Simba Chips All Gold Tomato Sauce flavour

Photo: Facebook/Simba Chips

Simba discontinues their ‘All Gold Tomato Sauce’ flavour in SA

South Africans have voted out the Simba All Gold Tomato Sauce flavour in their Choose Me or Lose Me campaign that started in March.

Simba Chips All Gold Tomato Sauce flavour

Photo: Facebook/Simba Chips

It’s official! Simba will discontinue its All Gold Tomato Sauce flavoured chips as South Africans have voted the flavour out in the company’s Choose Me or Lose Me campaign. The flavour will be available in the country for the next few months.

Simba gave consumers three months to participate before making the final decision, and the decision about which flavour will be saved also took into account how many sales each flavour made.

SIMBA’S ALL GOLD TOMATO SAUCE FLAVOUR VOTED OUT

As of March 2021, Pepsico, the mother company that makes both Simba Chips and Lays, decided to collaborate with their customers about which flavour to discontinue. Chips fans were encouraged to put their money where their mouths are and buy the flavour they want to save. 

They had to choose between Salt & Vinegar, Cheese and Onion or Simba All Gold Tomato Sauce flavour.

Senior Marketing Director for salty snacks at PepsiCo, and custodian of the Simba brand, Giulia Iorio-Ndlovu said South Africans have a distinctive set of tastes, which sets us apart from other nations.

Ndlovu told IOL that they take their role very seriously in catering to these tastes, and this is why they consult their consumers and let them have their say when they consider changing our flavours. She said the “Choose Me or Lose Me” campaign had clearly caught the nation’s imagination, with thousands of votes having been received.

She added that South Africans have always loved sweet, salty, creamy, and tangy flavours, but recently, they are showing interest in meaty flavours, and flavours that evoke our braai cultures, such as Shisanyama, Chilli Biltong, and Chakalaka.

“These familiar, nostalgic flavours mean something to South Africans. In a sense, they help to bind us together. Our tastes do gradually develop. At Simba, we need to be in touch with our customers to ensure that we’re giving them what they need and that we remain relevant in that evolving taste context,” Ndlovu said.

This is how the public voted:

  1. Cheese and Onion: 539 298 (44,99%)
  2. Salt and Vinegar: 195 460 ( 37,00%)
  3. Tomato Sauce: 110 623 (18,01%)

READ: What flavour makes you roar? Chip in on Simba’s Choose Me or Loose Me campaign