Gotta Get At This: Lay's India

Lay's India has just launched 2 new flavors... sounds FRIKING delicious...

Thoughts??

Contest: Margarita Colombia Copa De Los Sabores Round 2

Round 2 has begun in Colombia. Round 1 saw Argentina's "Churrasco" win. Round 2 introduces us to 2 more new flavors; Spain's "Jamon Serrano" aka "Serrano Ham" and Brazil's "Asado Brasilero" aka "Brazilian Steak/Barbecue". The bag of "Serrano Ham" also comes as "Onduladas" or "Ruffles"-style chips. My favorite bag of all time is a bag of Ruffles from Spain that are Ham flavored.... so these are probably the most epic thing of all time ever!!! And "Brazilian BBQ" doesn't sound too bad either. I guess I've got some calls to make ;p

Who are you rooting for??

Contest: Lay's Arabia & Chipsy Egypt Flavors Cup Part 2

3 more flavors have been highlighted online recently. To read the first part of this article click here!
Unlike the Flavor Cup happening in South America, the Middle East has chosen to have all 5 flavors compete at once with the bag getting the most votes becoming the unchallenged winner.
I already told you guys about Mexican "Chilli con Carne" as well as South African "Cheese"... but here are the final 3 competitors.

 Spain is getting their "Black Olives" shown off with this bag. I don't know what a bag of "Black Olive" flavored Chips will taste like... hopefully similar to "Pickle" flavored. By that I mean, sour and pleasant with Salt.

 Japan's flavor is "Sweet & Sour Sauce". Sounds kind of gross. But whatever. Also, isn't "Sweet & Sour sauce" Chinese???

Brazil gets the same if not similar flavor everyone has in this contest; "Brazilian BBQ". But hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.














So, is there anything here you've just got to try? Let us know below!

Contest: Lay's Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, & Honduras Copa De Sabores

The Copa is SPREADING!! "Copa De Sabores" aka the "Flavor Cup" has spread like wildfire throughout South America. The contest is now being held in Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, and Honduras. Not to mention the South American nations we already know about; Chile, Colombia, and Peru. ANNNND the Middle Eastern nations all doing their version. Looks like it is going to be a BUSY season for us Chip Hunters!

So, first, lets talk about Guatemala...

EXACTLY like Colombia and Peru, we are seeing ITALY vs ARGENTINA as the 2 flavors to be voted upon. But here we have some sauces up for debate. Italy's offering being a "Pomodoro Sauce" and Argentina's being a "Chimichurri" sauce.

More importantly, the Guatemalan website FINALLY explains the rules of the Flavor cup, which has been driving me mad. Basically, you vote for your flavor in each round starting with the first round (Italy vs. Argentina), you have to register for this vote. If you can pick the winner every round you have the opportunity to win prizes. So this is just round 1 of  3 (3 being the final round). If you pick the winner all the way to the end, you can win the Grand Prize.

Check it out, so the winner of Phase 1 will go against the winner of Phase 2 in Phase 3, and that is the winner of the Flavor Cup.

(you guys have no idea how excited I was that they had this chart to explain this damn confusing ass contest to me... seriously)



In the Dominican Republic, we finally get a fresh face from Brazil...

Italy's flavor is represented by "Italian Dressing", which sounds AMAZING on chips! And Brasil is showing off "Salsa Brasileña", this has me a bit confused... the picture is obviously stewed beef with maybe some Garlic... but "Salsa Brasileña" is defined online as a salad dressing. The literal translation is "Brazilian Sauce" which doesn't help me figure out what it is whatsoever. So, I guess, if you try it, let us know what it is lol.

Panama, El Salvador, and Honduras all have the SAME EXACT flavors as Guatemala, (Italian Salsa Pomodoro & Argentinean Chimichurri) so I'm not gonna talk about them again for this round.

Let the HUNT begin!!

Contest: Lay's Canada Do Us A Flavour! 2014

 Just like America, Canada has relaunched the "Do Us a Flavour" contest! And just like us they are adding "Kettle Cooked" and "Wavy" to the mix! Create the winning flavor and you could win $50,000 CAD and 1% of future sales of your bag! Deadline to enter is 4/23/14, so get those entries in ASAP!

