Reddit Swears Takis Quietly Changed Their Recipe

Change may be afoot, people. And that change may be happening – or may have already happened – in your bag of Takis. The snack brand previously announced this year that it was removing artificial colors from its food, in line with measures outlined by the US Department of Health and Human Services and US Food & Drug Administration to eliminate petroleum-based dyes in US food items. Takis committed to doing that by the end of 2026 – but a few months shy of that, people are already noticing that things feel a little different. 

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Not when it comes to their appearance, though. When it comes to their flavor. So, what’s going on? Let’s break it down. 

More Spice Or Less Spice?

A couple of days ago, a thread bubbled up on Reddit, with the original poster stating that their Takis were tasting spicier. “They are way spicier now. More dust too,” said the OP, also saying that last time they had Takis, there was no dust on them at all. If this sounds like a criticism, it kinda wasn’t: The person who posted the thread also said that their Takis were “very nice.” 

The thread was subsequently visited and commented on by other people describing changes they’ve noticed in their Takis flavors. Weirdly, though, someone else said that they now taste LESS spicy. This isn’t the first thread that’s popped up this year about Takis changing its recipe, either: A few months ago, another person took to the internet to ask whether the brand had altered its formula, with subsequent comments stating that the pepper flavors feel different in its Fuego flavor, and that the lime note has reduced considerably. 

So What’s Going On? Is This Because Of The Food Dyes?

It’s very unlikely. Not only have we had no confirmation that Takis has removed artificial dyes from its foods entirely (and food brands generally like to let people know when they’ve done that, because it puts them in a good light: See the latest announcement from the makers of Lucky Charms and Trix for evidence of this), but synthetic food colors don’t have any noticeable taste in the quantities used in snacks and candies. 

It’s also worth pointing out that Takis has had to deal with accusations that it’s changed its recipe for years, and in 2023, it responded to some of them, confirming that it was the same as ever. Like any food, flavors can vary slightly from batch to batch, and in place of an official confirmation that things have changed, we can reasonably assume that these packs have just…turned out a little different. Or, as one Redditor said in the original thread discussed, “Sounds like you and OP are both describing spice tolerance changes.” Which is very possible.