The day has finally come for two beloved Lotte gum flavours to step out as crunchy chips.

When it comes to chips in Japan, local brand Calbee dominates the market with a wide selection of popular flavours and an ever-growing roster of limited-edition varieties like Natto and Sakura Butter. Over in the sweets aisle, however, it’s Lotte’s dominion, with the brand covering things like chocolates, candies, biscuits, and chewing gum that’s even said to improve your memory.

The chip and candy worlds are usually best left apart, but recently Calbee and Lotte joined forces for total snack domination, founding the “Funny Research Institute” in April last year to “create the future of sweets“. And if you’re wondering what that future might look like, brace yourself, because it involves chewing gum-flavoured chips.

That’s right–Lotte and Calbee have just announced they’ll be releasing chips in two of Lotte’s most popular chewing gum flavours: Blueberry and Plum. Both these gums have been on sale since the Showa Period (1926-1989), but this is the first time for them to step out in chip form.

The Potato Chips Blueberry Gum Flavour is said to have the same sweet-and-sour taste as Lotte’s Blueberry Gum, which was released in 1982.

▼ Chips with the refreshing taste and aroma of highland fruits.

The Potato Chips Plum Gum Flavour reproduces the refreshing Japanese flavour of plum and perilla from Lotte’s popular Plum Gum, first released in 1976.

These two new varieties are the third and fourth weird releases from Calbee and Lotte’s Funny Research Institute, which previously gave birth to Toppo TomoRico in August and Pie no Mi Shiawase Butter in September.

▼ The Funny Research Institute

▼ Toppo, aka ‘Reverse Pocky’ was filled with TomoRico corn snack cream instead of chocolate.

▼ And the Big Pie no Mi was filled with “Happy Butter” chip-flavoured cream.

The new gum-flavoured chips are on a whole other level of weird compared to their past releases, and it’s not just a cheap gimmick for kids, as it’s said to be “especially recommended for people in their 30s to 50s who like chewing gum.”

The new chips will only be available in limited numbers at Apita Piago stores and Don Quijote and its affiliated stores from 15 February at a recommended retail price of 120 yen (US$1.14).

Source: PR Times
Featured image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times (1, 2, 3)
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