In 2014, Haitai-Calbee released honey-butter flavored potato chips in South Korea. They expected nothing out of it—the limited flavor was met with ambivalence in Japan two years prior.
But in South Korea, the sweet-salty treat became an instant sensation. Honey butter chips sold out everywhere—groceries and convenience stores had waitlists, while online sellers sold their precious chips for three times the original price. Demand was so high, Haitai-Calbee launched an app just to alert people of freshly-stocked honey butter chips.
Honey butter mania has come and gone, but don't dismiss the flavor pairing as an overrated trend. The sweet-salty combo works magic on savory applications (let McDonald's popular honey butter Shake Shake Fries tell you!). These double-fried chicken wings, tossed in a sticky homemade honey-butter sauce, were inevitable.
