Banana Kick: Korea's Corn Puff That's 1.6% Banana, Flavors and Prices

바나나킥. The bag says 바나나맛 그대로 — "banana taste, just as it is." What is inside is mostly corn and sugar. Official brand image, Nongshim.

Nongshim Banana Kick, 20 × 45 g — the export bag, shipped and sold by Amazon.comAffiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Last updated: 19 October 2026. Korean prices were read on 19 October 2026 from CU's official product search and Nongshim's own online mall, and convenience-store deals from the October 2026 promotion lists on pyony.com. Ingredients and nutrition are from the official Nongshim label. Sources are listed at the end.

Banana Kick (바나나킥) is a Korean corn puff snack made by Nongshim since May 1978. It is shaped like a small curved banana, it melts in the mouth instead of crunching, and it tastes like banana candy. The surprise is on the label: the original contains 1.6% banana powder, and a 75 g bag carries 37 g of sugar — very nearly half its weight. In October 2026 a 75 g bag costs ₩1,800 at CU and ₩1,540 from Nongshim's own mall, and the Korean shelf now has three "Kick" snacks: Banana, Melon and Mango.

Here is what is in the bag, what every version has been, what it costs this month, and how to get it outside Korea.

Banana Kick at a Glance

What Is Actually in a Bag of Banana Kick

Nongshim prints the full ingredient list on its own mall, and it is more interesting than the bag's front suggests.

The first ingredient is corn meal (옥수수 콘밀), sourced from Australia and Italy. Then sugar, then palm oil from Malaysia. Banana comes fourth, as 바나나분말 — banana powder from Ecuador, 1.6%. After that come canola oil, skim milk powder, refined salt, egg-yolk powder, turmeric extract for the yellow, and two flavourings plus a flavouring preparation. The banana taste you notice is carried largely by flavouring, not fruit.

The nutrition panel for the 75 g bag:

Two numbers stand out. Sodium is only 100 mg — a fraction of what a potato chip carries — which is why it does not taste salty. Sugar is 37 g, about half the bag by weight. Banana Kick is closer to a sweet than to a chip, and Koreans treat it that way: it is a children's snack and an afternoon-coffee snack, not a beer snack.

The label also answers a question people send to Nongshim: the small brown or black flecks you sometimes see on a puff are part of the corn kernel and safe to eat. The bag is nitrogen-flushed to keep the puffs crisp, which is also why it looks so full.

The official 75 g label. Under the weight line it reads 바나나분말 1.6% — banana powder 1.6%. Allergen box: 우유, 계란, 대두 (milk, egg, soy). Official product label image, Nongshim Mall.

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Why It Melts Instead of Crunching

Open a bag and the pieces look solid. They are not. Each puff is airy and porous — mostly trapped air — and it collapses against the roof of the mouth almost immediately — closer to a prawn cracker than to a corn chip. Nongshim's own description is 입안에서 사르르 녹는 — "melts away in the mouth."

Korean reference sources say plainly who that suits: children, people with weak teeth, and older people with dentures. There is nothing to bite through. That is also why nobody in Korea flinched at the viral clip of a one-year-old eating it (more on that below).

Two ways Koreans eat it that no English listing explains:

• The powder at the bottom. The sugar coating is a fine dust on a very light puff, so a lot of it shakes loose and collects in the bottom corner of the bag. People tip that last inch straight into their mouths. Nongshim leans into it — its product page lists 가루까지 맛있는 ("tasty right down to the powder") as a selling point. Go slowly: it is fine enough to make you cough.
• Dipped in milk. Nongshim's third official "point" is 우유에 담궈다 먹으면 사르르 MAX — dip it in milk and the melt goes to maximum.

Korean fans also say it is good straight from the fridge. Cold puffs stay crisp a little longer before they dissolve.

Each curved puff is about 5.5 cm long. The pitted surface is where the sugar coating sits. Photo: Mobius6, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Name Is a Football Joke

"Banana kick" is Korean football slang for a curling shot — the kick that bends in the air like a banana. That is why the banana on the bag has had legs and a football for decades, and why Melon Kick's and Mango Kick's mascots are kicking footballs too.

There is also a Korean pun people still repeat: "바나나가 웃으면?" — "What does a banana do when it laughs?" Answer: 바나나킥 (킥 sounds like a snicker, "kik").

Since 1978: As Old as the Nongshim Name

This is the fact that gives the bag its standing in Korea.

Until 1978 the company was called 롯데공업 (Lotte Industries). In 1978 it renamed itself 농심, and Korean reference sources (Namu Wiki) record Banana Kick, released that May, as the first snack launched under the new name. Nongshim's brand page still lists the launch as 1978.05 next to the 75 g / 320 kcal spec.

The early packaging looked like stationery-shop candy; at one point the bag carried Conan from the Japanese cartoon Future Boy Conan. The banana-with-a-football design came later, through several redesigns.

