This limited time “mashup” has an interesting concept. I feel like they simply took two of Frito-Lays favourite snacks and mashed them up together no matter what they were. Apparently two of the most popular Frito-Lay treats in Canada are dill pickle potato chips and Smart Food (cheese popcorn). They don’t actually use the word popular, instead they use the word “iconic”. I can’t really disagree with that statement though. Both dill pickle chips and Smart Food have been a part of my snacking tradition for as long as I can remember. I can’t really imagine how this idea was pitched at Frito-Lay, but after tasting it I’m kind of glad that they exist.

I won’t go so far as to say that this flavour combination is better than the sum of its parts. I won’t even say that this bag of chips is better than Lay’s dill pickle chips or Smart Food, but I will say that this bag of chips is much better than I was expecting. I would even go so far as to say that I really enjoyed these chips, and would buy them again. I was actually a little sad to read on the bag that these are only for a limited time.

If I was to describe the flavour, I would say that they taste like dill pickle, but with a subtle difference. The cheese flavour crawls up on you after a few seconds, and when you’re expecting that slight acidic burn you normally get with dill pickle chips, instead you get a slightly creamy flavour. It’s only in the after taste that you can kind of taste white cheddar, but in the middle you get a really nice creamy dill and garlic flavour. The two flavours really blend together, and this combination creates a fairly pleasant flavour.

I still think that the concept and flavour are a little weird, but weird in a pleasant way. I’d almost say that it’s a happy surprise. Everything else about these chips is what you would expect from a bag of Lay’s chips.