Why Ruin A Good Thing?
November 19th, 2008 Posted in Oddities
One of the great things we looked forward to when we moved to Vancouver was that we could once again buy Old Dutch potato chips… especially their one-of-a-kind BBQ chips.
I grew up down the street from the Old Dutch plant in Regina. The workers would give us chips whenever we stopped by and most of us wanted the BBQ.
Someone genius at Old Dutch decided it was time to change the recipe and introduce a new “bold” version of the BBQ chips and do away with the old.
Wrong move Old Dutch.
The original recipe was a sacred as Coke. The new is a watered down version of the American BBQ flavor.
Old Dutch, you’ve ruined the best BBQ chip ever.
Please bring them back…
October 19th, 2008 at 5:01 am
I suspect this is what happened.
A couple years ago Old Dutch bought out Humpty Dumpty chips which were popular in eastern Canada. They’ve been slowly merging the two brands until this summer when they eliminated the Humpty Dumpty brand. Some of it’s flavours still exist under Old Dutch, especially the “Rip-L” line.
Fans of the old Humpty Dumpty chips were afraid that they’d eliminate the most popular flavour, BBQ which has a unique BBQ flavour that can’t be found in other chips brands.
Looking at the pic of the “bold BBQ” bag that you link to I suspect that “bold” is actually Humpty Dumpty BBQ because around here the bags looks the same except for saying “New Bold BBQ” they have a small picture of the old Humpty Dumpty logo and it says “classic BBQ flavour”.
October 19th, 2008 at 6:34 am
That explains why we can now buy Old Dutch in Ontario.
NeilD
November 20th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
When I wrote to Old Dutch Foods to complain about the new bolder Old Dutch BBQ chip I received a response back informing me that Old Dutch had replaced their BBQ seasoning with Humpty Dumpty BBQ seasoning!I was baffled at management’s decision to take a long running popular chip seasoning and replace it with the seasoning of an unpopular practically obsolete chip! I am assumming that when Old Dutch aquired Humpty Dumpty they has a surplus of Humpty Dumpty seasoning! Obviously management there forgot about the “New Coke” fiasco! I asked if they could bring back the Old Dutch seasoning (which is hotter tasting and makes the chip a lovely cayenne color) and call it “Classic BBQ” and was told that my e-mail would be forwarded to management but I was left with the wish that I would find a new favorite! Below is the e-mail I received from Belinda Simms at Old Dutch Foods:
Hi There:
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your e-mail.
Old Dutch Foods made a management decision to replace the Old Dutch BBQ Seasoning with the Humpty Dumpty BBQ Seasoning. I have sent a request to the management team on your behalf to let them know there is still an interest in the original flavour.
At this time, we have many people that want the original BBQ back, I know e-mails and telephone calls are appreciated and may encourage another look at the decision to discontinue the original BBQ flavour. Please accept our sincere apologies, and we hope you will find another favorite. Thank you again for taking the time to write.
Regards,
Belinda Simms
Consumer Care Representative
November 20th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
In reality, Humpty Dumpty chips are being packaged and sold in an Old Dutch bag (which is sort of false advertising) and if you have to disguise an unpopular chip in a popular chip’s wrapping in order to sell them, they obviously weren’t a best selling chip for a reason!
December 10th, 2008 at 8:30 am
What happened to my Humpty Dumpty Chips…I am not a fan of the Old Dutch and you cannot find as good a tasting Dill Pickle chip as they made…I cannot believe they were replace by such a blah tasing brand. Now what am i gonna do with out my chips. HD are the only brand i would ever by and now i do not buy any. I am very upset and as customers we should be notified of this huge change so we can prepare for it and if i had of know i would have baught a few cases!
January 5th, 2009 at 10:52 am
There are two things that suck about western canada. One is lousy pizza (I’m sorry, Panago sucks, period.) The other is the same lousy selection of chips at every store. The variety the east has/had was just so much greater than here. Actually the variety in food period out here stinks. I guess that is because Pattison owns everything.
At last Old Dutch has fixed a bland flavour and leave it to westerners to complain! Hopefully there are enough ex-easterners to overcome you or at least convince OD to produce both flavours. Sorry guys, the old one sucked!
