"American" Products in Germany?
"Wait! I saw the flag on some cookies at the grocery store the other day! ...And on some peanut butter. ...And baked beans? Cake pops? What?" For anyone who's been in pretty much any German grocery store, you've probably seen products that had some stylized stars and stripes on them, and have been a bit confused. They won't say "American" on them (unless they're the type of dry chocolate chip cookies you might be used to buying a large package of back home), and won't be from a brand you recognize, but are instead by some company with a vaguely American sounding name. What's up?
It's simple really! In the same way that in the U.S. you might see a product (like pretzels or chocolate) with a German sounding name, or something to that effect, some brands in Germany will put the stars and stripes on foods which are meant to be "American style." You'll see it on everything from ice cream (you can still get a preposterous chocolate ice cream taco), to chips and cookies, to (particularly) grilling supplies.
While you can find these products all year round, they pop up the most during the end of spring/beginning of summer. Based on what's available, like baked beans, sauces, and hot dog and burger supplies, it appears that grilling is what Germany associates with American food.
If you're wondering, in my opinion, most of the products are, close, to what you might anticipate from a not so great brand in the U.S.. A notable exception to this is actually marshmallow fluff, which is made in the U.S. in the same place as what you would buy back home (at least in the Northeastern U.S.). I checked the label, and then bought some and made a number of fluffernutters to confirm. You know, for science reasons.