Let's talk about it 🗣️: KK Cheese Crispy

*I am not affiliated with anybody with connections to the creation or production of KK Crispy. All comments said are from my own research on the internet, and are not intended to defame the product and the company as a whole🙏

Is KK Cheese Crispy really good, or is it the marketing that makes it good?

WHAT IS KK CHEESE CRISPY?

Fig 1: KK Cheese Crispy Product 

Kulit Kulit(kk) cheesy crispy(Fig 1), the snack that started it all. There are many definitions of kulit: in malay skin. In Tagalog, it means persistence, or stubbornness. I lean towards the malay definition more, given the snack is made out of fried popiah skin. Essentially, the entire concept of KK Cheese Crispy is fried popiah skin covered in a THICK layer of dry seasoning, something like the potato corner. They offer 4 flavours - Cheese, Tomato, Salted Egg and Seaweed Wasabi. A 370g bottle of KK Cheese Crispy prices at around $13.90 per bottle on Shopee.

HOW DID IT GET SO POPULAR?

Fig 2. TikTok video by @bigjohnjiak featuring KK Cheese Crispy

The first time I saw KK Cheese Crispy being marketed was through somebody's TikTok. Do i remember who? Nope. However, the earliest TikTok that I saw featuring KK Cheese Crispy was by @bigjohnjiak on 9 September 2023(Fig 2). However, it is hard to tell who truly made this snack go viral. My ideology is that there is no one person to pin point on the popularity of KK Cheese Crispy. Rather, many people are buying and reviewing this snack just because. Are they possible chasing for clout? We would never know.

WHY IS IT A BIT SUSPICIOUS?

INGREDIENTS

Fig 3. Ingredients list taken from KK Cheese Singapore on Shopee

Why is the ingredients list(Fig 3.) so simple? Usually snacks will have EVERY INGREDIENT listed on the packaging, but there is barely anything besides the key ingredients used in the manufacturing process. For this, I am going to reference the ingredients list for the cheese flavour: popiah skin, vegetable oil, premium cheese, chili and sugar. Seems pretty simple, right?

Firstly, what are alliums? In layman terms, it is onion, garlic or leek. Why use a word like alliums when the majority of people(or just me) may not understand? On first impression of this word, it gave off aluminium. I don’t know, but it gives off the idea that ‘oh it is dangerous, you may get an unknown disease, avoid it like the plague’. In reality, alliums are found everywhere, but you don’t see people marketing alliums as alliums. 

Fig 4: Medley Hills Farm Gourmet Cheddar Cheese Powder.

Secondly, what does it mean to use Premium Cheese? To me, the closest premium cheese powder that resembles KK Cheese Crispy is Medley Hills Farm Gourmet Cheddar Cheese Powder (Fig 4). Let’s assume that this is used for Premium Cheese.

Fig.5: Ingredients list taken from Medley Hills Farm website 

From the ingredients list (Fig 5), I know the two components that will probably be a source of concern for the average person - yellow 5 and yellow 6. Essentially, both are yellow dyes. And yes, they are safe for consumption. If you are curious and want to find out more, go to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and search for tartrazine (yellow 5) and Sunset Yellow FCF (yellow 6). 

MARKETING 

The platform whereby KK Cheese Crispy is being publicised the most is through TikTok. Now, i have just seen a TikTok creator buy contact lens on TikTok shop out of all places, hence I find buying things on TikTok shop is very dangerous. One quick search on KK Cheese Crispy and you would find hundreds of videos reviewing the same two flavours - tomato and cheese(i wanted to insert a video, but kinda bad quality). I find that it being publicised so much on TikTok a bit weird because TikTok creators are marketing this product on TikTok with the high possibility of earning an incentive from the sale of this product. Obviously, they are gonna make sure that they are convincing enough so that more people can buy, common sense. 

Fig 6. KK Cheese Crispy Website on 19 May 2024

Now when I went to search up the website, it seems like the website has not been updated at all since chinese new year (Fig 6). Given that it is gaining so much popularity lately, why isn't the website being maintained accordingly to the season. We are in May, not February. To me I think KK Cheese Crispy will unlikely update the website since majority of their customer base comes from TikTok shop or Shopee.

MY TWO CENTS

KK Cheese Crispy does seem to be a delicious snack. everybody who tried it are reviewing it as if there is no tomorrow, no shame in that. the one point is about how addictive it is. is that why the creators named it kulit for its persistence onto humans? maybe a deep dive on my end, but it is pretty interesting that the general consensus of the snack is relatively the same throughout.

Should you buy it? Personally I don't think it is worth the price. $13.90 for 370 grams, that is pricey to me. I would probably just buy Mister Potato Tomato flavour chips and Calbee Melts original cheese flavour and call it a day. However, YOU DO YOU✌I would try it, but i'm not gonna risk it you know. well that is all for today, bye bye👋

~ chloe c.

References

KK CHEESE SG. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 19, 2024, from https://www.kkcheesesg.com/

KK Cheese Singapore. (n.d.). KK CHEESE CRISPY - HOT FAVOURITE! CHEESE/ SALTED EGG/ TOMATO / SEAWEED WASABI. Shopee Singapore. Retrieved May 19, 2024, from https://shopee.sg/KK-CHEESE-CRISPY-HOT-FAVOURITE!-CHEESE-SALTED-EGG-TOMATO-SEAWEED-WASABI-i.972923324.22861930166

Medley Hills Farm. (n.d.). Gourmet Cheddar Cheese Powder — Medley Hills Farm. Medley Hills Farm. Retrieved May 19, 2024, from https://www.medleyhillsfarm.com/products/gourmet-cheddar-cheese-powder