I was at the store over the weekend and saw a chip display that included the below flavors.
Like the taste of Funyuns or Cool Ranch Doritos but don’t want to actually eat Funyuns or Cool Ranch Doritos? Eat potato chips that taste like Funyuns or Cool Ranch Doritos!
A lot of the recent development from Frito Lay, particularly the Lay’s brand itself, has been focused on the development of limited time flavors. They have the “Do Us a Flavor Promotion”, they’ve done the “Flavor Icons” line (some flavors of which were reviewed by Father Keanu last year).
In recent years, Frito Lay has released special, limited time flavor offerings that have included: Chinese Szechuan Chicken, Greek Tzatziki, Brazilian Picanha, Indian Tikka Masala, Crispy Taco, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper, Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese, Fried Green Tomato, and more. There have been at least 250 different flavors of Lay’s potato chips that have been released somewhere in the world. Big Wave Salted Egg Yolk Shrimp? Check. 2 in 1 Grilled Prawn + Seafood Sauce? Check. Creme Brulee Milk Tea? Check. Seaweed Fries? Stewed Beef Noodle Flavor? Check and check.
The question that I have is this? Have we reached chip flavor saturation? Are there no more flavors left to conquer? Is 250 the limit as to how many types of chips the world can take or Lay’s can make?
The real question is? How many chips flavors will the market allow? At what point does it become cost ineffective for Lay’s to continue to put new flavors today, market them, and offer them for sale? Clearly, the hits will always be made because they drive so much market share.
But did Lay’s decide that it was more cost effective to reuse existing seasoning than create a new flavor? Have we reached peak special chip saturation? Or have we exhausted the possible flavor combinations of potato chips that can be sold commercially?
I don’t know what the answer is. But I know that I’ll stick with my favorite…
Best one is still Fried Green Tomatoes. That has not been topped.