Chip off the Old Guac:
Tortilla Chips Statistics & Fun Facts
Whether by itself, carrying a scoop of some delicious dip or serving as the foundation of a plate of nachos, Americans have had a love affair with tortilla chips since at least the 1940s. We love tortilla chips so much we’ve even made a holiday to honor them, National Tortilla Chip Day, which is celebrated every year on Feb. 24.
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Tortilla chips are a staple of Mexican and TexMex food, which has a long lineage in the U.S., including even fast food. The first Taco Bell opened in 1962 in California. Two other major fast-casual Mexican chains, Qdoba and Chipotle, came onto the scene in the 1990s.
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Not only are tortilla chips a party necessity, but in many homes, these snackable items have become dietary necessities. And we eat an incredible amount of these golden triangles every year. Based on tortilla chip sales between May 2018 and May 2019 and the average number of chips in a bag, Americans consumed upwards of 206 billion tortilla chips during that 12-month period.
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While tortilla chips are a common food for many people, they are crucial for snacking, and there’s no bigger snacking holiday than the Super Bowl. Sales of tortilla chips and other snacks start surging the week before the big game every year.
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A majority of consumers rate crispiness as the most important aspect of a tortilla chip. The British record for the largest tortilla chip is held by a 110-pound, 32-square-foot chip baked by six employees of Brewers Fayre.
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Paqui produces the world’s spiciest tortilla chip, which comes as a single blue corn tortilla chip seasoned using the Carolina Reaper pepper, the world’s hottest chili pepper. The pepper is rated at 1,569,300 on the Scoville scale; for comparison, a jalapeno is usually between 2,500 and 8,000 on the scale.
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The worldwide tortilla market, which includes tortilla chips, is expected to expand to more than $12 billion by 2028, and tortilla chips alone accounted for more than $5.5 billion in sales in 2019. Let’s look at the business of tortilla chips.
Frito-Lay is the biggest kid on the block when it comes to tortilla chips, as the company owns the two most successful brands in the space, Doritos and Tostitos.
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Tortilla chips that claim to have natural ingredients have boosted sales by 4% in recent years. Brands that offer new flavors are reaping rewards, with hot and spicy flavors growing 14% and cheese flavor growing 12%.
Outside the U.S., Doritos are most popular in Panama.
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Made from mashed avocados and any number of other ingredients (there’s no one standard recipe that qualifies), guacamole is a fan favorite that has its own national holiday.
8,351 pounds: The world’s largest serving of guacamole was produced in 2018 in Michoacan, Mexico.
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Average annual search volume for guacamole has increased 40% in the U.S. over the past decade.
Search interest in guacamole tends to be high across the country, but it’s highest in Connecticut and lowest in North Dakota and Mississippi.
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Tortilla chips aren’t just for dipping, and they serve as the foundation of a versatile and popular dish, nachos.
Nachos were invented by Ignacio Anaya, who used his own nickname to coin the moniker of the dish. Anaya served his nachos in 1943 to a group of women whose military husbands were stationed in Texas not far from the Mexican city of Piedras Negras.
4,689 pounds: The record largest serving of nachos was constructed at the University of Kansas in 2012, weighing in at more than 2 tons.
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America’s most expensive plate of nachos are found at the Park Hyatt Hotel in New York City. They go for $210 and aren’t really nachos because they’re made with potato chips instead of tortilla chips. Still, if you’re wealthy and craving nachos, caviar, chives and hard-boiled egg yolks, you could do worse.
People across the United States are interested in nachos, according to their Google results, but search volume for this addictive dish is highest in Nebraska.
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Neither Mexico nor the U.S. can claim to be the global hotbed of nacho lovers. That distinction goes to Norway, which had the highest search volume for the term in the past year.
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Made with some combination of red or green tomatoes, onions and jalapenos, and often beans, corn and even fruit, salsa has been America’s favorite condiment since the 1990s.
7,308 pounds: The world’s largest serving of salsa was prepared in 2014 in Gilbert, Arizona.
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A salsa made from Carolina Reaper peppers is said to be the hottest in the world.
Salsa is most popular in the Western region of the U.S., according to Google search volume, with all of the top five states in searches being located in that region.
Though they’re easy to overlook, tortilla chips have a long history in the U.S. and around the world, and it’s no wonder: Their versatility alone makes them a crucial staple, not only at a party but all year round.
