Nut-Free New York

Another allergen-free brand—this time, decidedly without nuts, peanuts, milk, egg, or sesame. All their products are vegan, and their popcorn and chocolates are gluten-free, too. Overkill, for the nut-allergic (as I’ve said time and time again), but valuable nonetheless.

Divvies is serious about safety. They require allergen-free statements from their vendors, and they test their own products regularly to ensure they’re truly free from all they’re said to be free from. (The founder’s son has a bunch of food allergies; you can read all about the company’s story here.) So evidently, the folks at Divvies really mean it when they say their food is allergen-free.

They have a decent variety of products, too: cookies, cookie sandwiches, brownies, chocolate bars, chocolate chips, cupcakes, and popcorn. The popcorn—especially the kettle corn—is so, so good. It’s a little expensive for such a small portion ($6 for 3 oz of popcorn), but I’m telling you, it’s delicious, and you’d never know it was free of anything if you didn’t read the label.

Unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. I’ll admit: I’ve never made it through an entire Divvies cookie sandwich—and that’s not for lack of trying. Stubborn (hopeful?) as I am, I keep buying them, but I just can’t get on board. The chocolate’s all right, and the regular cookies are certainly way better than the cookie sandwiches—but in general, Divvies makes some pretty unsatisfying stuff. (Though I should probably mention that I haven’t tried their brownies or their cupcakes. Perhaps that’s where the magic lies.)

Maybe I’d be a bit more grateful for Divvies if I had more food allergies. I really do appreciate their existence, though, and I make a point of throwing some money their way every once in a while. And like I said, their kettle corn is delicious. But overall, I’d say Enjoy Life trumps Divvies if we’re comparing overkill companies—and it isn’t a particularly close call.

Find their products at Whole Foods, Gourmet Garage, Fairway, Union Market, and a bunch of other places, too.