Review: Lay's Do Us A Flavor 2025 Finalists — A Flavor-Palooza Of Awesomeness

Lay's is a behemoth of a snack brand, with its name adoring potato chips bags that are constantly being opened all across the globe. While its U.S. arm has plenty of flavors at its disposal, it often finds inspirations for new ones from Lay's chips in other countries. In 2012, Lay's changed the game completely when it ran a contest called Do Us A Flavor, allowing its munching fanbase to drum up and submit what they think should be the next great unsung chip flavor. The ideas conjured up turned out to be both fun and yummy that Lay's ran the contest four more times, which resulted in 14 flavors that ran the gamut from Chicken & Waffles, Fried Green Tomato, and Crispy Taco.

After seven years of hibernating, Lay's dusted off the Do Us A Flavor contest again in 2024, and 700,00 entries were submitted, with eaters hoping to see their snack dreams realized, and their pocketbooks lined with $1 million dollars. Lay's narrowed down the field of flavors to just three finalists — Bacon Grilled Cheese, Valentina & Lime Flavored Potato Chips, and Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken, and is now ready for the public to try them and declare a winner.

Before the public gets their hands into the bags, The Takeout took in the three new flavors for a thorough examination and determined if Lay's and its creative rans are actually Doing Us A Flavor, or are these flavors with bad behavior? There's only one way to find out — read on.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Lay's held its fifth iteration of a contest where eaters and fans got to submit their own ideas for Lay's potato chip flavors, in the aptly named "Do Us A Flavor." All the ideas were whittled down to three finalists, which are now hitting shelves for all try and help to select a winner: Lay's Bacon Grilled Cheese Flavored with Other Natural Flavors Potato Chips, Lay's Valentina & Lime Flavored Potato Chips, and Lay's Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken Flavored Potato Chips. Per an email from the brand, the Bacon Grilled Cheese one was submitted by Paula George from Sapulpa, Oklahoma, drawing flavor inspiration from her late father's bacon grilled cheese recipe. The Valentina & Lime flavor was chipped in by Araceli Huerta from San Jose, California, harkening back to a childhood snack made by her mom, where she seasoned Lay's Classic potato chips with Valentina hot sauce and fresh lime. The final one, Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken chips, comes thanks to Neelia Lynn from Chesterfield, Virginia, who channeled the memories of time spent in South Korea into this flavor.

In a statement, Denise Truelove, senior vice president, marketing, PepsiCo Foods said in an email, "We are always looking to our consumers to inspire the next great flavor of Lay's, and Do Us A Flavor is the most direct and authentic way to do so!" She added, "As a leader in flavor and innovation, only Lay's can turn a great idea from our fans into a delicious potato chip in record time."

The three new finalists in the 2025 edition of Lay's Do Us A Flavor contest are slowly rolling into nationwide retails now.  They will remain in stores, while supplies last, at least while the contest is running through June 13, 2025.

The chips come in a single size, 7.5-ounce or 7.75-ounce bags, which have net weights of 212.6 to 219.7 grams.  The suggested retail price of each bag is $4.99, but price may vary per retailer. They can be purchased in-store at you nearest grocery store or retailer, and online, including directly through Lay's at Snacks.com

Lay's Bacon Grilled Cheese chips flavor its potato base with the assistance of salt, cheddar cheese, natural flavors, sour cream, butter, blue cheese, and bacon fat. It contains the allergen milk, and are differently not Kosher (though many companies are) or Halal-friendly. A single serving is about 16 chips. That's good for 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 20 milligrams of calcium, .5 milligrams of iron, and 410 milligrams of potassium.

Lay's Valentina & Lime Flavored potato chips include ingredients as a cayenne pepper sauce made of aged cayenne red pepper, distilled vinegar, salt, and garlic pepper, as well as unspecified spices, onion powder, lime juice, and even more vinegar and garlic powder. It contains no allergens. A single serving is about 16 chips. That nets an eater 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, less than 1 gram of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 10 milligrams of calcium, .6 milligrams of iron, and 410 milligrams of potassium.

Lay's Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken potato chips leans on the talents of the same cayenne pepper sauce as the Valentina chips, plus salt, unspecified spices, sugar, brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chicken broth, chicken powder, and stevia leaf extract. It contains the milk allergen. A single serving is about 16 chips. That results in 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 20 milligrams of calcium, .6 milligrams of iron, and 410 milligrams of potassium.

A bacon grilled cheese sounds like a great lunch option, especially on these rainy April days. Pulling these out of the bag, the chips looked awfully familiar, like they were some sort of offshoot of the brand's Cheddar & Sour Cream. From a distance, they didn't look all that seasoned, but after moving in for a close look, they have these small trails and splatters of a mystery orange residue. I picked up the chip for a whiff, and two things stood out — I couldn't immediately place the smell, and whatever it was, wasn't very inviting. I re-perused the bag's imagery of bacon, toasted bread and cheese to fill my senses of what it should smell like. Further inhalations started to emit a sort of bacon-y smell, but perhaps more the turkey kind than the pork par for the course ones.

