Lay’s Snuck A New Holiday Flavor Into Its Line-Up, But Good Luck Finding It

Lay’s just loves to surprise us, and you know what? Keep ‘em coming. I love it when food brands keep stuff close to their chests, particularly when that stuff comes in chip form. And these surprises can come out of nowhere. Case in point, last month, we caught wind of Lay’s holiday flavors this year, which at the time we thought would be limited to just two options: Cheddar Scalloped Style Potatoes and Roasted Holiday Turkey. 

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But then: A third challenger appeared. So far, it looks as though it could be the best of the bunch. If you can track it down, that is. 

Lay’s Maple Bacon Flavor

Lay’s officially announced its limited-time seasonal flavors last week (which, in its press release, it dubbed its “Holi-LAY’s lineup” – fun), and alongside the aforementioned two options, it also revealed it was bringing out a Maple Bacon flavor. This new Lay’s flavor takes the bacon notes that have featured in its chips so many times before, in so many forms, and adds in a sweet maple note. 

Now, there’s an argument to be made here that Maple Bacon isn’t especially festive or holiday-themed (but then, neither are Cheddar Scalloped Style Potatoes), but so far it doesn’t seem like it matters that much. Lay’s bacon chips can very easily become much of a muchness, but according to early reviews, its Maple Bacon flavor is genuinely distinct. The maple note is pronounced and caramel-like, and there’s a proper smokiness to it that doesn’t allow it to fall into being overly sweet. The bacon flavor also has a good meatiness in there, and a fullness. People who are rolling their eyes at another bacon chip may not be that excited by it, but I certainly am. 

And Where is It?!

Ah. Here’s the problem. Several people have reported being unable to find Lay’s Maple Bacon flavor, while having no trouble tracking down the other two in its holiday (sorry, Holi-LAY’s) collection. Despite the official announcement coming this week, Cheddar Scalloped Style Potatoes and Roasted Holiday Turkey have been available for a couple of weeks now – but this one seems to be getting a later rollout.

Exactly why that’s the case is unclear. It could be that Lay’s was keeping this one up its sleeve as a true surprise; it could be that it was a last-minute addition to the line-up, or was bumped up from a later planned release. Given that I do not have access to PepsiCo HQ, I couldn’t possibly say. What I will say, though, is that I think these could be a dark horse.