Pringles Classes Up The Joint

Most of my close friends know that I have a weakness for impulse buying in convenience stores. Whenever I see a new drink or snack, I usually have to try it at least once. This has lead to some interesting experiences, including an flu-fighter soda (which quickly disappeared from the shelves), Jolly Rancher soda, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups with Marshmallow (among other varieties), and countless other things that were most likely not good for me, and may actually have taken years off my life.

For a brief period, this stopped when I quit the library. I didn’t have direct access to my 7-11 anymore, and I didn’t feel like driving down there just to see what crazy products they were offering up. Well, now I walk to the Walgreens by my offices, and while they don’t have the crazy drinks that 7-11 stocked, they do tend to have surprising snack foods on occasion.

The newest discovery? Pringles is trying to class up their brand with a new line of “Select” products. Featuring the a variety of flavors like “Parmesan Garlic Potato Crisps”, “Sun Dried Tomato Potato Crisps”, “Cinnamon Sweet Potato” and “Szechuan Barbecue Rice Crisps” they have moved away from the tube, and moved back to the bag with these chips. The biggest difference, aside from the bag, is the size. Now silver dollar sized at best, these chips are more a handful snack than a chip at a time. Adding chips created from rice and sweet potatoes however is a nice touch for people looking for an alternative.

I bought the Cinnamon Sweet Potato bag, as I was most interested in trying the sweet potato chips. And I wasn’t disappointed. They hit you hard and fast with the cinnamon sugar, but the mildness of the potato follows up quickly. I noticed myself not going back to the bag as often as I did for the typical Pringles, not because they didn’t taste good, but because I had my fill long before I do where normally do with the typical chips. I’ve also tried the Szechuan Barbecue Rice Crisps and the Parmesan Garlic Potato Crisps, thanks to my friend at work picking up two other bags.

I personally believe the BBQ chips take the prize, while he believed the Parmesan Garlic where the best item bought tonight. But we could agree we were all winners.

Sidenote: How many people wander around the food aisles at a CVS or Walgreens, waiting for the new food to speak to you before you make your purchase? Just us? Okay.

Pringles also has a smaller line of new flavors that do not garner the new Select brands glory, but still need to be mentioned. Featuring flavors such as Thai Chili Spice, Bruschetta and Tuscan Red Pepper, they can only be found in half cans which is a good idea because the Thai Chili variety is addicting. The Bruschetta tastes a little too much like either tomato soup or ketchup depending on who you ask, and I still haven’t seen the red pepper variety available around me.