From when I first arrived in Auckland to getting through Dunedin, one thing has consistently been available: Doritos. However, they are not the Doritos of America but rather are flavored and marketed differently. The first bag I saw was in Auckland where the light purple packaging contained a similar flavor of chip. It was Thai Sweet Chili, which was probably slightly healthier (if that’s possible) and definitely less flavorful than its American counterpart Spicy Sweet Chili. I would like to say I am not really an avid Dorito consumer, but I noticed the light purple compared to dark purple packaging with a minor adjustment to the wording of their flavoring had been confusing other peers on the trip. Often, the situation would arise where someone would buy them from the vending machine, open them up, eat a couple, and say “aww these are different.” Others might have been more obnoxious about it by announcing on the bus “the Doritos here suck!” Regardless, we all soon understand (admittedly a little embarrassed by it) that New Zealand Doritos are obviously different than those in America.
I know was surprised to see red, green, and yellow packages all representing different flavors, moreover, ones not ever observed in the States. As you can see in the picture above taken in a convenient store in Queenstown, flavors “Salsa” and “Original Salted” are in yellow and green bags respectively. I did end up trying both with neither one being unique to their given names, but still enjoyable as chips or “crisps” go. I acknowledge that this was no crazy cultural difference that none of us could have seen coming, but maybe us Americans who love their Doritos felt duped by assuming the package color indicated remembered flavors from home? I think it was a bit naïve of us, but hope this was different than most food blogs written from abroad you encounter.
Blog Entry 9: Food
Foreign Adventures-New Zealand 