March 27th, 2009 at 2:51 am
The old flavour is coming back, i know i work there!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I hate the OLD BBQ FLAVOUR!!!!- PLEASE KEEP THE NEW BOLD BBQ FLAVOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 8th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Why not just introduce a new flavor??? PLEASE BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL BBQ OLD DUTCH!!!! I have been snacking on these since 1965.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I’m not sure when they did it but Old Dutch has brought back the original BBQ flavor in their twin pack boxes. I guess they pissed off too many people.
I’m glad they did this cause no other BBQ flavor was as good.
September 17th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Well at least you’ve only lost ONE flavour, we lost them all except BBQ. Many many fans of the old Humpty Dumpty chip flavours are not blown away by the ” Best in the West ” Old Dutch Chip. The HD BBQ ( which you’re now complaining about ) was the best selling chip in Ontario. When Old Dutch replaced all the packaging I was p’o thinking that I’d lost my BBQ Flavour. I bumped into one of their reps and they said when OD bought HD they admitted the BBQ flavour was better so they kept it. If your Dill Pickle flavour is any indication of what your old BBQ flavour was like then it’s no wonder. BLAND! Ketchup? I remember when Ketchup chips were RED. Not just blushing a little with a few Red blotches.
The comment above about HD having left over seasoning. LOL highly unlikely since after eating OD chips it’s quite apparent they use half the seasoning. HD probably couldn’t afford to keep using so much which is likely why they were bought by OD.
Oh and BTW New coke for the most part IS the coke you’re drinking today.
December 12th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I find Old Dutch chips have the perfect amount of seasoning. Any more would just be overwhelming, and you wouldn’t be able to taste the actual chip over all the salt and artificial flavors.
HD was bought out for a reason– they were not making enough money to warrant staying in business. If their chips were so great, you wouldn’t think they’d have had this problem…
Anyways, I was thrilled when I went to Safeway the other day and saw the original BBQ design on the twin packs. I brought home a box and prayed as I opened it up, and sure enough they were back.
Hopefully they bring it back in bag form too, eventually, as the boxes are significantly more expensive (2.99 for 180g vs the same price for 235g).
December 14th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I dunno, I’ve been eating Humpty Dumpty chips since I was a kid and Old Dutch just doesn’t cut it.. I’m from Ontario and honestly I’m stil confused about what happened to Hostess?!LOL But really, the Old Dutch flavors are bland and boring and I personally like a chip to be overwhelming. Definitely not underwhelming. Mostly a chip is a vehicle for the seasoning and I want a real Salt n Vinegar and Dill Pickle chip back. I want my tongue to burn and my eyes to tear up!LOL I don’t wanna be bummed and feel ripped off with every bag I still pathetically buy, hoping, dreaming that I might get just a little bit of satisfaction from them. But of course not. Now I’ve started buying McCoys chips from a British import store.
January 14th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Sounds like what’s at issue here is change. People that liked OD don’t like HD and vice-versa. Big surprise. People don’t like change. Learn to deal with it because it happens. If it bothers you that much each something different (and preferably healthier).
January 27th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
I grew up in Montreal. Humpty Dumpty Barbeque chips were my favorite. I moved to Alberta in 1976 and was subjected to nothing but Old Dutch. They didnt even have Lays back then. Anyway the BBQ tasted horrible to me. Bland and wierd tasting and the plain were not much better. I quit eating chips for a number of years until Lays came out. Now the new Bold BBQ is identical to Humpty Dumpty. I love it. I sure hope they dont discontinue them. I guess it all boils down to what you grew up with.
March 12th, 2010 at 11:19 am
I have to disagree with you. The reason you like the old Old Dutch bbq flavor is because that is what you probably grew up with. I grew up in Montreal where we ate Humpty Dumpty Chips and they tasted like the new Old Dutch. I am so happy because I never like the original old dutch. I think they are changing them back to the old flavor anyway so dont worry. I am getting my fill of these until they discontinue them.
