BRC, HACCP, GMP, USFDA, Halal & Kosher accreditations.
Moisture levels in each fresh fruit are different. Therefore, we prefer to give you the equivalent amount of fresh fruit per pack:
- Freeze Dried Jackfruit: a pack of 12g is approx. 68g of fresh jackfruit
- Freeze Dried Mango: a pack of 12g is approx. half a fresh mango
- Freeze Dried Mangosteen: a pack of 12g is about 3 to 4 fresh mangosteens
- Gently Dried Dragon Fruit: a pack of 20g is almost a whole fresh dragon fruit
- Gently Dried Thai Banana: a pack of 25g is approx. 2 fresh Thai bananas
Absolutely, please refer to “How much fresh fruit does each pack contain?” in the FAQs. The World Health Organisation recommends that individuals consume "a minimum of 400g of fruits and vegetables per day (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers)”. The NHS defines 80g of fresh, canned/frozen fruits and vegetables as 1 portion of your 5 a Day.
Each pack of our fruit counts towards 1 of your 5 a day and is loaded with nutrients, vitamins and minerals. That said, our snacks are not intended to be meal substitutes and their benefits are maximised when consumed with a balanced diet and regular exercise. With their powers combined, we’ll all be one step closer to happier and healthier bodies, which, in these strange times, is more important than ever.
Tried and tested on our own children and their friends, we can testify that they definitely are! Not only they are delicious, the different textures and flavours get the little ones eating their 5 a day without any fuss (triumph!). Each pack fits perfectly in a lunchbox too. With toddlers and young children, please remember to either rehydrate or cut the fruit into small pieces to minimise any risk of choking.
Yes, you can. Our snacks are 100% natural fruit and are prepared and packed in a site dedicated to fruits and vegetables only.
All food businesses are legally required to declare and highlight the 14 most common allergens defined by the FSA (Food Standards Agency). We are pleased to say that none of our products contain any of these allergens (celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide/sulphites and tree nuts).
However, some people may obviously have allergies and sensitivities to food products outside of this list and it is your responsibility to recognise what these may be and any potential reactions they may trigger.
However, some people may obviously have allergies and sensitivities to food products outside of this list and it is your responsibility to recognise what these may be and any potential reactions they may trigger.
Oh no, we’re really sorry to hear that. Please get in touch with us at info@iamkooky.com with as much information as you can so that we can assist you further.