Contest: Lay's Chile Copa De Los Sabores

MORE! More glorious contest flavors are popping up! Pepsi Chile announced some flavors that will be available now for their own "Copa De Los Sabores"... and wonderfully, they are different from the other South American contest flavors. Check em out below...

 From Brasil, "Feijoada", a stew dish of Beans, Beef, and Pork.

 From the home nation of Chile, "Ensalada Chilena" or "Chilean Salad", a Tomato-based salad dressed up with onion, coriander, olive oil, and chili peppers (similar to Italian Caprese but no cheese).

 Spain's "Chorizo Iberico" or "Iberico Chorizo" is pretty straight forward. A spicy, dried sausage.

and Finally, from Peru, "Pollo a la Brasa" aka "Rotisserie Chicken". Again, straight forward and delicious sounding.

These rich and exciting flavors should do well in Chile, especially on the wavy style chips that are standard there... as the ridges will hold more seasoning and add more robust potato flavor. The other thing I am LOVING is the packaging. How fantastic do these bags look with the big Country name and the delicious food photos? Not to mention, the use of the Nation's colors. Looks much more modern and hip when compared to the bags from the other South American nations who are having their own Flavor Cup Contests.

What are your thoughts? Sound off below!

Lay's Canada Perogy Platter

omg. Guys, sorry for the delay on this one, I totally thought I had put it up AGES ago. Here is one of the finalists from Canada's "Do Us a Flavour" contest... it obviously didnt win, as the winner was "Maple Moose" but after trying all of them, I have to think this was, in a practical sense, the best one. "Perogy Platter" is based on a decked out plate of Perogys or Pierogi. Perogy are little Eastern European dumplings that are stuffed with potato and boiled... then usually pan fried. They are similar to an Asian Gyoza/ Pot-sticker or an Italian Mezzaluna or even a Ravioli; just with different fillings and sauces. In Canada, it is common to eat Perogy with toppings like Cheddar, Bacon, Onions, & Sour Cream... which appear to all be included in this style Perogy Platter.
 I was indifferent to this bag when I saw it, and I kind of left it sitting around until my mom opened it before I got to it. Once I tasted it, I knew the flavor exactly. I had spent many an after-school in High School snacking on this exact flavor. This, my friends, was "T.G.I.Friday's Cheddar & Bacon Potato Skins". Granted, these were on chips not fake potato skins, but the flavor is spot on identical. In fact, I prefer the Lay's, as the texture is WAY more pleasant.

Looking back now, it is strange to think that this bag looked so boring, but I guess it was sitting next to a Salad bag and a bag with a Moose on it, so can you blame me?
To me, this bag is quintessential, it should be on every shelf in every country. You can't go wrong with Cheddar and Bacon!

As for the stats; Lay's Canada makes a decent chip, better than the U.S. for SURE. You never see any burnt or nasty looking pieces, it's always pleasant. They aren't spectacular though, they could always use a bit more Potato flavor in the actual potato. The seasoning, however, is not only delicious, but it gets great coverage. Not overdone.

I know this should have been up ages ago, but if you can find a bag of these in a small shop or on ebay or Amazon, I give it 2 thumbs up. And if you can't find it, then close your eyes and forget I mentioned it... because Canada is currently taking submissions for "Do Us A Flavour" 2014... so you will have new wonderful flavors to taste! (I'll be writing that up within the next few days to give you all the details.)

SO... Did anyone try this? Anyone else thinking it is a photocopy of TGIFs? Have you submitted a flavor for 2014? If so, what was it? Comment below!!

Contest: Lay's Arabia & Chipsy Egypt Flavors Cup

I guess South America aren't the only ones throwing a Flavor Cup! The Middle East is getting in on the action. Lay's Arabia (which caters to the Emirates) and Chipsy (Egypt) are both running a flavor cup on their own. The image above shows 5 flavors, like the South American contests, I have only seen 2 flavors highlighted online. However, I did see a 3rd flavor posted on Twitter that a fan had posted and enjoyed. So, these contests are basically just confusing me to NO end.