October 11th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I am from Cape Breton and Humpty Dumty was very popular and tastey. I have eaten a lot of different brands of chips so it’s not like it was only HD I ate growing up and now, but one thing I can say for sure is the brand of chips I won’t buy because I find them very plain and bland is Old Dutch. I remember moving to Calgary 3-4 years ago and buying my first bag of Old Dutch because nothing else was available. It was bland. I tried all the flavours I like in other brands and still it was the same. I haven’t tried the new BBQ because I just stay clear away from the brand. Everyone’s tastes are different and if the west side of our country is used to bland chips, then they can keep ‘em. I agree with Mark Schrell that they should introduce “new (HD)” flavours under their name. Whatever flavour sells most in a particular region, then keep that for that region. That’s what they do with alcohol…we used to have a Captain Morgan drink here but they discontinued it around here because there wasn’t enough demand and yet that same year I went to Ontario and they sold it out there. Anyway, I wish HD flavours would come back. I’m even starting to get sick of the Lay’s and Ruffles since they are the only flavours I will buy now. I probably won’t even go and try the OD new BBq in fear I will get “hooked” and then they will discontinue them on us HD fans.
August 31st, 2011 at 7:43 am
I have not had a bag of Old Dutch Sour Cream and Onion chips in years. I went to a local gas station/bate shop and purchased a bag. I had many memories of my youth pass threw my brain,but then i took a bite. I had too pull over too the side of the back road i was on too spit out the chips. I thought my be these chips expired ,but i checked the date and they have a month. Why would a company selling a good product people like destroy it, I have an idea.It is the new generation of college nitwits that are destroying America.(PS) The college nitwits are out guns blazing and destroying any thing American and because fatty can’t stop we all suffer.
November 20th, 2011 at 9:26 am
I, too grew up in the 60′s and 70′s in Montreal and we LOVED our Humpty Dumpty BBQ chips and cannot find them anymore. Old Dutch had a brief stint last summer (In Ontario) where we found Old Dutch chips with the old Humpty Dumpty BBQ flavoring but they came and went quick. The BBQ chips that Old Dutch make now are nowhere near as good as the original BBQ flavoring of the Humpty Dumpty chips. That’s not to negate anyone’s taste who like the new ones, but if there are fans of both, just make both.
By the way whatever happened to the Old Dutch “Extreme” line, the Salt and Vinegar were to die for.
Debbie from Montreal
February 10th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
The Lay’s old fashioned BBQ appeared briefly on Ontario shelves, and sadly has disappeared again. I just learned that the are available in eastern Canada and Quebec, so will definitely seek them out in the future when travelling. The new Lay’s BBQ is super sweet and NOT the BBQ i remember as a child. I do feel of all of the flavors on the market the Humpty Dumpty BBQ were the best. I find old dutch chips thicker, but will try out the BBQ if it is the original OD recipe. Also- Hostess BBQ chips at $.99 per bag are available at several Food Basics stores across southwestern Ontario, and in the occasional price chopper. They taste just as they did when I was young.
April 6th, 2012 at 5:40 am
I remember as a kid growing up in the 80′s going to the store and getting a bag of Hostess dill pickle chips, I pretty much craved them and also remember getting the WWF wrestling stickers in the mid 80′s in small bags of Hostess chips, also remember the Munchie Monsters on each bag as well. Then one day in the mid 90′s Hostess was gone and Lay’s was the replacement, I purchased a bag of Lay’s and was disappointed, they tasted boring and kind of stale. So I then switched to Humpty Dumpty and they tasted great and this is what I purchased from then on until one day I went into the grocery store and there was Old Dutch where HD chips use to be, I purchased a bag of OD and I will say it took me back to when I purchased my first bag of Lay’s chips. I didn’t like Lays but I found the Old Dutch brand was even worse than Lays, both brands are not even close to the Hostess & Humpty Dumpty product they replaced. Today I just don’t buy chips, ps Atlantic Canada wants there chips with flavor back.
April 29th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
HELP! I CALLED THE OLD DUTCH COMPANY AND TOLD THEM I AM UPSET THAT THE BBQ CHIPS NOW TASTE MORE SUGARY THEN THE NICE HOT SPICY CHIPS HUMPTY DUMPTY CHIPS WERE LIKE…THEY SAID…O WE ARE SORRY, BUT WE WILL SEND YOU COUPONS!
WHAT GOOD ARE YOUR COUPONS WHEN THE TASTE IS GONE….WHY CAN’T THEY LEAVE IT..ALL THE OTHER BBQ CHIPS ARE GROSS NOW, ALL SUGAR, RUBBER TASTE…OLD DUTCH BBQ (HUMPTY DUMPTY) WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAD A RICH BBQ HOT TASTE NOW ITS GONE!
FUUUCKK!