Ruffles Chips (History, FAQ, Varieties)

Ruffles Chips are one of the most well-known and memorable chip products on the market today. If you find plain, flat potato chips to be boring, Ruffles can solve that problem for you! This is a chip that is made to be more fun due to the ridged nature of the product, and the texture is backed up by the chips being offered in lots of different flavors as well.

Ruffles Chips have been around for quite some time, and they are still one of the most popular chip products on the market today. This chip product did not always belong to Frito-Lays, but once the Frito-Lays company took over the management of these chips, many flavors and varieties were added to the stable.

History

Ruffles chips were first sold in 1948. They are the invention of Bernhardt Stahmer. Stahmer got a trademark for the ridged chip that he had invented as well, and the Frito-Lay company was able to benefit from this effort his part when they merged with Stahmer’s company in 1958. Ruffles Chips are sold under the name Lays Maxx or Lays Max outside of the US and under Walkers Max Double Crunch and Walkers Max Strong in the UK and Ireland markets. 

The reason that Ruffles were named this way in the 40s was that the makers felt that they looked like fabric that had been ruffled and gathered into folds on dresses and other clothing. Today this doesn’t mean nearly as much to consumers, but it was a relevant connection to have made when these chips were first put on the market. 

Stahmer said that his unique process of cutting the potatoes that were used for the original Ruffles Chips caused them to taste like cheese rather than starchy potatoes. This was supposedly due to the kind of process that happens when you bruise an apple, making the texture and flavor of the potato change. Consumers of the early Ruffles product may or may not have agreed with this assertion, but the products were successful even if they were not truly cheese-flavored.

Ruffles have changed slightly over time, and the depth of the ridges was increased after the merger with the Frito-Lay company. Various flavors have come and gone from the lineup of Ruffles products, but they have all been made with the same cutting and cooking process to preserve the original product’s features and texture. Some of the flavors that are offered in unique markets are not sold in the US, so you might have to order these kinds of Ruffles if you want to get a chance to try them.

For example, if you want to try Ruffles All Dressed, you will need to head to Canada or order from an online seller. This is a flavor that is offered for many different kinds of chip products and snack products in Canada, and it is a combination of ketchup, barbecue, and salt & vinegar flavorings. There are lots of really creative flavors of Ruffles that are only sold in Brazil as well, such as yakisoba, and pizza and lime.

Some people claim that wavy Lays are the same thing as Ruffles, but this is not actually the case. These are unique products, and the Ruffles chip has deeper ridges and comes in different flavor offerings. Frito Lay makes so many chips that it can be really confusing for some people to sort out which products are which. Without the Ruffles name on the bag, you will not get the same deep ridges or the same texture from the chips in the bag.

The Ruffles brand did not have a specific mascot for most of its early life. In 2013, Frito Lay created a mascot for the Ruffles Chips that were sold in Brazil only. The mascot was a potato with pants on and sunglasses. Its name was Batatito, and the little potato showed up in commercials that were intended to capture the attention of adults in Brazil. 

This mascot was used in marketing until 2017, before it was retired. Its last hurrah was an appearance in a commercial that marketed Ruffles alongside Pepsi Twist with its unique mascot. The Batatito was never used to market to other countries, so this remains the one attempt that Ruffles Chips has made at having a mascot for this product. Ruffles have been so popular that they have basically marketed themselves for generations, with the exception of some fun TV commercials.

Livery

The Ruffles Chips livery is really distinctive, and you can instantly tell that you are looking at a bag of Ruffles, even from far away. The bags are all made with a white strip around the middle of the bag that is edged with the same ruffled pattern as the chips. The brand name “Ruffles” is proclaimed across the top of the bag in bright red letters, and above the brand name is the tagline, “Ruffles Have RRRidges!”. 

There is usually a central picture on the bag that shows the ridged chips and then something that indicates what the flavor is inside the bag. The flavor is shown under the image of the chips and the flavoring information. This is written in bold lettering as well, and it is quite clear what kind of chips are going to be in the bag that you have picked up.

