Potato chips are the world’s most popular snacks. They come in different flavours and the most classic flavours are barbecues flavour, sour cream, and onion flavours. During the Frito-Lay’s Do Us A Flavour campaign launch by Lay’s, a potato chip brand in 2012, calls every American to help create its next chip flavour and the winning chip will win 1 million dollars or 1% of the chip’s 2013 net sales from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division. The two runners up will win $50,000 in prize money. Insider has compiled a list of some of the most unexpected potato-chip flavours in recent history. 

In 2009, someone submitted a Cajon squirrel-flavored chips into Walker’s (The UK subsidiary of Frito-Lay) Do Us A Flavor challenge in the UK. The company chose it as one of the six flavors for the public to vote on. Despite other contestants with other typical flavors like fish and chips, chili and chocolate, crispy duck and hoisin, onion bhaji, and builder’s breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, and beans, the idea of squirrel meat is still pretty unexpected for a chip flavor. The winner of the flavor however was the breakfast flavor. 

In the fall and winter of 2013, Pringles released cinnamon-and-sugar flavour chips. According to the food blog Brand Eating, the chips’ aroma evoked notes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and the flavour was pretty decent. Around the same time, Pringles also released a pecan pie chip. Pecan pie is an American dessert and it is a favourite around the holidays. For the food blog Brand Eating, the flavour was more like maple syrup than pecan pie and the chip is still enjoyable especially if you like sweet and salty treats. The flavour was however discontinued in 2018 because of a low fan base. 

Four contestants in Lay’s Canada’s flavour competition introduced the creamy garlic Caesar in 2013. According to the Serious Eats blog, the chip wasn’t that bad, but the author thought it was too close to the classic sour cream and lacked innovation. The flavour did not win and they were beaten by a “maple moose” flavour. Lay’s then sold chicken and waffles potato chips. It was introduced as ‘Do Us a Flavor’ competitor in 2013 but lost to cheesy garlic bread. However, the chip remains a fan favourite and continues to sell to this day. 

The cappuccino potato chip was a contestant in Lay’s Do Us A Flavor competition in 2014. The chip however did not win. Then there was a kettle-cooked wasabi ginger-flavoured chip. It won the 2014 Lay’s Do Us A Flavor contest. It was voted by thousands of Americans and beat other flavours like bacon mac & cheese and mango salsa.

Southern biscuits and gravy were Lay’s Do Us A Flavor winner in 2015. There were so many flavours and textures present in this Southern staple buttery taste and flakiness of a biscuit and the rich creamy gravy that it seems difficult to capture all of that in a single chip. In 2016, Lay’s rolled out its Passport to Flavor program where a lineup of four chips inspired cuisines from around the world like the Brazilian picanha, Chinese Szechuan Chicken, Greek tzatziki, and Indian tikka masala. 

Lay’s made a cappuccino potato chip in 2014.

Photo by Chevanon Photography

Then in 2017, Lay’s Do Us A Flavor entry was everything bagel. It seems to have evoked the same take-it-or-leave-it sentiment. That year crispy taco ended up winning the flavor competition and its $1 million prizes. In 2019, Lay’s partnered with the singer Bebe Rexha to release a spicy hot and dill pickle-flavored chip. The was part of Lay’s collaboration for “Turn Up the Flavor” which aimed to pair chip flavors with genres of music. 

Classic entries of Walker’s roast chicken chip channel all the flavors. The chips or crisps have numerous positive reviews on Amazon. The company took a step further by introducing a roast chicken, mayonnaise, and cheese flavor as part of a new selection based on favorite sandwich fillings. Then there were Prawn cocktails which are loved in the UK. Rather than tasting like prawns or shrimp, they tasted like a sauce known as Marie Rose, a tangy cocktail sauce served alongside prawns. 

In China, Lay’s sells a cucumber-flavoured chip. Sounds weird because vegetables do not have a strong flavour but with that being said, cucumbers did translate well in chip form. Though it may not be everyone’s favourite. Also, there are blueberry-flavoured Lay’s chips. They are delicious and the flavour combination sounds intriguing. According to one travel blogger, the taste is pretty good and it tasted sour, sweet, and salty. Then in India, Lay’s sells a Mint Mischief potato chip. The packaging includes pictures of mint leaves, lime wedges, and a small green pepper. 

The different kinds of flavours that potato chips could bring us are so wide and there are more odd yet intriguing chips that are awaiting to be discovered or introduced. Potato chips have now become traditional snacks around the world be it for binging, parties, picnics, and many more. What about you? What kind of flavour would you like to experiment with potato chips? A sambal ayam penyet flavor? Or a cucur pisang flavor? Tell us what you think.

Original article by Insiders