The Biggest Chip Failures of All Time (And Why They Failed)

If we were to reveal the safest snacks that most people all over the world enjoy, chips would definitely be at the top of the list. Yes, they aren’t the healthiest products. Yes, yes, eating them every day probably isn’t the best idea. But from time to time, we all like to have that crispy, salty snack while watching a movie or just taking a break.

That’s why brands often try to choose chips whenever they notice an opportunity to release new flavors, as they assume it directly means satisfying their customers. Still, surprisingly, not every chip brand has a successful story. Instead, even the biggest snack brands have messed up and disappointed customers with taste, texture, or marketing. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at 5 of the biggest chip failures in history and discuss why they didn’t survive.

1. Lay’s Cappuccino Chips

Lay’s chips are adored around the world. In fact, when someone thinks about buying packaged chips, chances are it will be one of the flavors of Lay’s. Still, there’s one Lay’s that once produced a flavor that literally no one wants to see on the shelves again, and it’s Cappuccino Chips. 

The chip brand first produced this product in 2014 as a part of the “Do Us a Flavor” contest. It was supposed to be a limited edition of what fans themselves voted for, and in the beginning, it sounded fun. But the public opinion changed once they actually tasted Lay’s chips with cappuccino seasoning, cinnamon, brown sugar, sea salt, butter, milk, and natural coffee flavor. 

Customers immediately described the chips as disgusting, and the “Do Us A Flavor” format turned out to be a kind of gamble that shows up in plenty of places outside the snack industry, too, such as on entertainment sites like Cowboyspin Casino, where winning isn’t guaranteed, but if you’re lucky enough, you’ll always find a way to walk away with something valuable. 

2. Lay’s WOW Chips

Sometimes snack brands try to please their customers by offering a healthy version of their beloved products. But for some strange reason, this usually ends up in failures. In Lay’s case, the initial idea in 1998 was to produce something that would be healthier. But deep down, we all know that there aren’t many ways to make a fried, salty snack actually healthy without changing something important about it. 

Frito-Lay still wanted to give the idea of creating a zero-fat chip a try. For this, they used a fat substitute called “olestra.” In the beginning, the idea sounded revolutionary, but only before people found out that this olestra passes straight through the body without being absorbed. As a result, despite initial sales of almost $400 million in the first year, the brand had to discontinue the snack in 2016. 

3. Doritos 3D

Doritos 3D already sounds weird enough to be considered a risky snack experiment. We can’t say it failed in the traditional sense because customers loved the flavor and the fun shape initially, but the brand still had to discontinue it. 

This variation of everyone’s favorite Doritos was first introduced in 1998. The snack brand aimed to make classic Doritos feel more playful and probably a bit more futuristic. As a result, they experimented with a “3D shape,” which was actually puffy and hollow inside. And it really did feel perfect for people who wanted a snack that looked different from everything else on the shelf. However, while we still remember Doritos 3D with nostalgia, it wasn’t successful enough to last for long and was discontinued in the early 2000s. 

4. O’Grady’s

When it comes to O’Grady’s chips, people often say that you either know and have tried this product or haven’t heard anything about it at all. The reason is that O’Grady’s was popular in the 1980s and disappeared before later generations would try it.

The most interesting part about the texture of this chip was that it was three times thicker than standard chips. Besides, they had double the amount of salt and the Au Gratin flavour, which usually means that a dish is topped with cheese. 

However, O’Grady’s success failed once PepsiCo bought it in 1984 and noticed that O’Grady’s was competing with their other, more profitable chip lines. So at this time, the reason for the failure wasn’t the weird taste or bad packaging.  

5. Pringles Fat-Free Chips

And the final chip failure is still related to an attempt to create a healthier version of a classic snack. Similar to Lay’s WOW chips, Pringles Fat-Free Chips were created for people who wanted to enjoy their favorite crunchy snack without sacrificing their health. The solution for this seemed to be to reduce the fat content and create something that was more diet-friendly than regular chips.

But again, the brand decided to use olestra as an ingredient, which was a controversial fat substitute that led to digestive problems. As a result, this version of Pringles didn’t really manage to become a successful, healthier snack. 

Bottom Line

Based on these 5 biggest chip failures, now we can assume that most of the time snack brands fail to produce successful chips because they just go too far from what chip admirers expect. Sometimes the problem is the taste. Other times, it can be texture or just the wrong marketing. Either way, as people already adore chips, new products seem to succeed only if the new flavor or shape feels familiar enough to lead to nostalgia. Chip brands just shouldn’t forget that even if a customer is curious to try something once, it doesn’t mean it’s enough to make them buy the same snack again and again.