Pringles unveils new Wendy’s spicy chicken flavor

Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal breaks down Pringles' joining the chicken sandwich wars with its newest potato chip flavor.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, Pringles fans, there is some new news for you. The company has a brand new flavor, and it apparently tastes like chicken. Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal here now with the chip maker's latest offering. I don't know if I can get on board with this one, Allie. I really don't.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: I am skeptical, too, Alexis. Apparently, it's supposed to taste like a Wendy's chicken sandwich. So here is the packaging. I mean, very beautiful, very colorful here. But again, they say it's going to taste like a spicy chicken flavor. I'm not so sure they are. This is going to be available nationwide in stores starting next month for a limited time only. This is not the first time that Pringles has collaborated with Wendy's. They previously rolled out a Baconator chip. I unfortunately did not have the chance to try that. But I am going to try this one. I really hope it's actually spicy because I'm a girl that can handle her spices. And sometimes they say it's spicy, and it's not really spicy.

So let's see. Let's see here. Um, no harm. The spiciness kicks in. I'm not tasting any bit of chicken in here. But you see, I'm a simple potato girl. I like just plain potato with a little bit of salt. But if you're a Pringles fan, if you like a little spice, I could see you enjoying this. So I'm going to give this a 2.5 out of 5, so not terrible, not great.

But overall, I mean, the fact that Pringles is rolling out a spicy chicken sandwich flavored chip, I think, just underscores how the chicken sandwich wars are not going away any time soon. We had Wendy's roll out a new chicken sandwich in February, the spicy jalapeno popper sandwich, which I had a chance to try. We also had McDonald's, Burger King also revamping their poultry lineup. And the demand is certainly there on the consumer side.

But it's interesting because some of that appetite is actually leading to a shortage of chicken sandwiches. A lot of companies have been closely monitoring this to make sure that their customers are still able to receive these chicken sandwiches. So I guess if you're out there and you can't find a sandwich, maybe these Pringle options are a good one for you. And Kellogg's, who is the parent company of Pringles, they said that they've seen snacking increase exponentially amid the pandemic. They saw sales pop over 5% in the first quarter.

So it seems like amid COVID, amid lockdown, people are gravitating toward chicken sandwiches and snacking. So we'll see if those trends continue as the economy reopens. But for now, you know, if you need something, you're having a little party, a summer party, you want something to snack on, could be a good option. But I think kettle cooked chips are my choice.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Yeah, I don't know, a 2.5. I'm not running out to buy them after that.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: I mean, and it's the Cheeto effect, too, so it's like a lot of that little spicy stuff that gets all over your fingers.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Yeah, I like the plain salt myself. I'm with you. I'm a purist with the chip. But before we let you go, I see that a lot of these fast food chains are sort of doubling down on digital offerings. There's even one here, right, with the Wendy's app. Why is that happening?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: I think this all-- it all comes down to customer loyalty. And specifically, with this, it's very obvious even before I go to open the package. It says right here, download the Wendy's app. Look inside for a code. And you have the chance to win a free spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy's. So if you peel this open, you'll see that-- I don't even know if you can see this, but very faintly, there is a code there that I could go on the app, type that in, and then win free food.

And I think that's a great ploy for Wendy's. I think when anyone hears free food, you automatically-- your interest is piqued. I mean, look at all these companies offering free products just from getting a vaccine. So it's certainly something that's going to continue to drive digital growth. We've seen Chipotle get into this, Burger King, McDonald's, just those perks that people that have the app receive and those exclusive offerings and then promotions like this. So I think that's something that we're going to continue to see as that membership community that's online and on mobile becomes more and more apparent in the space.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, Allie, thanks for being our taste tester. We appreciate it.