REVIEW: Empire Crate [PHOTOS]

I love being from New York. I’ve lived in New York my whole life and there really are some amazing things in this state, especially businesses!

/edit Oct. 2022, the business has closed

I’ve never hid my love of subscription boxes so when I saw there was a local box that focuses on all the great things in New York State, I couldn’t wait to give Empire Crate a try.

Brianne and Brandon Dingeman who currently live in Stillwater, started the company Empire Crate, a way for people to get 5-7 New York State products sent directly to their door every month. Each product is hand-picked and described in detail with each box. Also, if you particularly like a product, you can go to their online shop and by some of those products separately. Empire Crate is shipped out the 15th of each month and subscribers have a choice of month-to-month ($39.95/month) or 3-month ($112.95) or 6-month ($212.95) options.

The first product I tried in the box was Anya’s Licorice (Brooklyn, NY). I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of licorice but this was more like a dried fruit flavor than the super sugary Twizzlers you may be used to & it’s made with 100% real fruit so that makes sense.

Next, I had Emmy’s Organics Coconut Cookies (Ithaca, NY). I’ve had Emmy’s Organics products before, you can buy them at Whole Foods in Colonie Center and they have a ton of different flavors which are all delicious. Personally, I’m not a huge coconut fan so I passed these along to friend of mine who is and he LOVED them. They’re also paleo-friendly, Non-GMO certified & vegan!

I was really excited to see a super-local product in the box, Gatherer’s Granola (Schenectady, NY). I’ve written about Gatherer’s Granola before (Link to post HERE) and I haven’t hid my love for every flavor of theirs that I’ve had. In this box was Chipmunk’s Choice, which is almonds, peanut butter & maple syrup. This is one of my favorite flavors of theirs and their product is available at a ton of farmer’s markets in the area as well as local grocery stores.

Another great product that didn’t last very long on my shelves was Martin’s Handmade Pennsylvania Dutch Pretzels (New York, NY). I love a good German-style crunchy pretzel and this was perfect. Each pretzel is free of fat, sugar and preservatives, my only issue is that there are only 4 handmade pretzels in each container because it left me wanting so many more!

After eating all of these snacks, I was surprised to see a condiment in the box, Weber’s Mustard (Buffalo, NY). You know the first thing I did was dip those delicious pretzels in it, right? The tangy horseradish mustard was at its base a delicious mustard but I loved the added bit of spice the horseradish brought, perfect amount. After the pretzels were gone I ran around the house looking for things to put it on and as much as I loved the mustard, I recommend not trying it with chocolate chip cookies!

Last, I had Partyka Farms Pumpkin Seeds (Kendall, NY), which was a perfect welcome to the colder weather Fall season, especially because I didn’t make any this year. All that’s in this bag are pumpkin seeds and sea salt, all-natural and all delicious.

Overall, I just loved this subscription box. I love supporting local/NY-owned businesses so the ability to not only do a bunch at once but the box itself being local, it’s a no-brainer for me. Let me know when you get your first Empire Crate, I can’t wait to see what they put in their future boxes! Keep up to date with what products may be showing up by following them on Instagram @EmpireCrate

Want the December crate? You have 2 days to order so make sure you order before November 30th!

NOTE: Though my subscription box was given to me for no charge in order to write this post, the opinions expressed here are solely my own and I have not been compensated additionally for it.