Viral ‘Banana Kick Baby’ gets larger-than life snack bags
After a video of a toddler reluctantly returning a Banana Kick snack drew millions of views, Nongshim sent the child's family custom oversized bags of its snacks featuring the baby’s face.
A baby poses beside oversize, custom-made bags of Nongshim’s Melon Kick, Banana Kick and Mango Kick snacks.SCREEN CAPTURE
Food company Nongshim sent oversize bags of its snacksto a one-year-old baby whose video went viral after the child was caught trying to sneak one of the company’s snacks.
An Instagram video that gained widespread attention in March showed the baby reaching into a bag of Nongshim's Banana Kick, a corn puff snack, pulling out a piece, and bringing it toward their mouth.
“No, you can’t,” the baby’s mother says firmly. The baby immediately freezes, then returns the snack, which had nearly reached their mouth, to the bag. The child then places one hand behind their neck as if sheepishly scratching the back of their head.
Although the video lasts less than 30 seconds, it captivated viewers. The clip had accumulated 25.8 million views as of Wednesday, along with 1.48 million likes and more than 12,000 comments, according to Nongshim.
Viewers wrote that the baby could easily pass for a snack model and that the reluctance to give up the treat proved just how much the child loved it. Others said the baby now comes to mind whenever they see the snack.
A junior employee on Nongshim’s snack marketing team happened to come across the video, and the company decided to prepare a special gift in response. Nongshim produced three oversize snack bags — one of Banana Kick as well as two recently released products in its Kick series, Melon Kick and Mango Kick. Each bag was taller than the baby, who is 80 centimeters (2 feet 7 inches) tall.
A one-year-old baby reaches into a bag of Nongshim’s Banana Kick snack in an Instagram video that went viral after being posted in March.SCREEN CAPTURE
The specially designed packaging featured the baby’s face alongside the words “Banana Kick Baby.” Each oversize package contained about 20 regular-size bags of snacks.
The family posted a follow-up video on Instagram on July 2 showing the gifts.
“A courier brought all three of those huge bags,” the baby’s mother said. “My baby is 80 centimeters tall, but the snack bags are even taller. They are roomy enough to fit two children.”
Nongshim said the gift was a one-off gesture rather than the start of a new product line.
“The products were specially made for the baby, and we have no plans to sell them as regular items,” a Nongshim representative said. “We will continue running programs that let us communicate directly with consumers who love Nongshim products.”
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [kim.hayoon1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
