Last August, Zuru released a third season of their popular surprise toy, 5 Surprise Mini Brands. Saying I was excited is an understatement. This series is filled with miniature treats I couldn’t wait to get my hands on, like candy bars, lollipops, and graham crackers!
Of course, it would take eons for these new minis to reach Texas, right? Wrong! Hobby Lobby had a boxful almost immediately.
I know–even I can’t believe they’ve sat on my shelf for so long! The truth is that one too many adrenal crashes late last year left me weak and unable to do much. It’s really frustrating (especially when you’ve got a couple of surprise toys waiting to be unboxed). Fortunately, my Cortisol levels seem to be stabilizing, and I’m starting to feel more normal.
So, after weeks and weeks of anticipation, we’re finally going to add some sweet new Mini Brands from Series 3 to our grocery store shelves!
As always, our 5 Surprise Mini Brands come hidden inside round containers that, once opened, spread out into five sections. This time, though, the plastic around the containers is silver.
I purchased these at Hobby Lobby for $6.99 each (plus tax).
Remember when you could get a blind bag (or box) for around $4? Nowadays, even the simplest ones cost anywhere between $6 to $10!
Yes, and that’s why I’m starting with just two. But, don’t worry. I’m sure more Series 3 Mini Brands are in our future.
5 Surprise Mini Brands Ball 1:
Inside our first slice is…
A bag of Chupa Chups!
These are The Best Of Chupa Chups. The text on the front says there are ten lollipops inside, and the picture at the bottom shows the flavors: Cola, Strawberry, Apple, and Strawberries and Cream. Needless to say, we all know there aren’t really any lollipops in the bag—just foam.
There is more writing on the back of the bag; however, the print is incredibly small.
We’re slowly but surely building up the candy aisle of our doll market! Fingers crossed we get lots more sugary snacks🤞.
Mini Brand number two is…
Ice Breakers Sours! It might not be sweet, but it is candy.
The container is bright pink with a white rim. The sticker on the front has a picture of some berries followed by the Ice Breakers Sours logo and a list of flavors. It looks like we got the Mixed Berry variety. On the back is another sticker with some trademark information.
Yeah, I’m surprised we haven’t found the catalog too. Maybe it’s in the next section.
Our third Mini Brand is…
Wow–that Mr. Goodbar is HUGE! While most Mini Brands are perfect for Barbie and similar-sized dolls, there are exceptions. This candy bar is a good example. A few others that come to mind are the spice jars and pudding boxes from Season 2 and shampoo bottles from Season 1.
Having said that, I still find ways to incorporate these oversized Mini Brands into my displays. They’re excellent for filling shelves and making your mini market look well-stocked!
It’s a box of Friday’s Spinach and Artichoke Cheese Dip!
Both the front and back of the box feature the brand logo, product name, and a picture of the dip surrounded by chips. The nutritional facts and preparation instructions are printed on the thin sides. And, yes, all the info reads exactly like a real frozen meal box. Gotta love those tiny details!
Our last Mini Brand is a package of Rascal & Friends Training Pants.
Although I don’t have any toddlers in my miniverse (yet), I think this is super cute and would look great in a doll-sized nursery!
Besides the training pants, this section also had the catalog.
5 Surprise Mini Brands Series 3 Collector’s Guide:
Check out all those Mini Brands! I see several that would look great in Elsa’s new kitchen (we’ll talk more about that in another post😉).
Season 3 has over a hundred Mini Brands, which (I think) makes it the biggest collection to date. The brands are divided into five categories: Gold (super rare), Glow In The Dark (rare), Metallic (rare), Common, and Collector’s Case Exclusive (highlighted in pink).
There’s also a chance of finding a fun accessory, like a cart, product display, or some shopping bags. I also see a sign and a scale. Those are brand-new pieces!
Which minis am I hoping to find? All of them! Seriously, the only one I could do without is the McCormick Apple Pie Spice (I’m sure it’s ridiculously big). But that’s it. The rest are welcome to join my collection!
By the way, the Ice Breakers Sours is not rare. It’s just sparkly.
Getting back to our Mini Brands, the ones we’ve found so far are:
We didn’t get any accessories, but the goodies we did find will look amazing in our store (and also satisfy my dolls’ late-night snack attacks). Even that jumbo Mr. Goodbar will likely get used as background shelf filler.
