Takis are a Mexican brand of flavored rolled tortilla chips by Barcel, a subsidiary of
Grupo Bimbo. Fashioned after the
taquito, it comes in numerous flavors,[1] the best selling of which is the
chili-lime "Fuego" flavor, sold in distinctive purple bags. Besides the rolled corn chips, Takis produces other snacks with the same flavor lines, including different potato chip varieties, corn "stix", popcorn, and peanuts.
Takis were invented in Mexico in 1999 and introduced to the
United States in 2004 and Canada in 2015. Barcel originally intended to aim Takis towards a
Hispanic demographic, but its popularity has quickly spread among
Gen Z and
Gen Alpha.[2][3]
Flavors
Takis are prepared in a variety of flavors, including:
Angry Burger, a spicy hamburger and
dill pickle flavor (green packaging)[4]
Authentic Taco, a hot taco flavor (green packaging)
BBQ Picante, a spicy barbecue flavor (brown packaging)
Blue Flame, an extreme barbecue flavor (blue packaging)
Blue Heat, a hot chili pepper flavor (blue packaging)
Buckin' Ranch, a non-spicy ranch flavor (light blue packaging)
Cobra (red packaging)
Crunchy Fajitas, a chicken fajita flavor with a yellowish appearance (green packaging)
Dragon Sweet Chili, a sweet and spicy flavor with a dull red-orange appearance (black packaging)
Fuego, a hot chili pepper and lime flavor. It is the spiciest of all varieties, as well as the most popular flavor[1] (purple packaging).
Fuego azul, a spicy snack topped with a blue mystery spice powder, with a similar taste to Fuego. This flavor was released in the U.S. in 2019 as Blue Heat (blue packaging).[5]
Guacamole, a spicy snack topped with a style of salsa guacamole (white packaging)
Intense Nacho, a non-spicy cheese flavor and the first ever non-spicy flavor of Takis (orange packaging)
Kaboom, a ketchup and
sriracha flavor (purple, red and white packaging)
Lava, a cheese and
chipotle flavor (orange packaging)[4]
Nitro, a
habanero chili flavor (black-red packaging)
Original, a slightly spicy snack (green packaging)
Outlaw, a spicy barbecue flavor (dark red packaging)
Party, a flavor of cheese and chile
Rock, a presentation with flavor of chorizo
Sal De Mar (formerly "Classic"), a mild snack topped with sea salt
Salsa Brava, a slightly spicier snack than the original (yellow packaging)
Scorpion BBQ, a barbecue flavor (brown and purple packaging)[6]
Titan, a chipotle and lime flavor (dark red packaging)[4]
Volcano Queso, a habanero cheese flavor (yellow-green and orange packaging)[6]
Wild, a hot buffalo flavor (sky blue packaging)[4]
Xplosion, a spicy cheese-flavored and chili pepper variety (orange packaging)
Xtra Hot, a hot flavor similar to Fuego, but less spicy (black-purple packaging)
Zombie, habanero and cucumber flavor (black-green packaging)
Other products
In July 2020,
Razor released their scooter designed with the Takis brand.[7] Also in that month,
Totino's released Totino's Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites, consisting of
pizza snack rolls covered in Takis Fuego seasoning.[8] In October 2020, Takis introduced Takis Hot Nuts, featuring peanuts in a crunchy shell coated with Takis seasoning. Its flavors include Fuego, Flare and Smokin' Lime.[9] In 2021, Grupo Bimbo expanded the Takis snack portfolio to include:
Takis Crisps, potato chip shaped like
Pringles[11]
Takis Kettlez, kettle-cooked potato chip snack
Takis Hot Nuts, peanuts coated in crunchy corn snack
Takis Chippz, thin-cut potato chips
Health concerns
There have been multiple claims on the Internet that Takis and other spicy snacks cause ulcers and cancer. Though the aforementioned claims have been confirmed as false, scientists and doctors have attributed
gastritis and other stomach-related problems to Takis, though this has only been recorded to occur when ingesting too much of the snack.[12] Chronic gastritis can cause ulcers and stomach cancer.[13]