Photo: Mekhail Nielsen
Photo: Mekhail Nielsen
Don’t toy with our emotions like this, please! Lay’s have caused chaos online this week with a series of cryptic Tweets, after their discontinued Salt and Vinegar flavoured chips exactly one year ago – conclusive proof that 2020 really was the worst year on record. So what’s got Mzansi in such a stir?
Are Lay’s bringing back Salt and Vinegar chips?
Well, the famous blue bags have been reappearing on supermarket shelves and in viral social media posts. On the sly, Salt and Vinegar Lay’s are making a comeback – even if the company isn’t shouting about it from the rooftops. They’ve kept consumers on a knife-edge, teasing that a full-scale rollout of the flavour may get underway soon:
All we're going to say is that sometimes dreams come true and sometimes not. ????
— Lay's South Africa (@LaysSouthAfrica) February 16, 2021
???????? #NotYourAverage
— Lay's South Africa (@LaysSouthAfrica) February 15, 2021
Good things come to those who wait ????#NotYourAverage
— Lay's South Africa (@LaysSouthAfrica) February 15, 2021
Cryptic Tweets keep customers in the dark
However, their true intentions are still open to interpretation. Some suggest that Salt and Vinegar Lay’s will return as a ‘limited edition’ flavour – but these rumours are yet to be confirmed. Lay’s brand manager, Wesley Chetty, was left with the task of breaking the news to South Africans that their product would be pulled from the shelves, back in February 2020.
It’s no coincidence things got significantly worse after that, is it? Chetty explained that Salt and Vinegar Lay’s ‘could not compete’ with the popularity of other flavours – but it now seems the company have misjudged public opinion.
“We did our research and sometimes flavours do not perform – and we had to discontinue the flavour. We have to listen to our customers and we made the decision. Lightly salted is our number one flavour. Caribbean Onion and Balsamic Vinegar is our second-best flavour. Salt and Vinegar Lay’s simply [cannot compete].”
Wesley Chetty
