When I was growing up, Pringles were a delicacy. We didn’t always have them, but when we did, it felt like a special occasion. I have no idea why. I just don’t think they were as readily available in the 90s as they are today. Maybe that’s my narrow worldview coming into play – I’m being pedantic, but perhaps the issue wasn’t that they weren’t readily available…but that there was only Suggs Creek Market and the Piggly Wiggly/H.G. Hill as far as groceries went back then. If those two spots didn’t have Pringles, Pringles simply didn’t exist to me. They were like pomegranates…they were hard to find until they were everywhere.
But, back then…I only remember the original flavor and sour cream and onion. Eventually, the pizza flavor popped up somewhere. To this day, that is one of the GOAT potato chips, though it does call to these lost treasures:
Anyway, maybe throughout the years, Pringles would sprinkle a new flavor in here and there. BBQ. Honey Mustard. But, my point here is that for the bulk of my 39 years on this planet, Pringles was not insane. They were just a normal potato chip company that sprinkled a new flavor on us once every few years or so. That changed a few years ago. They put out the roasted turkey flavor, but I more or less attributed that to a PR stunt since it was November and Thanksgiving was on the horizon.
That wasn’t the case, though. How naive of me. It wasn’t just a PR stunt. It was a sign of things to come. I walk through a Wal-mart snack aisle these days, and it’s like sifting through old items at a flea market. I just don’t know what I’m going to pull out. Sometimes, I’ll stare at the myriad of Pringles options on the shelf and I’ll think, “surely, this is AI.” That’s how out of my mind these new Pringles flavor have made me.
Now, I sit here contemplating what this brand has become, and having tried some of these flavors – street corn (fine), dill pickle (fine), hot honey (fantastic), Texas BBQ brisket (super duper salty) – I can’t help but wonder where this all came from. There’s like a whole line of Hot Ones inspired flavors, too. There is even a *checks notes* Miller Lite beer can chicken flavor. It’s ludicrous. It’s an affront to the fabled heritage of the Pringles brand. Stop. Pringles, you’re doing too much. They’re going to laugh at you. You’re going to be the booger-flavored jelly beans if you’re not careful.
What happened? Is this some simulation thing? Did Pringle himself start doing cocaine? Did they just get in a board room one day and decide they needed to become the most prolific flavor of chip inventors in world history? There’s a whole history here to explore. It’s calling to me like the Green Goblin mask. There’s a story here that we don’t know. I’m about to take some legit time off from writing and podcasting – maybe the history of Pringles is just the rabbit hole I need. We need real journalism on what happened here.
Also, according to Google, there’s a Roasted Seaweed flavor of Pringles out there from a few years ago. Good luck with that one.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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