Potato chips are one of those snacks that everyone loves, but, generally would never dare eat directly from the bag in public. For example, you could walk down the street drinking a trendy Starbucks Mocha Chip Frapuccino, which packs a whopping 590 calories and 22 grams of fat per
24 ounce serving, and no one would necessarily judge you as being low-classy or sloth-like. But, if you did the same with a bag of chips, you would likely be on the receiving end of a series of judgmental looks – even though a small bag is less than half of the calories of the aforementioned Starbucks. Because of this unfair stigma, most people reserve chip snacking to the privacy of their own couch or lost in a sea of other snacks on a table at a picnic, where the focus is diluted.
As a fan of all things potato, I believe the approach to chip bag design needs a re-think to remove this frumpy image – this is where the lovely photo above comes in. While dining at Inopia in Barcelona this week, I spied these remarkably charming chip bags on the restaurant's shelves and my instant thought was: "that is so beautiful – I must have it." Usually, that type of enthusiasm is reserved only for brands like Ladurée and Fauchon, not fried food snacks.
Spanish based San Nicasio has elevated the humble chip to a thing of artisanal beauty, touting their use of Himalayan pink salt and extra virgin olive oil. Who doesn't love the idea of pink salt? And don't even get me started on how much better olive oil fried anything tastes. Every time I had patatas bravas during my trip, I nearly lost mind mind wondering why everyone doesn't fry in olive oil all the time.
Anyhow, I digress. Like any other product, packaging is critical in creating desire and instilling pride of purchase and so I say, it's time for chips to have an identity makeover. Wouldn't you feel good about showing up to a party with "beautiful" chips that taste amazing and have pink salt? This design–crazy lady certainly would!
