All About Lay's: Russia

Hey kids. It's been slow news recently while we await to hear which flavors are going to win all these contests being held all over the world (like wtf, why are the World Cup contests still undecided in South America). So I decided to start a new segment here at The Chip Report, a segment dedicated not to the newest bag of chips, but to the standard range of flavors being produced every day in distant lands. Today, we'll start the segment with RUSSIA.

 

To begin, Lay's Russia has 3 ranges; Lay's: the traditional chip, Lay's Max: The thicker cut wavy style chip, and Lay's Strong: a Ruffles style chip that is also noted for "strong" flavors.

Lay's introduced their signature potato chips to the Russian market in 1992, a market that found salted potato slices boring. It wasn't until 2005 that Lay's did extensive market research across the whole of Russia to introduce flavors that would have more appeal to the Russian public. This research inspired Lay's to create Crab, Caviar, Pickled Cucumbers and a variety of unique flavors that would bring Lay's the success they had in their homeland. And later would lead to the introduction of Lay's Max and Lay's Strong.

Those signature Lay's make up the biggest line in Russia with flavors "Bacon", "Salted", "Cheese", "Green Onion", "White Mushrooms with Sour Cream", "Potatoes with Butter and Dill", "Sour Cream and Fresh Herbs"(which also comes in a Ruffled version, but because the flavor is mild it is just part of the Lay's line not the Strong line), "Pickled Cucumbers", and "Crab" (I can't find any official info regarding the status of "Red Caviar" flavor, but I find it unlikely it was discontinued, so I'll include it in this post... a LOT of countries only post some of the flavors they actually sell online, so it makes hunting them down a lot harder than you would think). Take a look.

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Russia's version of Lay's MAX are most comparable to our Lay's Wavy line. They are waved, thick cut, potato chips in "Meat on Coals","Cheese and Onion", and "Chicken Wings". Other nations, most notably the UK, also carry the MAX line, but as a Ruffled chip, so the brand depends on local markets.

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Finally is the Lay's Strong line. At first glance, these are Ruffles but under a different brand name... upon further inspection the Strong line shows it's character actually comes from a collection of Bold flavors. "Smoked Cheese", "Aspic with Horseradish" (don't know what Aspic is? Google it, it's Meat Gelatin bro), and "Spicy Hunting Sausages". This line is probably the most telling about the Russian market. Frito-Lay's own study found that Russian's considered the traditional Salted chip to be "boring" and the Strong collection is comprised of loud flavors. Most likely in an effort to provide Russian consumers with the bolder flavors that would appeal to them.

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So what do you think? Does any of Russia's range make your mouth water? Are you dreaming about those Butter and Dill flavored ones like I am?? Have you found and tried any of these? We'd love to know!  Sound off in the comments below.

Lay's Thailand Hot and Spicy Crab

How cool is this bag??!
My cousin regularly visits Thailand for work and I finally realized I should ask him to bring me back some chips! DUH!
Here is Hot and Spicy Crab! This bag clearly is meant to appeal to local tastes. Not only is it a seafood flavor, which is common in Asian snack foods, but it also features a hot and spicy seasoning that is very typically Thai. This bag is made for daring foodies. The bag opens up with a very rich aroma of crab and spice. The first taste you get is a sweet chili taste, but that fades quickly to a strong aromatic spice... a HOT, strong, aromatic spice. You get some chili, spring onion, garlic, and maybe a bit of ginger. This is where the pure Thai flavor comes through. Finally near the end there is a vaguely crab flavor. It is subtle and plays second fiddle to the chili mix. The potato chip is a nice thickness. It's thinner than Walkers but not as flakey thin as Lay's USA. They look EXACTLY like the chip depicted on the bag but are covered in red orange seasoning. The potato taste is light next to the strong seasoning. This bag is like the stronger, older brother of Walker's Thai Sweet Chili... and although it packs a HUGE punch, I still think fans of Thai Sweet Chili might enjoy it. Now, I'm a weakling when it comes to spicy food, so I could only eat a couple of these... but if you can handle the heat, these are worth hunting down. I've seen them multiple times on ebay and Amazon... so they can't be too hard to track down here in the states. I have a lot of respect for the complexity of flavor in this bag and highly recommend them. I'm really grateful I got the chance to try these. They are another amazing example that Lay's can be a crash course to a Nation's food culture. Very cool!