Judging by some of the latest designs from smaller companies, it appears that Lay's are allowed to design for the whole Chips & Crisps industry. As seen with so many, there is a giant logo, a photographic image of a few Chips, and the flavoring or seasoning - In this case, a pot of sour cream and a couple of scallions. The advantage Lay's have over their rivals is of course the most recognisable brand on the market. Even their overseas companies have the same logo, but with their brand name on the red banner. Lay's could actually have a plain, flavor color coded bag with the name of the flavor and their logo, and sell no fewer bags of Chips. However, this is far from innovative packaging. It is actually as basic as it can be while still remaining modern and evocative. Fortunately, not all smaller companies take Lay's lead. It is therefore to them, that we have to look for exciting and interesting bag designs.
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Crunch
You would not describe these Chips as crunchy. They were more munchy than crunchy. There was no brittle snappy crispy break. It was more of a crashing, smashing, mashing mouthful, that turned pulpy very quickly.
Texture
Perhaps the most remarkable thing we found about these Chips, is they looked exactly like the image on the bag. The Chips were of all sorts of sizes and unlike many of the varieties we have tried, most were whole. This would have been a fortunate coincidence. There were oil bubbles, but most were small. The Chips were light in color, with a soft powdery residue. There was some oil, but they did not appear overly greasy. There were also a few random flecks of green.
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Taste
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a slight onion aroma. As an all time American classic Chip flavor, Lay's probably has a right to set a standard that others can follow or attempt to better. Just like with the Barbecue flavor, if you consider that Lay's have sales targets to meet and beat with these standard bearers, they have to make a universally pleasing Chip, so it won't have stand-out flavors. However, in any flavor combo you hope that there is a balance between flavors. With these there was an uneven balance between four flavors: Salt, Potato, Sour Cream (or something creamy) and Onion - it just didn't work for us.