A thin layer of toothpaste, and a touch of intestinal distress. There's a reason
some of these abominable chip flavors have disappeared, and we're happy to see them go.
Fried green tomatoes are pure Southern comfort food, so it made sense for Lay's
to embrace this deep-fried delicacy in the form of the humble potato chip.
This variety arose from the 2017 Do Us A Flavor campaign, and it consisted of zesty seasonings,
along with a hearty, wavy shape and an extra crunch that mimicked the summertime treat
perfectly. But after its stint as a finalist, Lay's pulled it from production altogether.
So why was it discontinued? Most of the contest picks tend to be limited edition,
and realistically, Lay's needs to free up space for other flavors coming down the pike.
There's simply not enough room to keep every chip flavor in rotation,
so cuts have to be made. And unfortunately, Fried Green Tomato was one of the unlucky ones.
When different iconic junk foods merge together, beautiful things happen. Case
in point: the time that Doritos and Pizza Hut unveiled Doritos Pizza Cravers in the 90s.
These triangular delights tasted like the best of both brands.
But later in the decade, Doritos Pizza Cravers were nowhere to be seen.
And it wasn't because they weren't popular. No, the real reason was a business shake-up.
Frito-Lay's parent company PepsiCo, which also owned Pizza Hut, created a separate
department for its fast food portfolio now known as Yum! Brands. This shift lines up
with the snack's departure from its ties with Pizza Hut and its eventual retirement.
"Do we get cable?"
Recent rumors, though, have reportedly hinted at a flavor in the works inspired by pepperoni pizza,
so we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for a glorious return.
Potato chips are a classic comfort food, and so is macaroni and cheese.
So why not combine them for the ultimate comfort snack? Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese was another
finalist in Lay's Do Us A Flavor campaign, and it seemed like a natural fit. Salty and cheesy,
with a hint of smokiness, it replicates the gooey pasta dish in a snack you can eat on the go.
But that appeal didn't stop it from ending up in snack food purgatory.
So what went wrong? Like any food that takes the nation by storm, the novelty eventually wore off.
People might like the idea of a potato chip that resembles bacon macaroni and cheese in theory,
but in execution, it doesn't grab people's attention in any lasting way.
Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese most likely suffered a similar fate. Although,
they were given the throwback treatment when Sam's Club had them for a limited time in 2019.
Still, we wouldn't count on them ever staying around for long.
Pizzaria Pizza Chips were a home run for Keebler when they launched in 1991. In addition to being
one of the brand's biggest sellers, they were made out of actual pizza dough and baked to a
crispy finish with mouthwatering seasonings. But they somehow didn't make it to the new millennium.
It's clear that demand, or lack thereof, wasn't the culprit.
Instead, Pizzarias disappeared through the cracks of Keebler's business dealings. In the late 90s,
their parent company United Biscuits decided to put Keebler up for sale, and they were promptly
gobbled up by two other conglomerates, Artal Luxembourg and Flowers Industries. Afterwards,
a number of Keebler products ended up getting scrapped from production, including Pizzarias.
Zesty and aromatic perfectly describes Garden Tomato & Basil, a flavor that
Lay's released in 2011. Plenty of potato chips boast some blend of tomato or basil flavoring,
but it's rare to see such an herby, summery take on the snack.
It's like sitting by a vegetable garden on a hot summer day!
While we'd love to have backyard barbecues all year-round,
seasons do come to an end. And so do specialty potato chips like Garden Tomato & Basil.
The reason is why most discontinued potato chips are here one day and gone the next:
supply and demand. Stores will only supply the flavors that customers want to buy,
as the ones that fly off the shelves are the ones that get restocked for future purchases.
So if you put two and two together, Garden Tomato & Basil wasn't exactly flying off the shelves.
Who doesn't love ketchup? There's no limit to what can be dipped, dunked, and drenched with
this zingy condiment, so a ketchup-flavored chip was pretty much an inevitability.
"I know, I know! Ketchup. You read my mind."
So the fact that Pringles Ketchup was only available in Canada and Europe before
making its way to the United States is, frankly, shocking.
At first glance, there shouldn't be anything unusual about this flavor.
French fries are made of potatoes. Ketchup is made from tomatoes. The seasoning includes flavors
found in the real thing, like salt, garlic powder, and paprika, and it's also a brilliant red color.
But that didn't stop Pringles from pulling it out of production, as the company cited lower demand
as its reason for discontinuing the flavor when asked about it on Twitter in 2020. It's still sold
in Canada, though, so plan a trip north of the border if you just need to get your ketchup fix.
During the diet craze of the late 90s, Lay's unveiled non-fat potato chips that
calorie-counters would feel good about eating. They consisted of Lay's, Ruffles, and Doritos with
a meager 75 calories and zero grams of fat, all as a result of its not-so-secret ingredient Olestra.
Olestra works as a fat substitute, and thanks to FDA approval, it could be found on plenty
of nutritional labels. Alas, this little additive harbored an explosive secret.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, people who ate Lay's
Wow Chips reported experiencing horrible side effects. Those side effects included bloating,
vomiting, abdominal cramps, and last, but not least, painful explosive diarrhea.
