All About Snacka Changi Chips

Kia Ora!

This is a lengthy, wordy post, best read when you are bored and looking for something to pass some time. I promise, it's an entertaining read and will be worth your time!

I feel I should let you know - plain (non-flavoured) chips here are called salted or sometimes "ready salted", just so you are aware when you get to that flavour.

When we visited Ryan last summer there was a brand of chips that the packaging caught our eye. We tried a couple of the flavors when we were here and were entertained by the packaging. This post is all about SnackaChangi Chips - to introduce you to these funny packaged chips. I bought one of each flavor so  I could show you the packaging and will also type up the details from the back! Be sure to zoom in for all the details, including where it says "Made from 100% Free Range Non-Caged Potatoes". Also, where the wording was repeated exactly I didn't retype it on the back descriptions. Just for full disclosure. Also, I typed it as it is written, including what may seem like typos (clothers dryer) and used their capitalization and punctuation. Please don't ask my why Snackachangi sometimes has a capital C and other times does not. I don't know. Enjoy!

First up is Great Uncle Kenny's Fried Chicken!

GREAT UNCLE KENNY'S FRIED CHICKEN

From the front:

GREAT UNCLE KENNY'S AMAZING SNACKACHANGI CHIPS, est. 1649.

CHUNKY, CRUNCHY, CRIPSY, BRASS KETTLE FRIED CORRUGATED CHIPS.

WITH OVER 1100 HERBS & SPICES! SEASONED NOT ONCE, NOT TWICE, BUT THRICE!

Great Uncle Kenny's date turned into a life & death situation! Struggling to run, he cursed the salesman who talked him into buying a 'snug' fitting size 32 pair of jeans, instead of the more practical size 36!

From the back...
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SNACKACHANGI
Many people believe that Great Uncle Kenny was perhaps the first person ever to fry chicken. But I think it's also worth mentioning that far more people don't believe that. In fact, even Great Uncle Kenny is quoted as saying "That's ridiculous, at least one guy I know did it before me!" But Great Uncle Kenny probably can lay claim to single-handedly creating the world's greatest 'Fried Chicken' flavoured potato chip!
As with all SnackaChangi chips, they are made using only 100% free-range, non-caged potatoes, but the real secret lies in the secret recipe for over 1100 herbs and spices! Being a WW2 fighter pilot meant Great Uncle Kenny was able to rapidly apply these herbs and spices to his free-range potatoes while still in the field by using a low flying crop duster bi-plane. He would season them not once, not twice, but thrice!
Here at SnackaChangi we are well aware that many will claim that up to 1100 herbs & spices on a single potato chip is a little excessive. But the real problem is, due to the randomness of the process, we are not sure which ones we should leave out. WE don't even know the names of most of them! Regardless, these chips are delicious, so we think it's best to leave things as they are and take Great Uncle Kenny's death bed advice: "If in doubt, season not once, not twice, but thrice!" It's sound advice that you can use for most aspects of your life.
WINNER 'CHIP WITH THE BEST INDOOR/OUTDOOR FLOW" AT THE 1976 FINGER SNACK & DIP AWARDS

SWEET CHILLI WITH A HINT OF SCORPION VENOM!

From the front:

ACTUALLY WE DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY SCORPION VENOM IN THESE CHIPS, BUT IT SOUNDED GOOD SO WE RAN WITH IT.

But then drama... Just when things couldn't get any worse, Great Uncle Kenny realised he'd filled the fuel tank with diesel instead of petrol.

From the back:

In order to add Sweet Chilli to the SnackaChangi range, we needed to search the globe to find the perfect chillies to complement our free range non-caged potatoes.

We needed chillies that had the perfect balance of sweetness and spice, but above all, chillies with the right attitude. Many of the chillies we encountered had an authority complex, some were far too emotional and others were more like capsicums and other vegetables that merely claimed to identify as chillies. We tried standard sweet chillies, super sweet chillies and even LOUNGE SUITE CHILLIES.

Our Chilli Task Force toured 36 countries at a cost of 27 million dollars but returned to NZ empty-handed only to have a guy called Ray from just out of Dargaville, introduce us to a range of retired cage fighting chillies. These chillies had the perfect attitude as while they were clearly aggressive in their day, they had mellowed sweetly over time. We're proud to say these ex-cage fighter chillies are now partnering with our non-caged potatoes in every bag of SnackaChangi Sweet Chilli Chips.

SOUR CREAM CHIVE & ONION 

From the front:

Great Uncle Kenny fought long into the night... as everyone knows, puffer fish are deadly, and hunt in packs!

We combined the chive & onion to create what we like to call 'Sour Cream & Chonion"

From the back:

Our internal research showed that the chip eating community is split down the middle as to whether the pack of SnackaChangis currently in your hand, should be Sour Cream & Chives or Sour Cream & Onion?

We were about to spend 2.6million dollars on further research and focus groups but then I think it was Brian that said "stuff it, what's the point? Why don't we just whack both flavours in there and be done with it!" And that's pretty much what we did. We will let you, the wise consumer be the judge as to whether it worked or not. But let's be honest these things are subjective, and we're only really going to listen to the positive feedback anyway.

