How did the potato chips movement start? The man who accidentally invented potato chips was George Crum. He got complaints one day from a customer about his thick and soggy fried potatoes. In his mission to impress the customer, he sliced a new batch of potatoes very thinly and fried it until crunchy with heaps of salt. It was a hit with the customer and it became a new snack! In the Philippines, potato chips is one of the most loved nibbles. I recently discovered a new food find that uses 100% Philippine potatoes – CrackleChips.
Here’s an exclusive interview with John Wong, owner of the CrackleChips.
TF: How did CrackleChips started? What’s the concept behind it?
JW: CrackleChips started last last year during the height of the salted egg chip craze. However, instead of just riding the hype, we wanted to create a brand specifically focused on local potatoes because we wanted to showcase how wonderful our very own spuds are. We have an abundance of camote and cassava chips but locally homemade potato chips are rare. Most salted egg chip vendors also use prepackaged chips so i think using our very own potato chips sets us apart.
TF: What is your target market? Do you plan to expand outside the Philippines?
JW: Right now, we’re planning to ramp up production and sell nationwide but if there’s an opportunity to export, we’ll surely consider. When designing our flavors, we consciously chose flavors that would be distinctly Pinoy because we believe that our flavors our world class and deserve a chance in the spotlight. Potato chips are actually also very fun carriers of flavors so we can actually play around with almost any flavor – maybe adobo, menudo, or sinigang in the future :).
Did you know that March 14th is National Potato Chip Day?
TF: Currently, CrackleChips is available where?
JW: Best to follow our instagram and facebook pages since that’s the best place to see where our pop-ups will be. Otherwise, we also do nationwide delivery. For orders: 09176803777, 09209813777, and cracklechips@gmail.com.
“We wanted to create a brand specifically focused on local potatoes because we wanted to showcase how wonderful our very own spuds are.” – John Wong
TF: What are the current variants of Crackle Chips? What sets it apart from your regular chips in the grocery?
JW: Our potato chips lineup: Salted Egg, Bicol Crunch, Himalayan Salt. I think what sets us apart aside from cooking our own chips is that all of our flavorings are actually made and concocted in-house. We mix our own flavors and build them from the ground up drawing inspiration from the food we’re accustomed to.
TF: Any plans of expanding your brand outside potatoes?
JW: We’ve already expanded so far to salted egg chicharon. We’re planning to do more snacks but our main focus right now are really the potato chips.
You can also visit Crackle Chips’ official social media pages for more information:
Facebook: cracklechips.ph
Instagram: @cracklechips.ph
The Tennis Foodie Approved! I personally like Himalayan Salt and Salted Egg variants. Bicol Crunch is also a promising flavor. It’s definitely the authentic Pinoy potato chips flavor! I’m looking forward in trying the new flavors in development. Kudos to Mr. John Wong for introducing me to this fun and tasty snack!
Cool Pinoy snack!
Cool concept !!!
This is very interesting. I love learning how things started and how people are trying to improve the concepts.
I never knew the history of potatoes chips – all because of soggy french fries. who would have thought ha! The crackle chips look awesome Will have to try sometime
These sound delicious! I love that potato chips come is such a range of flavors, and while I don’t eat them often, I still enjoy trying different options!
Wow it was so interesting to learn that George Crum’s mistake led to potato chips that is amazing! I love the sound of the crackle chips and the Salted Egg version sounds appetizing!
It is interesting to learn of the accidental discovery of potato chips. Potato chips are generally very delicious and extremely addictive to those snack lovers like me. However I am sure the distinctively Pinnoy flavors in your Crackle
chips set them apart.
I have not tried Crackle Chips until now, my taste of Salted Egg seems interesting. If you have approved it, it means it’s tasty!
I love potato chips! These look like a must try, yummy
I love chips as a snack, and those look fantastic. This looks like a fun chip to mix up the flavors so I can try something new.
The Crackle Chips I have never heard of before nor did I know how the potato chip began. The Salted Egg sounds interesting for sure. Thanks for sharing the information.
This is very interesting Read. My daughters and I love watch the show how things are made and I love the history of potatoe chips.
These sound like great snacks. I’d love to try all of them. I’m all about tasty snacking.
I love all the snacky stuff you share in between your tennis posts. These chips look delicious. I want to try the sea salt ones.
very interesting. thanks so much for sharing. i wish you had posted a photo of the actual chip. the packaging reminds me so much of hummus or dip.
This is something that my sister would LOVE! They sound delicious.
Congrats to them on getting this business off the ground. I wonder how they are doing now since some time has passed since your interview?!
Here is the secret to the perfect and true crispy effect! Yummy!
I love chips! Especially ones that are extra crispy. I am pretty sure I would love these.
I like that historical tidbit in the beginning. Also these chips look pretty good with all the variety.
I would love to try the salted egg one. It looks really tasty and good.
A perfect snack. I love crunchy snacks!
Ooo I do love my snacks so these look yummy. I like the sound of Himalayan salt x
I am all for food like these. And each of them looks awesome. Feeling hungry after seeing them.
I’m not familiar with the product but it looks tasty. i must see if they are sold in my area.