This is because Olestra contains properties that are incompatible with the human body's digestive
system, and when the body is unable to digest food, it leads to a lot of visits to the bathroom.
"Ah! Where's your powder room, really quickly?"
Predictably, this spawned countless complaints and, in some cases, even
lawsuits. In a bit of PR spin, Frito-Lay rebranded the chips as Lay's Light,
but this new version still featured the fat additive in all its unsavory glory.
"Bring back Lay's WOW chips with Olestra."
"Mr. Griffin, those chips were recalled in the 90s for causing explosive diarrhea."
If you ask anyone in Cincinnati about salty snacks, they'll surely mention Husman's.
It began as a one-man operation in 1919,
and generations since have found comfort crunching on bags of their classic chip flavors.
Simply put, these potato chips have been around for a long time, long enough to feel
like forever. So imagine hearing the news in 2021 that parent company Utz was discontinuing
the entire Husman's label, thus ending a century-long legacy in the junk food business.
It was reportedly dwindling profits and low demand that sealed Husman's fate.
It struggled to match the competition of other nibbles on the market, thus forcing Utz to make
some cuts to the lineup. So fans were intent on treating their taste buds one last time,
to the point of reportedly zipping from store to store to grab the remaining bags. Husman's may be
gone, but definitely not forgotten.
In 1986, Ruffles jumped on a certain food craze with the debut of its Cajun Spice chips.
By modern standards, a New Orleans-inspired potato chip feels very ahead of the curve.
Looking at the junk food aisle today,
it's not hard to visualize Cajun Spice next to other savory varieties like Crab or Dill Pickle.
But trends tend to have a quick shelf life. And unfortunately, Cajun cuisine's
spike in popular appeal ultimately fizzled, bringing Cajun Spice Ruffles down with it.
It doesn't seem like Ruffles ever tried bringing it back,
which we imagine ruffled quite a few feathers of diehard fans who miss its full-throated spiciness.
At least we can always count on Sour Cream & Onion to get us through our regular savory cravings.
"Guarantee!"
When it comes to snacks, the sweet-yet-salty combination is simply unbeatable.
For a while, chocolate-covered pretzels or nuts were the go-to option in this category.
That is, until Lay's released their milk chocolate-covered potato chips.
This limited-time flavor arrived in response to the growing snack trend of combining those sweet
and salty flavors like ice cream with chocolate and pretzels and chocolate-covered everything.
More companies were reportedly embracing the pairing of flavor opposites,
and Lay's just had to get in on the action.
Their Wavy Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips were reportedly meant to be available in stores
only for the 2013 holiday season. They eventually made a limited time only
comeback for Valentine's Day 2021. It was a gift that, appropriately enough,
mirrored how love can sometimes be: salty and sweet, but sadly short-lived.
Lay's has certainly cooked up some wacky chip flavors over the years.
But they weren't the mastermind behind what was arguably their most creative flavor.
Their Do Us a Flavor crowd-sourcing marketing campaign saw people submitting
their wildest chip flavor ideas for a chance at one million dollars,
or one percent of the winning chip idea's sales in a year, whichever turned out to be higher.
The first contest-winning flavor back in 2012,
Cheesy Garlic Bread, increased sales by 8 percent three months after it launched. Then
in 2015, the winning flavor of Southern Biscuits & Gravy was quite the standout.
Unfortunately, though, these contest-winning flavors don't tend to stick around on store
shelves for very long. Past winners like Wasabi Ginger are listed as unavailable on Amazon,
or not listed at all on Lay's website. Considering that contestants are only paid for a year's worth
of the profits, it seems fitting that the winning flavors are only made available
until a new champion is crowned. That doesn't mean fans were okay with the departure of this Southern
Lay's chip, though, with some even starting a petition on Change.org to bring it back.
We already know that chocolate-covered chips are an amazing culinary specimen.
But Pringles took things to a weird new level with their dessert flavors,
ranging from milk chocolate to pecan pie and pumpkin spice. There's no delicious
candy coating here, just a dusting of mystery sugar, spice, and things that aren't so nice.
"It's not that great."
Pringles typically released these quirky limited-edition chips around the holidays as
an alternative festive treat. In 2012, they started with flavors like white chocolate
peppermint and cinnamon sugar. Then, in 2016, the company released its take on some more
holiday classics in the forms of salted caramel, sugar cookie, and pecan pie potato chips.
Even if these chips weren't available for a limited time,
they still would've been quickly discontinued due to the sheer amount of negative feedback
they received. When HuffPost did a taste test, they noted the pumpkin spice flavor
was not absolutely disgusting, but not a slam dunk either. The white chocolate peppermint
fared much worse, as they called it a, quote, "horrible abomination to humanity."
Meanwhile, Today.com's taste test was quoted as describing the white chocolate peppermint as "a
thin layer of toothpaste." Outlier flavors like pumpkin spice and pecan pie were solid,
but not enough to make them worthy of the desserts that inspired them.
Here's hoping that this particular chip trend won't come back in style anytime soon.