Key takeaways:
- Lay’s and Ruffles lovers need to know there’s a big wide world of flavors out there.
- Similar to craft brewers, small chip makers bring much of the salty snack innovation.
- A sampler basket of regional chips could make for a fine tasting party.
Are potato chips healthy for you?
Would you be asking that if your favorite potato chip eater was a connoisseur of wine instead? As gift givers, isn’t our job to nurture and support our recipients’ continued pursuit of their interests?
Here’s an unexpected gift idea that could build on what they know they like about Lay’s or Ruffles, while introducing them to some nuanced tastes—and maybe the locales that produce them.
Our awareness of local potato chips was heightened when the introduction of deep dish pizza, Italian beef and Chicago-style hot dog chips by Local Style Potato Chips dominated Chicago news for a few weeks this spring.
The taste of these new chips is spot-on, with the Italian beef having a slight edge. But their launch made me wonder how easy it is to create a salty snack product. Local Style chips were developed by a marketer turned entrepreneur.
The research (only happy to do it) led to an array of beloved local potato chips. Sometimes, as is the case of the Local Style chips, it’s the seasoning that’s local. In other cases, the sourcing of potatoes native to the region is the distinction. Or the production process—smaller batches, different oils, etc.—which only a smaller chip maker could commit to.
Wine stuff aside, the better chipmaking comparison may be to craft breweries. If the top 10 companies account for 46% of launches over the last five years*, that means the smaller producers are responsible for more than half of the chip innovation. But while they can create the products, many are limited in their ability to achieve the scale they’d need for broader distribution.
The only way for chip connoisseurs to discover these tastes might be to take pilgrimages—if not for Amazon and other national food sites carrying them.
A gift of a sampler of potato chips could help your Lay’s lover elevate and tune their palate while providing the fixings of a fine chip tasting party.
Such a sampler might include the specialized flavor of the following.
The Alaska-grown potatoes sourced from the fields of Palmer, Alaska, and sold by Alaska Chip Company. The potato varieties used and the unique growing conditions of Alaska contribute to these chips’ flavor and texture.
Potatoes grown especially for chip-making on a single farm in Michigan for the Great Lakes Potato Chip Company. The potatoes are sliced with the skin on, which produces a bolder flavor and a more rustic, home-style appearance.
The company’s Michigan Cherry BBQ uses flavoring from the state’s summer harvest to achieve a sweetness you won’t taste in other barbecue-flavor chips.
The pioneer in barbecue-flavored chips, Guys Snacks of Kansas City, Kansas. Guy’s sells a range of “legendary” flavors, including the sweet mesquite BBQ with ridges.
Herr’s, whose home region is Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic, makes the famous Bay-seasoned chips pair with Chesapeake Bay seafood.
The Crab Chip, an homage to Maryland-style steamed crabs and from Utz, which today is a national brand.
In a throwback to the company’s origins, Grandma Utz’s Kettle-Style” Chips are kettle-cooked in lard. That’s a traditional frying method that predates the use of vegetable oils in commercial chip production.
From New Orleans come the Zapp’s Voodoo potato chips—described as “sweet, spicy and uniquely Cajun.”
If you’re going to run with this idea, just be aware that you’ll need to buy a minimum quantity that may be more—in quantity and expense—than what you’d expect. Also, even with Amazon, perishability can be a distribution challenge—you’ll occasionally see reviewers comment on the freshness of what’s delivered.
Multiple cases of potato chips from around the country is on their own exciting enough. To spruce up the presentation, you could free the chip bags from all that cardboard and toss them in one of these woven baskets. The largest of these is 15 inches long, 11.5 inches wide and comes in multiple colors.
* Source: Innova’s Potato & Tortilla Chips in the US, May 26, 2025