Lay's Sweet & Spicy Honey Chip Review: Unfortunately, The New Flavor Just Isn't Very 'Swicy'

Sweet and spicy is the flavor of the moment, a moment that seems to have no end. To save time, the portmanteau "Swicy" was created and the fine folks at Frito-Lay have even applied for a trademark. The brand is applying this killer combo name and flavor to its standard Lay's potato chips. In a month celebrating love, and the odd couples, it makes perfect sense for Lay's Sweet & Spicy Honey flavored chips to see the light of day.

Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing, PepsiCo Foods North America said, "From condiments to cocktails to restaurant menus, the Swicy food trend is everywhere now, so we're excited to bring this unique combination of flavors to life in potato chip form for fans of sweet heat."

So, did Lay's create a slam dunk with its Sweet & Spicy Honey flavored chips, or is this more of a no-frills lay-up? A bag showed up at my door for taste testing, and these are the results of that chew and review. It is based on taste, texture, uniqueness, and overall lovability.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Before me lies a vibrant bag of Lay's with a familiar logo surrounded by a honeycomb pattern, various shades of red, and a cozy image of a honey dipper being nuzzled by a red cayenne pepper. Opening the bag, the smells emanating are more spicy than sweet, with notes of paprika and peppers punctuating the nostrils. As I bring a chip close to my nostrils, a faint bit of sweetness is gleamed, but it's mostly dominated by a hot vinegary smell.

The Sweet & Spicy Honey flavored chips themselves look like standard Lay's potato chips, thin and oblong. Some chips have a tint of orange to them as if they were blushing. Turns out, they weren't blushing, but minorly bluffing. The chips are airy, yet crispy, and seem to have no sweetness to them whatsoever. There is some sort of flavoring at work on the first nibble, but it's not easy to single out what exactly it is. By the time I started to decipher it, the chip's solid — but not overpowering — peppery hotness came to fruition. After munching on a handful of chips, my mouth was left with a cooling heated sensation, like a savory version of a Halls' cough drop. Overall, the flavor tastes like a ketchup chip that could pass as a mesquite BBQ flavor.

Lay's Sweet & Spicy Honey flavored chips are made of potatoes, sugar, salt, natural flavors, brown sugar, tomato powder, cheddar cheese, onion powder, spices, carob powder, cream, sour cream, honey, garlic powder, turmeric extracts, butter, stevia leaf extract, Monterey jack cheese, Swiss cheese, and paprika extracts. Allergens include milk.

In a 2.625-ounce bag, the serving size is about 17 chips, with 2.5 servings per bag. The single serving size is good for 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 180 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of protein, and 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of which is dietary fiber, and less than one are total sugars. It also contains 20 milligrams of calcium, .6 grams of iron, 340 milligrams of potassium, and 6% of a daily recommended intake of vitamin C.

Sweet & Spicy Honey flavored chips are a permanent addition to the Lay's family of potato chips. They are available now at retailers nationwide like Target, for delivery through companies like Instacart, or can be ordered online. 

Sweet & Spicy Lay's are currently available in two sizes, 2.625 ounce and 7.75 ounce bags, which sell for $2.49 and $4.79 respectively. Price and availability may vary per location.

I am all for the sweet and spicy revolution. The more products trying to marry sugary goodness to savory salivating, the better. Since hot honey is one of the more popular sweet and spicy pairings going, it made perfect sense that Lay's first foray into this revolution would lead with that flavoring duo. The problem here is that the sweetness mainly seems to be absent. The formula where the two taste extremes meet in the middle and make nice doesn't seem entirely balanced properly.

As the stewards of the word "swicy," the Frito-Lay brand has a lot of responsibility to back it up in its goods. Don't get me wrong, these chips are totally enjoyable, and you will enjoy crunching on them too. They just won't hit that sweet spot one expects based on its name, to counteract the spiciness that is holding up its end of the bargain.

Since this is probably just the beginning of more swicy products to come from the house of Frito-Lay, I welcome the second offerings to come. Here's hoping that Hot Honey BBQ Fritos are next!