Runners Chips: History, Brands & Availability

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐☆☆☆

Sometimes you find snacks that are really popular among a certain country or culture. Of course, there are others around the world that know about these delights, but they are famous in a certain spot and then scattered around. Runners Chips is one such snack. These tasty chips are shaped like cars and they are tons of fun. But they are also only well-known in certain areas. 

You’re going to want to buckle up for this ride. These tasty chips are a snack for the books! 

History

Runners Chips are a Mexican chip and they are actually one of the most popular chips in their category. You’ve heard of Takis, but Takis don’t have anything on Runners Chips! These chips are spicy and delicious. They are also incredibly fun because they are shaped like cars. If that doesn’t make them unique, we’re not sure what will. 

Runners Chips are made by a company named Barcel. In case you didn’t make the connection, Barcel is also responsible for making snacks like Takis, which is where the correlation comes into play between those two snacks. The company was founded in Mexico in 1978. 

Barcel is well-known for making tasteful crunchy snacks that always have a twist. The twist might be the design, it might be the flavor, or it might be a combination of both in some cases. Barcel has headquarters in several different countries. While they are from Mexico, they do have locations in the USA, as well as some other locations. 

Much like other popular companies, Barcel is an umbrella to a lot of really great brands. This includes Takis, Runners, Coronado, some candy and sweets brands, and a few other selections as well. You might recognize some of them if you start digging into the details. 

Barcel falls underneath another umbrella, which is Grupo Bimbo. Barcel covers products that are eclectic in style and flavors. This includes snack, candies, and more. They all combine flavors of spicy and sweet to create a unique mix of products and people love them. 

Runners are known for their spicy and hot flavors, as well as the unique racecar design. This crunchy corn snack is probably most closely related to hot Cheeto’s but they are unique even from those. 

One thing that is really unique about Barcel with all of their snack foods is they believe in quality. They use high standards for manufacturing processes and adding nutritional details to every product like Runners. The company has won numerous awards for the quality of their foods. They are also known for the sustainability approach, and their devotion to social and environmental responsibility. 

In line with those awards, the company has certifications for Clean Industry, Safe quality Food, and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. They’re a company well worth getting to know, as is their parent company, Grupo Bimbo. 

Their Runners Chips snack is mostly available in Mexico. 

About Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo is a huge company. They have a presence in 33 different countries and they work with hundreds of brands. Barcel is just one of those huge brands. They have a unique philosophy that is heavily driven by sustainability. They believe technology is incredibly important and they strive to “feed a better world”. 

This group is a leader in the food industry, particularly in baked goods and crunchy snacks. You would likely recognize some of their top brands. Here are a few of those. 

• Little Bites muffin
• New York Bakery Co
• Harvest Gold
• Takis
• Artesano breads
• Dempsters
• Runners Chips

These are just a few prime examples. However, just know that their reach is expansive. Being in 33 countries with more than 100 brands, it’s no wonder. This spans across four major continents and they work with close to 200 bakeries in total. 

Grupo Bimbo has been following their feed a better world philosophy for more than 70 years now. They herald from Mexico and remain a Mexican brand. They first began. But they’ve grown well beyond those borders. They had humble beginnings that moved forward with just four products and 10 delivery trucks. That grew into the hundreds of associated brands. 

This includes Barcel, which includes Runners Chips and that is significant! 

Who Owns Runners? 

Following the ownership trail we went through above is a little bit complicated. So let’s break it down just a bit. 

It’s a little bit of a pyramid that goes a little something like this. 

1. Runners
2. Barcel owns Runners and some other similar snacks (like Takis)
3. Grupo Bimbo owns Barcel as well as hundreds of other brands

Barcel does have a presence in the USA, but Runners is primarily just available in Mexico. It is a Mexican snack. In the USA and some other countries, you can find similar flavors in the infamous Takis. 

Grupo Bimbo passes down their philosophies to each of their brands. And then those brands, like Barcel, also take on those philosophies. We can see evidence of this in the creation of these snacks as well as the awards that they’ve received for their practices. 

It really is a unique business design overall. 

How Did Runners Get Their Name? 

When you hear the name Runners Chips, you likely start thinking that they are chips designed for runners. The term certainly captures the attention of many. A lot of runners look for them just because of the name. 

However, Runners puts a bit of a twist to their name by using a car design for all of their chips. The cars are the runners in this scenario. It’s still a lot of fun. Think about the fact that every chip in the bag is shaped to look like a sports car. It’s really interesting. 

It’s unclear exactly what car the chips mimic, but rumors say it was originally shaped like the VW Beetle. 

Logo

Flavors

The flavors of Runners Chips are also unique. They are made to be just slightly sweet but also spicy. Aside from Takis, which are made by the same company, you’re likely not going to find anything else flavored just like these. 

To our knowledge, there is just one flavor of Runners on the market. It’s possible that there have been other flavors in the past, but we were not able to find any details that shared those stories. 

Runners chips are corn chips that are then flavored and spiced to be sweet and spicy. You get the undernotes of a traditional corn chip to start. This is paired with a strong flavor of chile and lime paired together. They are said to be slightly mild, but it probably depends on the seasoning on the chip you pop in your mouth! 

Ingredients

• Cornmeal
• Vegetable oil
• Seasoning (Maltodextrin, Iodized Salt, Citric Acid, Nixtamalized Cornmeal, Sodium Diacetate, Monosodium Glutamate, Chili Powder, Natural and Nature-Identical Flavoring, Artificial Colors Lake (Yellow 6 and Red 40), Onion Powder, Corn Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Modified Corn Starch, Sodium Guanylate, Sodium Inosinate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, and BHT).

Nutrition

Serving Size:	58g	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	315Kcal
Calories From Fat	180Kcal
Total Fat	20g	31%
Sodium	600mg	25%
Total Carbs	31g	10%
Dietary Fiber	1g	4%
Protein	3g	6%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Pictures

Conclusion

If you’re looking for something delightfully fun to try, Runners Chips are a great option! They have the perfect amount of spiciness paired with the flavor of lime and they’re the best type of crunchy underneath. These car-shaped chips are unique and the stories behind the brands are inspirational. 

You won’t be able to find Runners in just any store, but there are plenty of places online that you can find them. They are most certainly worth a try, especially if you like the idea of a bit of spice on your crunchy snack!