Could Our Cap’n Crunch-Flavored Lay’s Dreams Become a Reality?

We’re always keeping an eye on social media because brands are constantly announcing new products, and tasting new products is kind of what we do here. But sometimes, brands don’t play by the rules. Instead of announcing new products, they’ll announce outlandish fake products that are simply designed to look like new products at first glance. When it comes to this social media trickery, Lay’s is one of the worst offenders. On Instagram, the potato chip giant is always posting fake flavors, like Iced Lavender Latte, Donut with Sprinkles, and Strawberry Malt. Every once in a while, though, something that seems too weird to be real actually turns out to be a bona fide new product.

Back in February, Lay’s teased IHOP Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity potato chips, along with a caption that suggested they may or may not be real. Lo and behold, it was an actual collab (and the chips were actually pretty good). Something about the latest “fake” flavor Lay’s posted got us wondering if we have another IHOP chips situation on our hands. If the strategy is “tease a funky new flavor without officially releasing it to see if people are interested and then can call it off if they’re not,” then maybe, just maybe, Cap’n Crunch Lay’s could be the real deal.

Wait, Cap’n Crunch-flavored Lay’s? What’s going on here?

We don’t really know. And we’re not sure that Lay’s does, either. The brand shared an image of a bright-red potato chip bag featuring Horacio Magellan Crunch (“Cap’n,” as you may know him), and that photo was later shared by the popular snack news account @Snackolator. Eagle-eyed followers immediately noticed that the Photoshopped packaging was set against a background that explicitly said “Fake Flavor.” That should be that—the Cap’n Crunch flavor put to rest, done and dusted, right?

But if we learned anything from the IHOP experiment, it’s that Lay’s might actually use these teasers to see if consumers would actually be interested in a novel flavor. I can’t lie, asking us straight up, “What do you think about a Cap’n Crunch flavor?” is a pretty bold move—and it seems as though people are on board. In general, the Instagram comments were positive, except for the people who seemed annoyed they’d missed the text that says “fake flavor” in the graphic. At least Lay’s is being honest (for now). 

There’s another reason we’re earnestly wondering whether Cap’n Crunch Lay’s could be come a reality: Lay’s and Cap’n Crunch are both owned by Pepsi Co., and that means a collab is certainly more doable from a licensing perspective. There’s been no official announcement from either Lay’s or Cap’n Crunch, so the future of this flavor—and Lay’s true intentions—remain up in the air.