Before taking a bite, I took a lick, to get to know the seasoning better. It had an artificial cheddar cheesy taste to it, kind of like the variety you find in a tin can that you sprinkle over popcorn at the movies. Luckily an actual bite of the chip succeeded in proving its bona fides, where the smell and appearance didn't have much to show for it. The cheddar cheese flavoring was super-prevalent in each bite, and it seemed to have a buttery edge to it. That combo was so present that it perhaps left no room for the tastes of toasted bread, nor bacon to make a case for themselves. Ultimately, that didn't matter to me with these chips, as I enjoyed each and every cheesy bite thereafter.

Coming out of the bag, the Valentina & Lime Lay's chips looked like pretty standard barbecue ones. As I poured them onto a plate, one happened to graze an open cuticle on my thumb, and the spice or perhaps the citrus contained on top of the chip actually sent a small jolt to my finger, like the sensation of having lemon juice being poured over a paper cut. The moment I brought a chip straight to my nostrils, I instantly fell for its aromatic appeal. While I wasn't exactly aware of what the essence of Valentina hot sauce should smell like, I imagined it was being well represented on these chips, which came across as vibrant and piquant.

I took a lick of the chip, and while a mild peppery sauce kicked things off, the pinch of lime at the end was the flavor that cemented its goodness in this experience. Munching the actual chips was even better than the licking, as the spice was more prevalent. It's a palatable spice that is pleasant to taste, but nonetheless also packed a bit of a punch once it reaches the innards of one's mouth. The legitimate hint of lime flavoring helped to keep the heat in check, but at the same time, also enhanced the spice's impact upon release. Valentina & Lime proved itself in short order to be a well rounded flavor, which I had no problem munching on, handful after handful.

Fresh out of the bag, the Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken chips looked like a specialty hybrid Frito-Lay chip, where a Frito and Dorito merged and lent its coloring and seasoning attributes to this new one. Not all of these Korean-Style chips had the same uniform color. Some were fiery orange, while others were a little paler in its complexion. Regardless of their hue, all are coated with a wide array of what appeared to be small black pepper flakes. A quick whiff reveals a lovely scent, like a sweetened rice wine vinegar. Since I was already aware of the flavor's name, I immediately got struck with visions of Korean BBQ swirling in my head.

I once again started with a lick of a chip to become acquainted with the seasonings. Lots of pepper and a strong punch of chili seem to be the first flavors that came to mind. I took a nibble and the taste skewed differently than its aroma. Any sense of sweetness was masked by the peppy spices that coat these chips. They certainly honored the chip's name, more so as a fried chicken sauce it was mimicking, than the taste of actual fried chicken. Still, we have a winner winner here folks!

I personally haven't tried every Do Us A Flavor finalist since this contest first started making waves in 2012. However, I have had plenty of Lay's flavors of late, from the solid global line-up that brought the varied tastes Greece, India, and Korea (again) to our shores, as well as the all encompassing, all awesome import from our Canadian neighbors from the north — All Dressed. Lay's continues its tidal wave of fun flavors thanks to these three new ones dreamed up by our fellow eaters in the contest.

The Lay's Bacon Grilled Cheese had the most familiar taste out of the three, coming off like more of a buttery take on its standard Cheddar & Sour Cream chips. Some more smoky bacon flavoring probably could have gone a long way to help achieve the suggested flavor, but this is no slouch of a chip. I absolutely loved the Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken ones. I've been thrown a lot of Korean BBQ flavored items my way recently, from a so-so new sauce by Heinz, to Flamin' Hot version of Doritos that didn't really seem to wave the Korean flavor flag, but was still a great limited run chip. These Lay's one are the best of the bunch so far, and I hope whichever snack maker that tries to capture the Korean BBQ flavor takes note of the one contestant Neelia Lynn got Lay's to make an actuality.

To be perfectly honest, when I first heard the name of this flavor, Valentina & Lime, I wasn't even aware that Valentina was a well known hot sauce brand. Well, now that I know it works so well excellently doused on chips, I now want Valentina doused on everything. I'd like to thank Araceli Huerta (and her mother) for pointing Lay's in this direction. You truly did us "a flavor."

The fine folks at Lay's sent a box containing all three finalists in the 2025 edition of the Do Us A Flavor contest: Lay's Bacon Grilled Cheese Flavored with Other Natural Flavors Potato Chips, Lay's Valentina & Lime Flavored Potato Chips, and Lay's Wavy Korean-Style Fried Chicken Flavored Potato Chips. They were stored at room temperature, and taste tested by myself, in reverse alphabetical order. After the initial round of individual tastings, further tastes of each of the chip flavors were conducted for a comparison between them all.

To draw final conclusions in this chew and review, the following criteria were taken into consideration: flavor, appearance, smell, familiarity, uniqueness, palatability, overall lovability, which flavors are worth buying again, and perhaps loved to see hanging around shelves in the years to come. The quick answer is all of them, but, again, if you make me choose one, it has to be the Valentina & Lime flavored one.