We Need These Three New Japanese Pringles Flavors ASAP

This is the truth: I heard someone use the phrase “Pizza-blasted Pringles” on a show the other day, and the next day I “wound up” in the Pringles section of the grocery store. As it turns out, Pizza-flavored Pringles do, indeed, exist. What a world we live in.

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I didn’t buy the regular Pizza Pringles. But I did notice how paltry the Pringles section looked. And didn’t Pringles kind of used to lead the charge in terms of new flavors we love? Turns out they still are―just not here. Like other chips makers, Pringles pays attention to regional tastes. And three different regions in Japan recently each received their very own (delicious-sounding) flavor drop, and yes, we would like to beg that Pringles send them here right now, please. 

Three Flavors, Three Regions

What’s interesting about the Pringles flavor drop isn’t just that they’ve targeted three regions. And it isn’t just the flavors. It’s that Pringles is targeting the regions―Hokkaido, Kansai, and Kyushu―in terms of travel. The new Pringles flavors are sold exclusively in souvenir sections at airports, stations, or service areas when heading to Hokkaido, Kansai, or Kyushu.

Which means you might be able to grab a can stateside―just as long as you’re about to board a 12-hour international flight. While the flavor combos might sound unusual to some snackers, our educated guess is they taste wonderful (again, dear Pringles people, can we please have some??). 

Dissecting the Flavors: Fish & Umami

Okay, these might be worth booking a flight. Here’s the breakdown. 

The prefecture Hokkaido is on the sumptuous receiving end of the Buttered Scallops with Soy Sauce flavor, which does not sound like something you’d necessarily crave in a chip. Scallops are naturally delicately sweet, tamed with the kind of buttery flavor I’d imagine you get in a gourmet popcorn, plus a bit of salt and umami depth from soy sauce. 

The region of Kansai gets Takoyaki with Mayo flavor begs a bit more explanation, and bear with us: takoyaki aka “octopus balls” are a classic, adored Japanese street food, and you don’t have to enjoy eating octopus in tentacle form to enjoy these. Takoyaki are made with minced octopus meat, battered and fried with pickled ginger, scallions, and drizzled with delicious Japanese mayo. Put that all on a delicate fried potato chip and yes, we believe you have a winner. 

The Mentaiko, aka “Spicy Cod,” flavor is going to the island of Kyushu. This one might take the most convincing (for those not used to cured fish egg roe) but will also likely win over more people to the food that inspired the flavor. Mentaiko is hot pepper-cured cod roe, which is salty, umami-bombtastic, and, of course, spicy―in fact now that we think of it, everything about it kind of screams “Make me a chip flavor!” Lucky for, well, some, the good people at Pringles did. 

Now all we have to do is stop screaming “Pringles please send us some” internally.