Gone are the days when chips flavours were stock-standard salt and vinegar, or cheese and onion. Nowadays, you can get chips in almost every conceivable flavour, and it seems as if Simba Chips has gone all out to prove this with a flurry of flavours over the years, clearly designed to delight!
You wouldn’t be surprised to see KFC zinger wings flavour, chakalaka flavour, or shisanyama flavour Simba Chips, would you? No, because you’ve probably bought and eaten them as they’ve stacked the shelves of your local grocery store, spaza shop and even online stores.
Simba Chips has made flavours somewhat limitless! And they’re doing it to the delight of every South African who can now wander the aisles picking and choosing even the strangest sounding flavours because they can! Okay, they haven’t quite released a candyfloss flavour bag of chips yet, but who says it’s not on the cards?
What’s the deal with Simba Chips and their sensational flavours? Is Simba Chips South Africa based? And whatever happened to the old Simba Chips flavours we used to love?
Let’s find out!
Is Simba Chips South Africa based?
You’ve heard of Ouma Rusks, right? Well, who do you think is at the heart of Simba Chips? Yip, you guessed it, the Ouma Rusks kingpins; the Greyvensteyn family! Having made a huge success of Ouma Rusks in the 1940s, the family decided to try something new – chips!
This makes Simba Chips a proudly South African brand to hit the market in 1957. In 1957, all your favourite old Simba Chips flavours were taking the market by storm.
Old Simba Chips flavours
When Simba Chips South Africa hit the market in 1957, they started with three staple flavours that are still available today:
- Tomato
- Cheese and Onion
- Salt and Vinegar
And you’d be wrong to assume that this new chip-producing operation was small fry! Oh no, it wasn’t. The original Simba Chips factory was in Isando, and it was all but decimating the supply of first-class potatoes to the country. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but they were producing chips in mass supply, and packets were flying off the shelves as quickly as they were flying out of the factory!
One thing was certain: Simba Chips emphasised ensuring their product was always fresh, and packets of chips were selling so fast that they had no time to get stale.
New Simba Chips flavours: When did Simba Chips start releasing proudly South African flavours?
It was in 2013 that Simba Chips stepped outside of the norm and decided to try something new. Instead of just the regular accepted flavours for chips out there, Simba Chips South Africa would spoil its client base with something new and exciting: an entirely new range of flavours. And if we’re honest about it, South Africans have a somewhat interesting and unique palette. New to the market was none other than the Steers Monkeygland Sauce range.
Thereafter, the new “proudly South African” Simba Chips flavours would include the likes of chilli biltong, too. Well, this was just the first new flavour released. Realising its success, the team set out to have even more unique flavours.
Soon after, the company started producing Simba Mrs Balls Chutney flavour, smoked beef, and even Mexican chilli. Of course, Simba chutney chips are a big hit, but with so many options and with the “Choose me or lose me” campaign in 2021 hosted by Simba Chips, tomato flavour was the weakest link and voted off the Simba chips menu.
Needless to say, Simba Mrs Balls Chutney, tomato and onion, beef, and many other flavours are still going strong!
How many Simba Chips flavours are there?
It’s difficult to come up with an exact number of Simba Chips flavours as the company website doesn’t list them officially, but on scrutinising their “brands” section, we counted the following flavours of chips available (excluding the Doritos range):
- Simba Mrs Balls Chutney flavour
- Simba Munchiez Chicken flavour
- Simba Munchiez Cheese flavour
- Simba Salt and Vinegar flavour
- Simba Cheese and Onion flavour
- Simba KFC Zinger Wings flavour
- Simba Mexican Chilli flavour
- Simba Creamy Cheddar flavour
Other sources cite the following flavours are also available: Simba Smoked Beef, Simba Steers, and Monkey Gland. There are rumours that the proudly South African flavours are still available.
Something cool to do with your Simba Chips
With all this history on Simba Chips, you’re bound to be inspired to munch a few! Here are a few ideas for your next few packets of Simba Chips!
- Make stackers by smearing cottage cheese or cream cheese onto individual chips and then stacking them into a tower just big enough to fit into your mouth!
- Turn your chips into Mexican-style nachos!
- Make a chip sandwich with your favourite flavour of chips, fresh white bread and a dollop of mayo!
- Dip your favourite Simba Chips in hummus for a healthier snack option!
If you try any of these or have your favourite yet unusual way to enjoy Simba chips, we’d love to know about it! Share your ideas with us!
Grab a bag of your favourite Simba Chips and settle in for some great advice & guidance from FinGlobal
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