Utz is about to give the snack aisle a savory shake-up this fall with three new offerings that play on familiar flavors… In very unusual formats. The snack food manufacturer from Pennsylvania has launched Chicken Dipping Sauce Flavored Potato Chips, Cheddar Bacon Ranch Cheese Balls and Spicy Pickle Bites.
The most (literally) out-there of the three might be the Chicken Dipping Sauce Flavored Potato Chips. Building on its expertise in savory, ridged potato chips, Utz has taken the flavor profile of dark and sweet dipping sauce and applied it to chips. This philosophy aims to allow anyone to experience the profile of dipping crispy chicken into sauce directly from a bag, thanks to an innovative flavor.
The new Utz Ripples Chicken Dipping Sauce Potato Chips are prepared from fresh potatoes and baked crisp then sprinkled with the sauce-flavored seasoning. UTZ is rolling out this flavor as a permanent addition to the Utz portfolio, one of the company’s seasonal experiments other flavors being introduced as perennial additions is the new Utz Ripples Chicken Dipping Sauce Potato Chips. It was released on September 21 in 7.75-ounce and 2.75-ounce packages via retail chains like Walmart, Publix, ACI, and Sheetz, as well as online through the Utz store.
The second launch features three flavors that fans already love from the snack world. The Utz Cheddar Bacon Ranch Cheese Balls build on the company’s well-loved cheese-balls crunch with smoky bacon and rich, smooth ranch. The mix seeks to add depth and dimensions to taste to a proven snack formula.
The Cheddar Bacon Ranch Cheese Balls are available in 2.5-ounce bags, and will be sold in convenience oriented stores like CVS, certain Circle K and Quik Trip locations as well as online. The smaller package size makes this snack mostly popular for grab and go snacking, in which convenience and powerful flavor are important buying factors.
Utz debuts a third new product with the launch of Spicy Pickle Bites in a co-brand with Grillo’s Pickles. “It’s an extension of the existing Uts and Grillo’s co-branded sweet pickle corn snack, ” says a company spokesperson. “In this iteration, the corn-based snack takes on a pickle-forward flavor profile, with dill, garlic, and vinegar flavors and a spicy kick.”
Spicy Pickle Bites can be purchased in 2.5-ounce bags at convenience outlets such as 7-Eleven, Circle K, Sheetz, and Wawa. The partnership builds on the evolving relationship between the Utz and Grillo’s brands that began in 2022, and the brands efforts to bring pickle flavor into different snack formats outside conventional refrigerated pickles.
The new line is compelling because it is indicative of an evolving consumer attitude toward snacks. While classic flavors are still desirable, consumers are more open to taking foods, condiments, and mealtime compounds that they recognize and turning them into snack forms. Utz has tested such varieties during 2026, including seasonal entries like Sizzlin’ Summer Burger and the return of its Lemonade flavor chips.
This strategy is safe yet experimental for a snack-maker dating back to 1921. Second, the use of existing formats and flavors new for Utz could generate inevitable curiosity in grocery and convenience-store aisles.
