Lay’s Potato Chips have been a ubiquitous presence in American supermarkets for decades. The PepsiCo-owned brand has expanded to include hundreds of different flavors beyond the basic “Classic” flavor. Some of these have been successful, like the basic Barbecue flavor, but many others have been weird.
The company has been hit with recalls lately. On May 4, Frito-Lay recalled 146 bags of Lay’s Classic Party Size Potato Chips and Lay’s Classic Mix and Match Potato Chips sent to convenience stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The bags were recalled because they didn’t list warnings for milk ingredients from the sour cream and onion-flavored chips.
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Last year, Frito-Lay recalled chips in Australia for undeclared allergens. The recall affected flavors not sold in the U.S., like Cucumber, Fried Crab, Roasted Fish, and Roasted Garlic Oyster. The Cucumber flavor is available in China and Canada. Seafood-themed flavors are popular throughout Southeast Asia.
Lay’s has tested plenty of strange flavors throughout the years in the U.S. Some are still on the market, while others were only available for a limited time. Here’s a look at six bizarre flavors.
Southern Biscuit and Gravy
Southern Biscuit and Gravy was one of four flavors made available for the 2015 “Do Us a Flavor” contest. The flavor was created by Hailey Green of Noblesville, Indiana and it beat out New York Reuben, Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro, and Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries. The “gravy” flavor came from the sea salt and black pepper added to the chips. They probably aren’t a great substitute for real biscuits and gravy though.
Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese
If you get up in the morning and want a bagel and cream cheese, but just can’t wait a few minutes for your bagel to be toasted, Lay’s came up with the Kettle Cooked Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese flavor. This was briefly revived at Sam’s Club locations only in September 2021.
Fried Green Tomato
Fried Green Tomato was an entrant in the 2017 “Do Us a Flavor” contest. It lost out to another weird flavor, Crispy Taco. However, Fried Green Tomato is definitely a stranger choice for a potato chip flavor. There were many fans of Fried Green Tomato, based on how many were heartbroken that it lost. The flavor was also available in 2020.
Lay’s Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Potato Chips
Celebrity food collaborations don’t always result in the best ideas. In 2019, Lay’s teamed up with Bebe Rexha for a “Turn Up the Flavor” promotion. The flavors were “remixes” that took two flavors and smashed them together. One of them was Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle chips, which tested just how far Flamin’ Hot fans would go. The other two music-inspired flavors were Wavy Electric Lime and Sea Salt and Kettle Cooked Classic Beer Cheese.
Chicken & Waffles
Lay’s really loves experimenting with Southern flavors. Chicken & Waffles potato chips didn’t really taste like chicken or waffles, which feel like really difficult flavors to recreate. Instead, it was a mix of paprika, spicy, and maple syrup flavors. The flavor is periodically brought back for limited-time opportunities.
Crossover Combos
In August 2022, Lay’s launched a collection of flavors that they surprisingly hadn’t thought of yet. They did flavor mash-ups. The Fritos Chili Cheese flavor was brought to Kettle Cooked chips, while Cheetos dust was sprinkled on Lay’s potato chips. Doritos’ Cool Ranch flavor also came to Lay’s chips. Funyons’ onion flavor met Wavy chips.
