Pringles has finally lifted the lid on its latest new flavour after keeping it a secret from fans for the past four months – and it’s one that’s sure to divide the nation
Pringles has unveiled its fiery new flavour, taking inspiration from a Gen Z TikTok trend. The renowned snack brand has been causing a stir on social media since January by selling tubes of the limited-edition snack, but kept fans guessing about the mystery flavour.
Eager fans took to social media with their guesses, which ranged from melted popcorn and wasabi barbecue to spaghetti Bolognese and pizza. However, after four months of suspense, the company has finally disclosed the Mystery Flavour – Spicy Pickle.
This revelation comes as the pickle flavour experiences an unexpected rise in popularity among younger consumers, with numerous videos tagged ‘#pickle’, ‘#pickle challenge’ or ‘#pickle trends’ appearing on social media.
Trends such as ‘glickles’ – adding edible glitter to pickle juice, and the ‘chickle’ – a fried cheese-wrapped pickle, have garnered millions of views.
Pringles flavour specialist Martha O’Reilly explained: “All of our flavours are based on what’s trending across Europe in food. And so TikTok was one of the inspirations for this because pickles are everywhere right now. Especially with Gen Z, we know that’s where they’re getting inspiration for the products that they’re buying.”
Martha confessed that the new flavour was somewhat of a wildcard that they didn’t anticipate would work, but once they tasted it, they knew it was a hit.
She enthused: “You want a flavour that’s going to generate that conversation and be a little bit divisive well, so people don’t necessarily know what it is straight off the bat.
“This flavour is quite complex. We have the spice, which comes from red chilli and jalapeno, and then we have, obviously, the pickles, so the fermented flavours in that.
“We also do have other taste elements, so we’re looking at onion, tomato, paprika and garlic, which adds to that polarisation. People are guessing what the flavour is, but they can’t get it.”
The new taste sensation has had nearly 6,000 intrepid tasters throwing their guesses into the ring – yet less than a whisker above zero percent could nail it.
A raft of incorrect guesses includes Chinese spice, spicy meatball and cheesy nachos, with some punters venturing as far afield with estimations like Thai red curry, chicken fajita or chilli con carne. One successful sleuth amidst the deluge of wrong picks stands to pocket a jaunt to New York.
Martha O’Reilly, privy to the secret of the fresh flavour alongside a select 50 before it hit the newsstands, confessed: “Probably one of the biggest challenges I’ve had this year is just keeping it under wraps.”