Vaporware: Novelty Chip Flavors

Novelty is almost a default feature in snack foods. Consider the endless stream of new flavors for chips (potato, corn, etc.) where virtually all of the new flavors are nothing more than a coating applied to the chip surface. This is similar to the Jelly Belly brand flavor combination recipes. What if that chip coating could be packaged separately so the consumer could apply just what they want or mix and match flavors?

Separating the coating from the chip allows some new benefits not possible today.

• Manufacturing can be greatly streamlined to focus on just the base chip with a default coating (e.g. salt) without needing separate production runs for each flavor coating. This also improves the ability to optimize distribution even in the face of new and fast moving flavor trends.
• Consumers can customize the strength of the coating by adding just what they want. This allows previously impossibly strong flavors (i.e. spicy, tart, sweet, etc.) where adding more equates to a stronger flavor.
• Consumers can mix and match different flavors in ways impossible to envision today. It is likely most combinations will appeal to a very narrow market which can only be economically served in this way. As certain combinations become more popular they can become their own flavor packages.
• Serving possibilities can be expanded by mixing the flavor packet into a dip with different combination of things like sour cream, mayonnaise, oils or liquids.
• Test marketing wildly new and potentially risky flavors now becomes much less costly and greatly shortens the time and investment to go from development to delivery.