Crunch is on: Frito-Lay enters gourmet chip fray

USA Today

Seems like everything's going gourmet these days. Even junk food.

First, it was candy. Then, cookies. And ice cream. Even pizza, burgers and hot dogs have spawned highbrow versions. Now, coming soon to a snack food aisle near you: the gourmet potato chip.

Think you've seen some of these already? Well, you probably have. But not from Frito-Lay. And it's the biggest lowbrow chipmaker on the planet. The gourmet boast for this new chip line is the oh-so-exclusive recipe advice it received from no less than the Culinary Institute of America.

Just in time for picnicking season, get ready for Lay's Bistro Gourmet line of chips seasoned with everything from roast garlic and herbs to jalapeno and sharp cheddar.

For Frito-Lay, this is an attempt to boost its chip sales growth. It's been lagging some pesky, little regional competitors who have been making gourmet chips for years.

Can Frito-Lay convince consumers that it's now the Mrs. Fields of chips? That won't be easy. But, hey, there's money to be made with chichi chips. They'll cost at least 50 cents more per bag than run-of-the-mill chips. (Retail price: $2.59 per 9-ounce bag.) And maybe even impress your snacking guests.

Little wonder the premium snack sector is enjoying double-digit growth. "For stressed-out people, it's an easily affordable reward," said Bernard Pacyniak, editorial director of Snack Food.

No one knows the exact size of the gourmet junk food industry. But executives estimate it's already in the billions of dollars.

Now, Frito-Lay is hungry for its slice.

An estimated 20 percent of cookie, cracker, ice cream and even frozen pizza sales are premium labels. But premium chips account for less than 4 percent of all chip sales, he estimated.

Frito-Lay expects to sell $100 million of gourmet chips the next year.

Here are a few other peddlers of gourmet jink food:

• Wacky chips. One of the tastiest chips are so-called kettle chips, which aren't made in mass fryers but in small kettles. Among the oldest is Poore Brothers, which even makes chips flavored like dill pickles and steak and onions.
• Gooey chips. Here's a recipe for fun: chips stacked and wrapped in caramel and chocolate. That's what Angel Chips of Boca Raton, Fla., has been making for two years. The chips are considered so chichi that samples were handed to stars at the Grammy Awards.
• Gelato. Sorry, Ben & Jerry's. The rage in premium ice cream is gelato, an Italian ice cream that's extra smooth.