Some of the specialty chip bags have the same theme for the top half of the bag, but there might be some alterations to the bottom of the bag. In the case of the Flamin’ Hot varieties of Ruffles Chips, the bags show flames at the edges of the white strip in the center of the bag, and there are swirling lines indicating flames under the name of the flavor. The bottom part of the bag can also be different colors from the top. The top part might be blue and the bottom brown, for example.

Some of the bags of unique flavors show different basketball players and their signatures. This promotion shifts around to different varieties of Ruffles, so you might not see this kind of bag unless you look through all the various Ruffles that are being sold at your local store. Lebron James and Jayson Tatum are among the sports figures that are being used to help advertise Ruffles Chips through this campaign, which can be fun to see if you love to see your favorite players on the packages of the food that you like to snack on.

Logo

Varieties

• Ruffles Flamin’ Hot Cheddar and Sour Cream
• Ruffles Flamin’ Hot BBQ
• Ruffles Jalapeno Ranch 
• Ruffles Lime & Jalapeno
• Ruffles Flamin’ Hot 
• Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream
• Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion
• Ruffles Original
• Ruffles Queso Cheese
• Ruffles Salt & Vinegar
• Ruffles All-Dressed- Canada only
• Ruffles Jamon- Mexico only
• Ruffles Buffalo Salsa- Mexico only
• Ruffles con Queso- Mexico only
• Ruffles Tomato Salsa- Mexico only
• Ruffles Bacon and Lime- Mexico only
• Ruffles Onion & Parsley- Brazil only
• Ruffles Yakisoba- Brazil only
• Ruffles Stroganoff- Brazil only
• Ruffles Honey Mustard- Brazil only
• Ruffles Pepperoni- Brazil only
• Ruffles Feijoada- Brazil only
• Ruffles Burritos- Brazil only
• Ruffles Ribs – Brazil only
• Ruffles Pizza and Lime- Brazil only

Ruffles Ridge Twists

These are Ruffles Chips products that are made into little twists of potato crispiness. The Twists products are meant to be light and airy and really crunchy as compared to the regular Ruffle products. They come in different flavors:

• Ruffles Ridge Twists Smoky BBQ
• Ruffles Ridge Twists Double Cheddar

Ruffles Variety packs are also sold, which come in boxes and include eight smaller bags of Ruffles. You will get one of each of the US flavors in each box, but you will not get the varieties that are sold in other markets.

Ingredients

From the Ruffles website for the Original chips:

• Potatoes
• Vegetable Oil (Canola, Corn, Soybean, and/or Sunflower Oil)
• and Salt

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 oz (28g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	149
Total Fat	9.5g	12%
Saturated Fat	1g	5%
Trans Fat	0g
Polyunsaturated Fat	2.3g
Monounsaturated Fat	5.3g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	148mg	6%
Total Carbohydrates	15g	5%
Dietary Fiber	0.9g	3%
Sugars	0.1g
Protein	1.8g
Vitamin D	0mcg	0%
Calcium	5.9mg	0%
Iron	0.4mg	2%
Potassium	334.9mg	7%
Caffeine	0mg

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Pictures

Ads:

The main tagline of Ruffles is, “Ruffles Have RRRidges!” This is often proclaimed in a silly voice, and it is also indicated on the bags of chips, no matter what variety you have chosen to enjoy. Ruffles Chips have also embraced social media, and they regularly encourage people to post with their favorite chips to enter giveaways for Frito-Lay gear and Ruffles-specific items. The sports mascot focus continues in this part of the marketing plans for the brand as well, and you can usually choose from basketball gear and signed items that promote specific athletes.

Ruffles have recently begun to partner with the WNBA, which means that you can get gear and prizes specific to women’s basketball as well if you wish. There are many of these campaigns that are hosted each month, and it keeps those who love Ruffles Chips really involved in the marketing of the brand on behalf of the company. This is a clever way to keep Ruffles relevant, and it seems to be working well for the brand overall.

Ruffles ad from the 80s:

Vintage ruffles ad:

Another Ruffles Chips Vintage ad:

FAQ