Smiths Chips number crunch

I'm not the only one in the world that finds potato chip flavours amusing. I think this came about sometime in the early 80's when one of the chip companies changed basic chicken flavour to "roast" chicken flavour. Sometimes I think that the art of chip manufacturing is pushing the limits of what we believe we would like to be eating if we weren't really having to settle for a chip.

Introducing the Smiths Do Us A Flavour competition in which 4 prospective entrants compete for 1% of sales plus $30,000. Sounds great, and I want to vote except I can't seem to find any of the four flavours anywhere on the shelves. Why? I'm not so sure when we have gems like:

Buttered Popcorn - there is only one place to eat popcorn or anything that resembles it and that's in the cinema. Isn't popcorn flavoured chips a little like bbq flavoured tomato sauce? I just don't get it ......,

Caesar Salad - the bacon bit I understand, but finally a chip that has the essence of cos lettuce, anchovies and a coddled egg. Sounds fantastic, compared to ……

BBQ Coat of Arms - I once tried emu in the NT, and it was forgettable. I'm still not sure about kangaroo either, but hey, let's combine the two and see what we come up with, and finally,

Late Night Kebab - Late night kebab stands are generally late night because they're not good enough to be open during the day. Late night kebabs are the last menu item consumed before morning Panadol. Enough said on that one.

Actually, I'm having a bit of fun, but I do note that the 1% of sales is a complex formula of revenue minus a host of discounts, taxes, margins and cost of goods. Given that most new flavours of chips end up gracing the clearance bins of "Go Lo" and “Crazy Prices”, this could be one of the few comps in which the winner ends up owing the promoter money.

Sign me up for that one!

Yours Comp-letely,

Craig Seitam 18/11/09

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