When a Korean adult picks up the yellow bag, then, they are not picking up a novelty. They call it 추억의 과자 — a snack of memory.

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Every Banana Kick Flavor, Then and Now

The base has stayed the same for almost fifty years, but Nongshim has spun it off many times. Most spin-offs did not last. As of October 2026, the three "Kick" snacks in Nongshim's official line-up are Banana, Melon and Mango.

Launch years for the older spin-offs come from Korean reference sources (Namu Wiki); Strawberry Banana Kick's 30 January 2023 date, Melon Kick's and Mango Kick's come from Nongshim's own announcements and brand pages.

Melon Kick is the one that changed the line. Nongshim called it the first new "Kick" in about fifty years; it is made with Korean muskmelon and milk, and it sold 1.44 million bags in its first week — more than 먹태깡 (Meoktae-kkang), the previous hit, managed in the same period. By early August 2025, three months in, it had passed 7.2 million bags, and the same reports (Smart Today and Segye Times, 6 August 2025) put Banana Kick's own domestic sales up about 30% year on year over those three months, with its exports doubled. Mango Kick followed in May 2026 as the third in the series.

The chocolate version is the cautionary tale. A brown, lumpy version of a snack whose whole identity is a clean pale yellow did not land, and Korean commenters said so bluntly.

The current line-up from Nongshim's product page: 바나나킥, 메론킥, 망고킥. Official product images, Nongshim Mall.

What Banana Kick Costs in Korea, October 2026

There is no Banana Kick deal at Korean convenience stores this month. The October 2026 promotion lists for CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, emart24 and C·SPACE have no 1+1 or 2+1 on Banana Kick. The only "Kick" deal is Melon Kick 100 g at CU, 2+1 — three bags for ₩6,800, or about ₩2,267 each. If you want the Kick taste on a deal this month, that is the one to pick up.

A bag is about a dollar either way; the real cost is suitcase space.

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Buying Banana Kick Outside Korea

Banana Kick is one of the easier Korean snacks to find abroad, but the export bag is not the Korean bag.

• Size. The US bag is 45 g (1.58 oz), not 75 g. If you compare a single US bag with a Korean one, you are comparing different sizes.
• Amazon US. On 19 October 2026, with delivery set to New York 10001, Nongshim's 20 × 45 g case was in stock, shipped and sold by Amazon.com. A 3-bag pack from a third-party seller (shipped by Amazon) was also available, with low stock. If you check from a non-US address, Amazon may show these as unavailable — set a US delivery ZIP first.
• Melon Kick abroad. In August 2025 Nongshim announced Melon Kick exports to the US and Canada in 45 g and 180 g bags. The Amazon US listing for a 20-pack existed on 19 October 2026 but showed no featured offer that day — only "See All Buying Options". Mango Kick had no US listing.
• Korean grocers (H Mart and similar) are the usual offline route.

If you are carrying it home from Korea: it is a large, nearly weightless bag that crushes. It goes in the middle of soft clothing, or it arrives as powder. Check your own country's import rules for food containing milk and egg.

Jennie, and the Banana Kick Baby

Two moments brought Banana Kick to people outside Korea, and English-language coverage tends to get the order wrong.

Jennie, March 2025. On The Jennifer Hudson Show, broadcast 10 March 2025, BLACKPINK's Jennie named Banana Kick among her childhood favourites, alongside 새우깡 (Shrimp Crackers) and 고래밥 (Goraebap), and described it as banana-flavoured but not the taste you would expect. Korean press reported that Nongshim's market capitalisation rose by about ₩264 billion over the four trading days of 18–21 March, and at the end of April 2025, alongside Melon Kick's launch-week figures, Banana Kick's sales were reported up about 50% year on year (Smart Today, 30 April 2025). She did not make it popular in Korea — it had been a staple for 47 years. She made it visible abroad.

The Banana Kick Baby, 2026. In March 2026 a mother posted a clip of her 12-month-old reaching into a bag; the mother said 안 되는데 ("you shouldn't"), and the baby froze, looked at the bag, and scratched her head. By August it had 25.8 million views and 1.48 million likes. Nongshim responded with a one-off gift: Banana Kick, Melon Kick and Mango Kick bags taller than the 80 cm baby, printed with her face and the words 바나나킥 베이비, each holding about twenty retail bags. It is not for sale — Korean reports said the bags were made specially for her and there are no plans to sell them.

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What to Compare Banana Kick To

The most common mistake abroad is filing it next to banana chips. They have nothing in common.

Inside an opened bag: pale, pitted puffs with sugar dust clinging to the foil. Photo: Mobius6, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Who Should Skip Banana Kick

Honest version, because the bag is cheap but your suitcase is not.

Skip it if you want fruit. At 1.6% banana powder, this is a sweet corn puff with a banana idea attached.

Skip it if you are watching sugar. 37 g in a 75 g bag is about nine teaspoons. The 45 g export bag is the more sensible size.

