THUNDER BAY – Lay’s Potato Chips are asking, what is the next big flavour?

Potato chips are a popular snack. In Canada, we consume 200,000 metric tonnes of potatoes sliced thin and bagged into Lay’s potato chips.

Canada is one of the most diverse countries in the world, with a palette as rich as our culture and expansive as our borders. Our varied tastes have led Canada into the forefront of flavour innovation, with Ketchup and Dill Pickle potato chips being wildly successful Canadian creations.

Lay’s Potato Chips – What flavour snack?

Not surprisingly, plain potato chips are the most popular across Canada.

In Ontario, thirty percent of the Lay’s potato chips consumed are Salt and Vinegar. Plain chips are the most popular in Ontario.

That is a contrast to Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan where Sour Cream and Onion is the most popular flavour, after ‘Classic’. 

For people in Quebec, it is Barbeque, again after ‘Classic’.

What is the next big flavour? 

There are different flavours of potato chips in different places. In Germany, paprika chips are very popular. 

Our diverse palettes and knack for flavour creativity are the reasons that the Lay’s brand is bringing the globally popular Do Us a Flavour™ contest to Canada.

The Lay’s brand and comedic legend Martin Short are asking Canadians to create the next great Lay’s potato chip flavour idea by participating in the Do Us a Flavour contest. Launched during the Super Bowl half time show, the Do Us a Flavour contest asks Canadians to submit their flavour idea at www.lays.ca/flavour for a chance to win $50,000 CDN plus 1% of their winning flavour’s future sales (after the voting period).

As the star of the Do Us a Flavour ad that launched during the Super Bowl, Martin Short will be in Canada in February to help inspire a nation of potential taste makers, as well as serving as a judge in the selection of the four finalist flavours. “I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Do Us a Flavour program,” says Martin Short, Canadian comedic legend.

“I think that we Canadians are an incredibly creative bunch and as a nation with such a rich mix of traditions, cultures and backgrounds, I think we are going to see some wonderfully inventive flavours,” shares Short.

A national survey, commissioned by the Lay’s brand and conducted by Leger marketing, revealed that beyond plain chips, Canadians are currently most likely to choose Barbecue, Salt and Vinegar, and Sour Cream and Onion when snacking. But that could change completely depending on the new innovative flavour ideas submitted during the contest.

“The Lay’s brand has created some really delicious flavours over the years, and now we’re asking our fans to weigh in and share their ideas,” says Susan Irving, director of marketing, PepsiCo Foods Canada. “Who better to create our next Lay’s potato chip flavour than our Canadian fans who love us the most?”

The Lay’s brand is supporting the launch of Do Us a Flavour not only through a new commercial featuring Martin Short, but also with a fully integrated campaign to reach out to chip lovers across the country. Consumers will be able to learn more about the program through custom in-store displays, new Do Us a Flavour packaging for Lay’s chips, online and radio ads along with public events in Vancouver on February 16 and Toronto on March 2.

The Contest

To submit a flavour idea, Canadians will be asked to provide their flavour name, up to three ingredients and their flavour inspiration (maximum 140 characters) at www.lays.ca/flavour by April 15, 2013. Fans without a Facebook account can also submit by texting FLAVOUR to “101010”.  Standard text messaging rates may apply.

Four finalist flavours will be selected from eligible entries by a panel of judges and will then be made available in stores nationwide beginning around July 30, 2013.  Once they hit shelves, Lay’s fans across the country will be able to purchase and try all four finalist flavours and vote for their favourite at www.lays.ca/flavour until October 16, 2013.

While all four finalists will have the chance to see their flavours come alive on the shelf, only the grand prize winner will take home $50,000 plus 1% of their flavour’s future sales (after the voting period).  The grand prize winner is set to be announced in November, 2013.

Engage Online

Visitors to the Lay’s Do Us a Flavour page will be able to interact with the contest on Facebook in deeper, more digital ways. Exclusively for the contest, Canadians can select their favourite flavours by clicking the “I’d Eat That!” button (rather than the standard Facebook “Like” button), and they can share their favourite flavours with their own Facebook community as a fun way to interact with their friends and other contestants in head-to-head “flavour showdowns.”

Visitors to the Lay’s Do Us a Flavour page can also explore where in Canada each flavour was created, gaining a glimpse into how flavour preferences differ across the country.

For more information and full contest rules, visit www.lays.ca/flavour.

National Flavour Survey Results

To help you in your quest to come up with the next big flavour here are the results of a National survey conducted on behalf of Lay’s revealed a number of interesting flavour insights both at a national and regional level:

• Only one in ten Canadians know that Ketchup chips are exclusively Canadian.
• Half of Canadians think geography influences flavour preferences.
• Young Canadians (under 35 years of age) say that poutine is the flavour that would best represent their province, regardless of where they live.
• When surveyed, almost 40% of Canadians chose ingredients like garlic bacon and cheese to potentially flavour their chips. Sweet flavours are ranked the lowest, with ingredients like honey, cinnamon and sugar being the least popular.