Pringles are a potato-based crisps brand from the United States. They were originally sold by Proctor & Gamble in 1968 and marketed as Pringle’s Newfangled Potato Chips. The brand was then sold to Kellogg’s in 2012. As of 2011 Pringles is sold in over 140 countries. In 2012, it became the fourth most popular snack brand after Lay’s, Doritos, and Cheetos, with a 2.2 percent global market share. But did you know that there are certain Pringles flavors that are suitable for vegans?
Vegan Pringles flavors include Original, Wavy Classic Salted, Lightly Salted Original, and Reduced Fat Original. As a rule of thumb, if the packaging has the words “original” or “salted” in the title they are most likely vegan friendly.
What Are Pringles?
Pringles are potato-based snacks that are made in a saddle shape, allowing them to be packed in a tube while minimizing the likelihood of breaking when stacked or transported.
Proctor and Gamble, a consumer goods conglomerate, invented Pringles in 1967. Frederic Baur, a food storage technician, and organic chemist created the iconic shape of the crisps and the tubes in which they are sold. Baur was so fond of his invention that he requested that some of his ashes be buried in a Pringles tube, a request that his children honored. (Source: Vegan Friendly)
What Are Pringles Made Of?
Pringles contain approximately 42% potato, with the remainder consisting of wheat starch and flour combined with vegetable oils, an emulsifier, salt, and seasoning. Sweeteners such as maltodextrin and dextrose, monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, sodium caseinate, modified food starch, monoglyceride and diglyceride, autolyzed yeast extract, natural and artificial flavorings, malted barley flour, wheat bran, dried black beans, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and other ingredients may also be used. The ingredients in different Pringles varieties vary.
Pringles also makes several tortilla and multi-grain varieties, with corn flour, rice, wheat bran, black beans, and barley flour replacing some of the base starch ingredients. Corn Pringles were available in the early 1990s; the canister was black and featured cartoon images of corn. The chips were made of corn and tasted and felt like corn chips. Rice Pringles were also available in the UK, but have since been phased out. (Source: Livestrong)
How Did They Market Pringles?
In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland, Pringles is advertised with the slogan Once you pop, the fun doesn’t stop, in addition to the original slogan Once you pop, you can’t stop!
In 1968, while working at Tatham-Laird and Kudner Advertising Agency in Chicago, Thomas Scott Cadde wrote, produced, and directed the first Pringles television advertisements.
Pringles has utilized print and television advertising campaigns to compare its products to traditional potato chips throughout its existence. They were originally known as Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips and came with a little silver pop-top to open the can.
Unlike modern advertising, they only noted that their chips stay fresh and unbroken in their pop-top cans, that the can holds as many chips as a regular large bag, and that their curving design allows them to be stacked, leading to the phrase; Other potato chips just don’t stack up. (Source: Newspapers)