Skip it if you are vegan or allergic to milk, egg or soy. All three are in it, and the factory also handles wheat, peanut, shrimp and other allergens.

Skip it if you buy snacks by weight. A big, light bag is poor value per gram next to a potato chip.

Buy Melon Kick instead this month if you are in Korea and want the Kick texture: it is the only one on a 2+1 deal.

Do not skip it if you want to know what Koreans mean by 추억의 과자. This is the clearest example on the shelf, for about a dollar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Banana Kick actually made from bananas? A: Barely. The original contains 1.6% banana powder (from Ecuador); the base is corn meal, sugar and palm oil. Some past versions went as low as 0.2%. The flavour is banana candy, not fruit.

Q: How much sugar is in Banana Kick? A: 37 g in a 75 g Korean bag (37% of the Korean daily value), with 320 kcal and only 100 mg of sodium.

Q: How much does Banana Kick cost in Korea? A: On 19 October 2026: ₩1,800 for 75 g at CU, ₩3,400 for 118 g, and ₩1,540 from Nongshim's online mall. There is no convenience-store 1+1 or 2+1 on it in October 2026.

Q: Can I buy Banana Kick on Amazon in the US? A: Yes. On 19 October 2026 Nongshim's 20 × 45 g case was in stock and sold by Amazon.com with a New York delivery address. Set a US ZIP before checking — from abroad it can look unavailable.

Q: Is Banana Kick vegan or gluten-free? A: Not vegan — it contains skim milk powder and egg-yolk powder, plus soy. The ingredients are corn-based, but it is made in a facility that also handles wheat, so it is not sold as gluten-free.

Q: What are Melon Kick and Mango Kick? A: The same airy corn-puff base in different flavours. 메론킥 launched in April 2025 and sold 1.44 million bags in its first week; 망고킥 followed in May 2026.

Q: How do Koreans eat Banana Kick? A: Straight from the bag, then the sugar powder at the bottom. Nongshim itself suggests dipping it in milk, and some people keep it in the fridge.

Q: Did BLACKPINK's Jennie make Banana Kick famous? A: Outside Korea, largely yes — she named it on a US talk show in March 2025. Inside Korea it had been a staple since 1978.

Sources

• Nongshim brand page, 바나나킥 (brand.nongshim.com/bananakicksnack) — 75 g, 320 kcal, 7-month shelf life, launch 1978.05; 메론킥 brand page — 60 g, 285 kcal, 2025.04; 망고킥 brand page — 60 g / 90 g, 290 / 480 kcal, 2026.05. Read 19 October 2026.
• Nongshim Mall (nongshimmall.com), product pages 바나나킥(75g1) and 바나나킥(75g20) — prices ₩1,540 / ₩27,280, official label image (ingredients and origins, banana powder 1.6%, nutrition, allergens, Asan and Gumi plants), product detail page ("가루까지 맛있는", "우유에 담궈다 먹으면"); search results for 메론킥 and 망고킥 prices. Read 19 October 2026.
• CU official product search (cu.bgfretail.com), keyword 킥, snack category — 바나나킥 75 g ₩1,800, 118 g ₩3,400, 메론킥 60 g ₩1,800, 메론킥 100 g ₩3,400 2+1, 망고킥 60 g ₩1,800. Read 19 October 2026.
• pyony.com October 2026 convenience-store promotion lists (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, emart24, C·SPACE) — no Banana Kick entries; Melon Kick 100 g 2+1 at CU. Read 19 October 2026.
• Smart Today, 30 April 2025 — Melon Kick 1.44 million bags in its first week (먹태깡 1 million in the same period); Banana Kick sales up about 50% year on year.
• Insight / Smart Today, 20 January 2023 — Strawberry Banana Kick on sale from 30 January 2023.
• Smart Today and Segye Times, 6 August 2025 — Melon Kick 7.2 million bags in three months, US/Canada export in 45 g and 180 g; Banana Kick domestic sales up about 30% year on year over the latest three months, exports doubled.
• Korean press, 21–22 March 2025 (News-wa, Daum and others) — Jennie on The Jennifer Hudson Show, 10 March 2025; Nongshim market capitalisation up about ₩264 billion, 18–21 March.
• Money Today, Seoul Shinmun, SBS Biz and Segye Ilbo, 5–6 August 2026 — the 바나나킥 베이비 video (25.8 million views, 1.48 million likes, about 12,000 comments), the custom bags and Nongshim's statement that they will not be sold.
• Namu Wiki, 바나나킥(과자) — 롯데공업 → 농심 renaming and Banana Kick as the first snack under the new name, packaging history, launch years of the older spin-offs and banana-powder percentages, piece length, intended eaters, football-slang name and pun.
• Amazon US listings B0FGGT5V85, B0FTPHXDR1, B0GDWTP8ZJ and B0FLBGXH1G, checked 19 October 2026 with delivery set to New York 10001.

Prices, deals and flavour ranges change monthly. Check the shelf tag in front of you.