This one stands out to me in comparison to the other contest in that the flavors are MUCH more exotic.

This image depicts the 5 flavors and it looks like: Japanese Sweet & Sour Sauce, South African Cheese, Mexican Chile Con Carne, Brazillian BBQ, and Spanish Black Olives.

 The First of 2 flavors that have been highlighted so far are "Mexican Chili Con Carne"... which A) Sounds Delicious and B) Why has this never come out here?? I love the packaging, its got the flag with the little cactus' and maracas and Mexican icons. Then the flavor is featured prominently in the middle, it just makes me want chips and dip reallllll bad!

The 2nd flavor featured is South African Cheese. I have no idea what that tastes like, but I think it is a brilliant idea for a Chip flavor. Again the little doodle icons look great against the South African flag color scheme. Look at the adorable giraffe and the whale. I love it.




All in all, I find this contest a bit more interesting. I have tried Lay's Arabia's chips before and was not impressed with the quality of the potato. It doesn't come close to the amazing quality of the chips from South America, but I feel that these flavors are more exciting and pay more tribute to a nation (as opposed to making an Italian flavor Pizza, if you get what I'm saying). Should be fun to watch.

Voting is not yet open on these, but I will update you guys as soon as something of interest occurs.

Contest: Margarita Colombia Copa De Los Sabores

So, bare with me guys, cuz I'm pretty confused on this one. It looks like the IDENTICAL "Flavor Cup" contest being run as Peru. However... in the image above are 4 flavors. Online however, I can only see people posting pictures and discussing 2 of the 4 flavors. You need a Colombian national ID number (like a US drivers license) to access the voters website. So I can't even see what flavors are in the vote. All I can do is share the 2 flavors I have been able to see. YES, it is literally harder to LOOK at the ballot on this vote than it is to vote for a US President.

 So here we have the flavor inspired by Argentina, "Churrasco"... aka Beef Steak. (if you'd like a better look, just click the image)

The other flavor is an "Ondulada" or "Ruffles"-style chip. And it was inspired by Italian "Pizza".

If you are thinking these 2 flavors sound similar, thats because they are the 2 flavors competing in Peru's Copa de Sabores right now as well... (although their Pizza flavor is not on Ruffles).









SOOO. Is this a 2 flavor competition? or a 4 flavor competition? Does it end after 1 round? Or will there be more competition ahead? I don't know any of those answers.

The flavors, once again, are not something new or interesting in my opinion. This is just a fun opportunity to try new flavors for a short time without having to commit long term shelf space to them. But, if you like a tasty chip, Margarita always kicks ass... so I wouldn't go out of my way for them, but if you are in Colombia, you may as well try em out.

UPDATE: Argentina's "Churrasco" has won Round 1. Now a second round will begin with 2 new flavors. The winner of Round 2 will face "Churrasco" in the final round for supremacy.

Contest: Lay's Perú Copa De Los Sabores

Tired of the same old Contest? Ya, we kind of are too. That's why I got very excited to see that Peru is changing the game and introducing the "Copa De Los Sabores" ["Flavor Cup"]. This contest pits nation against nation for votes. Italy's "Pizza" vs Argentina's "Strip Steak". Peruvians can vote online for their favorite after giving them a taste off the shelves. Both flavors are classic contest flavors, and are always a fun change of pace to the traditional shelf flavors. But the standout here is the cute packaging and fun contest. I love that the bag is reflective of the nation's flag, and the food looks yummy and makes you want to pop the bag open.
So who are you voting for? Which flavor catches your eye? Let us know down below!

UPDATE: Looks like my Favorite chips "Margarita" from Colombia are also launching this contest this week... flavor announcement should be today... eeeee!

UPDATE 2: Round 1 Winner was Italian "Pizza". The contest consists of 3 Rounds; Italia v Argentina was Round 1, Round 2 will be 2 new flavors, and Round 3 will be the winners of R1 & R2.