Lay’s Flavor Swap: New Potato Chip Flavors Aren’t New Flavors At All

For its newest Lay’s potato chip flavors, Frito-Lay looked to its other products for inspiration rather than elsewhere for innovation in its Flavor Swap line. Aptly dubbing it “a chip in a chip that was already a chip,” Best Products began circulating images of a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos-flavored Lay’s chips a few months back. Now, the inception-worthy chip has become a reality, with two other “new” flavors launching by its side.

Lay’s limited-time-only Flavor Swap lineup includes Lay’s Doritos Cool Ranch along with Lay’s Wavy Funyuns Onion and Lay’s Cheetos Cheese. The chips resemble Lay’s classic, thin potato chips, but taste like Doritos, Funyuns and Cheetos, respectively. So why would Frito Lay release chips that taste like other chips when the flavors already exist in other forms?

Texture plays a large role in how food is experienced. Perhaps Frito Lay concluded that Doritos might taste better in thin potato chip form. And in the same vein, it figured Funyuns might taste even better in wavy chip form. At the very least, consumers are already familiar with the taste of Doritos, Funyuns and Cheetos, so there won’t be any surprises flavor-wise.

Related: Lay’s RePlay to Repurpose Packaging and Make Sustainable Football Pitches Around the World

“From local cuisine to restaurant favorites to fan-submitted flavor ideas, Lay’s has drawn inspiration from so many different places over the years to bring our fans joy through new and exciting flavor experiences,” said Melissa Miranda, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America, in a press release. “This time, we’ve partnered with two beloved Frito-Lay brands to give our fans an innovative, one-of-a-kind flavor experience like no other chip brand can do.”

As with many of its flavors, Lay’s Flavor Swap chips are available for a limited time and are currently listed on Target’s website, among other retailers. The Doritos and Cheetos flavors are available in 7.75-ounce bags and the Funyuns flavor in 7.5-ounce bags, with all flavors available in individual 2.63-ounce snack bags.

Y’all. Aren’t. Ready. @Doritos @TheRealFunyuns pic.twitter.com/uw73ssFWuA

— LAY'S (@LAYS) July 26, 2021

Frito-Lay is no stranger to out-of-the-box flavors. The chip giant recently brought back Lay’s Cheesy Garlic Bread Flavored chips as a limited-time offering. The flavor first came about in 2013 as part of Lay’s “Do Us A Flavor” contest, in which fans suggested Sriracha, Chicken and Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Bread flavors. Fast-forward eight years later, and the contest-winning flavor is back for the summer. It will also be rolling out three new limited-edition summer flavors, including Chile Mango, Wavy Jerk Chicken and Summer BLT chips.

The new flavors come as Frito Lay workers ended a nearly three-week-long strike in Topeka, Kansas, The New York Times reported. The workers negotiated a wage increase, a day off every week and an end to unbearably long shifts where employees only had an eight-hour break between shifts. Now, workers at the Topeka plant will see “four percent wage increases to employees in all job classifications over the two-year contract,” according to a statement from Frito-Lay.