But we’re not finished yet. We’ve got another surprise ball to open!
5 Surprise Mini Brands Ball 2:
We found a shopping cart!
The shopping cart comes unassembled. According to the instructions, you just snap the pieces together.
This cart is the same as the one from Season 2 (which I never found). It has a removable inner basket plus a basket underneath for holding heftier items.
The cart is about two inches tall, which is fine for Tink but way too short for Barbies. It does, however, make a cute toy cart for Iduna’s kiddos!
Okay, Tink, show what’s in that next slice!
Darn! We got our first double—the training pants. But, like I always say, that’s the risk with surprise toys. Duplicates are inevitable.
What? Another Mr. Goodbar! That’s two doubles in a row! Well, don’t fret about it, Tink. There’s no way we’d get triples.
Wow. I’m a little stunned. I’ve gotten plenty of repeats but never three in a row. I hope our luck changes fast because we only have one Mini Brand left.
Our final Mini Brand is a round of Babybel Cheese!
This Babybel Cheese is the Light version, whereas the one from Series 2 is the Original.
The difference between the two is obvious—the Original is red, and the Light is blue. I realize that, technically, these Babybel rounds are way out of scale for Barbie, but I just pretend they’re full-sized cheese wheels instead of bite-sized morsels.
So, in our second ball we found:
Well, friends, we’ve successfully added ten Mini Brands from Season 3 to our mini supermarket!
I admit I’m a little disappointed at getting so many duplicates. Nevertheless, the ones we did get are pretty cute. Even those gigantic Mr. Goodbars look fine sitting atop our freezer.
I know how you feel, Tink. Would a couple more Surprise balls make you feel better?
I did! But after opening so many duds—er, doubles—I think we deserve another shot at finding some of those more elusive Mini Brands. Let’s hope the extra $14 was worth it.
Aha! We defeated the curse of the doubles! This time we got:
Every Mini Brand here is a keeper. They’re a great size for our Barbie dolls and are all super adorable. It’s uncanny how realistic the package of ham and box of Shake ‘N’ Bake looks. And that scale fits nicely on the counter next to the cash register.
I should’ve known Tink’s favorite piece would be the Love Hearts😆!
Now then, is everyone ready for the grand finale? Great! Tink, show us our last five surprises.
Our final five Mini Brands are:
Okay, so we got a couple more repeats–the Babybel cheese and Friday’s dip.
To be honest, though, I’m not at all upset to have another Babybel cheese. You see, I’ve decided that, along with eggs and veggies, Jackie also sells homemade cheeses at our doll market. So, those wheels may become important in future stories—which, by the way, I am back to working on😉.
So, in spite of our triple fiasco, I’d say this turned out to be a pretty good Mini Brand haul. We restocked our shelves with several fun new groceries. In fact, I’m not sure our store can hold much more!
We’ll see, Tink. We’ll see.
Now it’s your turn!
What kind of Mini Brands would you like to see in future seasons? I, personally, would love to get a carton of eggs, more dairy products, and maybe some fresh produce.
Want to see our other 5 Surprise Mini Brand Unboxings? Follow the links below to see us opening Seasons 1 and 2!
LOL!
By the way, did you hear about the new Mini Fashion balls? They’re by 5 Surprise Mini Brands. There’s a bag and four accessories in it, and according to My Froggy Stuff, they’re perfect for Barbies! But they’re TEN DOLLARS per ball! Yeesh.
Yes, I have heard about Mini Fashions and will definitely be doing a review of them soon! $10 is pricey, but I’ve heard they’re worth it. It’s going to be fun finding out😉.
Oh my gosh, I got sooo excited when I saw there was a new post! I adore this blog😍
I am so excited about wave 3! I haven’t been able to find any in stores near me so far–that I’ve been to. I just went to Hobby Lobby and got 5 Surprise Toy Mini Brands, but there were no Wave 3 balls. And I LOVE the mini Reeses–they’re my favorite candy!
Also, Tink is hilarious. I’m not being sarcastic, she is SO FUNNY.
I know what you mean—the hunt for Mini Brands is real. I kept checking Walmart, thinking they’d be the first to get the new series, but no. It was Hobby Lobby! They had a whole display dedicated to Series 2 and 3 (plus a few Toy Mini Brands).
Yes, Tink is quite a character! I think Petra should reconsider letting her restock the candy and cookie aisle🤣.