VINEGAR & SALT

From the front:

"They said it couldn't be done, but we put the Vinegar in first!"

Great Uncle Kenny drew his BBQ mate and slew the rare but ferocious guinea pig, thereby saving his date. (Peru 1936) 

From the back:

Each SnackaChangi chip is hand reared from Free Range Super Potatoes, which are descended from the super potatoes first discovered at Machu Picchu in Peru - no caged potatoes are used!

They are gently peeled left to right, then rapidly sliced right to left. Only the chips with the best attitude enter the Crinkanhopper 3000, the machine that gives Snackachangis 20 percent more corrugation than regular chips or size 34 corduroy pants.

SnackaChangis then enter Uncle Kenny's brass kettle one at a time, where they are gently fried, then taste tested, not once, not twice but thrice before being shacked up to 1000 for maximum crip and crunch!

Exactly how SnackaChangis get their unique flavour is a secret Uncle Kenny took to his grave, but fortunately the undertaker photocopied it before he was buried. What we can tell you, is that everyone in the snack industry said it was impossible to add the vinegar BEFORE the salt in our "Vinegar & Salt' chips, but thanks to some basic Kiwi ingenuity and a high speed mishap involving the vinegar delivery tanker we've done it.

So open a pack of SnackaChangis Vinegar & Salt chips and enjoy the history and the flavour that make SnackaChangi New Zealand's oldest and most trusted potato chips since 1694.

SPICY SRIRACHA

From the front:

WE'VE NO IDE WHAT SRIRACHA IS, BUT IT SOUNDS GOOD & TASTES EVEN BETTER

Having rescued his girlfriend & his spicy sauce from the crazy Banditos, Great Uncle Kenny now just had the simile task of getting to the airport an hour before chick in... and parking the horse!

From the back:

All Snackachangi chips are made from free-range, non-caged potatoes. We like to think that a happy potato is a happy chip.

They said it couldn't be done but we were the first and only chip manufacturer to put the "Vinegar in first', creating the 'Vinegar & Salt' range, as opposed to the tired and predictable Salt & Vinegar chip.

Legend has it that the first Snackachangi Chips were made in Machu Picchu over 700 years ago by the Incas. We are not 100% sure what flavour they were but suspect they may have been Guinea Pig and Chive. Great Uncle Kenny found the recipe hidden among the ruins in 1911, and he brought it back to New Zealand along with a mysterious 'super potato' from the region. It's from this original super potato that all our free-range potatoes have descended.

Legend also has it that there is an incredible Snackachangi chip flavour recipe locked inside a safe on-board the Titanic. Great Uncle Kenny worked briefly on the ill-fated ship as a "Deck Chair Re-arranger'. His job was to get up each morning and literally rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. The well known saying probably came about as a result of his 3 day job onboard the ship. The ship didn't actually sink until four days into the trip but he got sacked on the third day for having a steamy affair with a first class passenger. Most experts believe that James Cameron's movie Titanic was based on this event. Great Uncle Kenny certainly never stopped going on about it!

A salvage mission to retrieve the recipe is planned for late 2029. It won't be cheap so let's hope it's a good one. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our latest flavours in the Surf, Turf & Spice range!

BBQ Texas Ranchslider Style

From the front:

All Day BBQ Chips with great indoor outdoor flow!

"With flippers on his feet and a BBQ Gas bottle strapped upon his back, Great Uncle Kenny submerged the depths to take on the ferocious Sea Beast"

From the back:

Now the flavour team have taken our BBQ flavour to a whole new level! It encapsulates: BBQ smoke, spontaneity, a little chaos, sunburn, uneaten salads, unimpressed neighbors, 70's music, a touch of swing-ball, a hint of denim shorts, some general frivolity, and a ranch0slider door that keeps coming off its tracks.

So open a pack of SnackaChangi BBQ Chips and enjoy the history, and the flavour, that make SnackaChangi New Zealand's oldest and most trusted potato chips since 1649.

SALTED Tuscan Tumble Dryer Style

From the front:

Traditionally salted using a tumble dryer somewhere in Tuscany.

But then drama!... Great Uncle Kenny's date would have to wait, for now he needed to protect his Snackachangi potatoes, from the invading forces of mutant spuds!

From the back:

Many people ask how we salt our chips so evenly> The answer is simple, by using the same traditional method the WakaChangi monks used hundreds of years ago back in Tuscany. Each chip is gently 'tumble seasoned' in a tumble clothers dryer, not once, not twice, but thrice. Fortunately the monks passed down this technique, and the original clothes dryer itself to subsequent generations of chip seasoners. It's probably not the most efficient way of doing it, but they sure do taste good, and here at Snackachangi we believe tradition is important!

KILLER PRAWN COCKTAIL

From the front:

Great Uncle Kenny would need to escape the clutches of the Killer Death Prawn if he had any chances of making it back in time for the resort's 2 for 1 happy hour!

From the back:

(exact same wording as the back of the Sriracha bag)

And here they are together! My kids are so glad I've finally got this blog post finished so that now we can start eating these deliciou chips. I'll be sure to keep an eye out in case I have missed a flavour and will watch for them to go on sale to update this post, if needed.

With love from New Zealand, home of Snackachangi,
Lyndsay