by JAMES S. KIM
editor@charactermedia.com
Honey butter? You have our curiosity. Honey butter potato chips? Now we’re talking!
We would be talking about how delicious they are, but we don’t know where to get them — and apparently, neither do most South Koreans. Haetae’s “Honey Butter Chips” have all but disappeared from store shelves since it was released in August. It’s become the most popular snack item in Korea, and even online vendors are having trouble keeping up with the demand.
Korea Daily reports that over 5 billion won worth of Honey Butter Chips were sold in October, which is amazing considering a snack item is considered a success if its month sales exceed 1 billion won ($929,000).
The Wall Street Journal also reported that accumulated sales have reached 10.3 billion won ($9.3 million), as of Tuesday. Haetae is running around to keep up with demand, adding night and weekend shifts to raise production by 30 to 40 percent.
So what do these flakes of gold/potato chips taste like? According to So Sung-su, Haetae’s public relations chief, it’s a combination of “salty, sweet and buttery tastes that suit the palate of many South Koreans.” At first glance, they appear to look like your standard salty potato chips, but apparently there’s more to them than meets the eye.
Note the packaging that reads “gourmet butter” from France. Since everything that comes from France is better, we already know that these chips are classy. Paris Baguette should take these chips with them, along with their world-class breads and pastries.
KoreAm did a taste test of Korean chips earlier this year. We may need to conduct a second round.
Photos courtesy of Korea Daily and Chosun Ilbo
