There's an intense market for spicy potato chips, but it's about to get a whole lot hotter in Japan. Bokun Habanero is one brand that has absolutely dominated in popularity over the past decade and now it's hoping to totally sweat out the competition by offering a new version of Bokun Habanero that's 10 times as spicy as the original.
If you're someone who can only handle spice in small quantities, you'll want to pay extra attention the next time you pick up a bag of Bokun Habanero chips. While there's usually a rating system that illustrates the heat levels with little chili pepper symbols, Bokun Habanero goes way off the scale with ten peppers lined up one beside another. Since Bokun Habanero gets its name from the Japanese character for "violence," combined with the name of the spicy habanero chili pepper, it was really only a matter of time before the brand decided to turn up the heat.
Intensely Hot Potato Chips
Bokun Habanero's New Spicy Potato Chips Are Ten Times as Hot as Usual
Trend Themes
1. Ultra-spicy Snacks - The trend of intensely hot potato chips opens up opportunities for the development of other ultra-spicy snack options.
2. Extreme Heat Rating System - The introduction of a rating system with exceptionally high heat levels, like ten chili peppers, creates opportunities for innovative heat measurement methods in the food industry.
3. Spicy Flavor Variations - The success of Bokun Habanero's 10 times spicier potato chips suggests a trend towards more diverse and intense spicy flavor options across different snack categories.
Industry Implications
1. Snack Food - The intensely hot potato chip trend presents disruptive innovation opportunities for snack food manufacturers to develop and market unique, extreme heat snack offerings.
2. Food Packaging - The need for packaging that effectively communicates the extremely high spice levels in products like Bokun Habanero's chips offers opportunities for innovative and attention-grabbing food packaging solutions.
3. Spice Industry - The growing demand for intensely hot snacks, such as Bokun Habanero's chips, creates opportunities for the spice industry to develop and supply high-quality, unique, and super-spicy chili varieties.