Yahoo Lifestyle 
Aldi shoppers slam award-winning snack item: 'Won’t buy anymore'
After a packaging rebrand, some customers have noticed a decline in quality.
When it comes to chip-and-dip hour at any given social occasion, I personally believe you can’t go wrong with the classic guac and corn chip combo. After all, it’s a fan-favourite appetiser for a reason. Nothing quite matches the flavour and textural sensation of biting into a sturdy, salt-laden corn chip piled with a heaping of chunky, zesty guacamole — best with a hint of spice, IMHO.
The obvious choice of corn chips for this infamous snack is Doritos. However another understated (but nonetheless popular) choice of chippie among Aussies — particularly budget-conscious shoppers — is discount supermarket Aldi’s homebrand Sprinters range.
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Both the original Toasted and Cheese Extreme varieties of the brand’s corn chips have been touted as great value alternatives to more expensive name brands like Doritos, and praised for their quality in both flavour and size.
With rave reviews and even being crowned Canstar Blue’s best-rated chip for four years in a row, you’d think the old proverb ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ would apply to the stable Aldi brand. But recent feedback from customers has suggested there may have been some changes to the crowd-pleasing tortillas.
One customer took to the Aldi Fans Australia Facebook group to complain that a recently purchased bag of Sprinters Toasted Corn Chips was inedible.
Debate ensues over 'really freaking SALTY' corn chips
“We had these corn chips with dinner tonight, but they were really freaking SALTY, to the point of not being edible,” he wrote. “This is the first time we’ve ever had a problem with these chips. Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem?”
The review sparked debate among fellow Aldi fans, including those who agreed with the original poster and others with an affinity for salty chips who remained quite pleased with the product.
“Bought a couple of packets last Friday, salt level was perfect,” one person gushed.
‘I brought mine back (to the store), not a bit of salt anywhere,” another shared. “(The staff) tried one and gave me my money back. Love Aldi.”
“Had these last week with nachos and enjoyed them,” a third group member chimed in. “Guess you had a bad packet or aren’t used to salted corn chips?”
“They changed the packet size a while back and I noticed around the same time they got a bit saltier,” someone else countered.
“Since they changed the packaging I find that they are thicker and more salt/seasoning,” another agreed. “Won’t buy anymore.”
Complaints roll in after rebrand
The latter comments come after other complaints from customers this year following a Sprinter packaging rebrand. Certain reviews of the brand lamented that the typical bags of chips — not just corn chips — were half-filled with air and contained far fewer chips than previously purchased bags.
“Ever since the packaging changed, the quality and consistency has completely gone,” a disgruntled consumer added to the discussion. “It used to be a regular purchase, not anymore.”
This comes after TikToker Tara Louise noticed that the Sprinters bags of corn chips were now only 200g instead of 230g - yet cost exactly the same price.
“Aldi has changed supplier as their packaging of these chips has recently changed,” another added. “Same with their extra butter popcorn. New supplier means a new package and maybe a different taste, sadly, maybe not as good a taste as I have found.”
Aldi responds to customer complaints
Despite these observations, when contacted by Yahoo Lifestyle about the perceived change in corn chip taste, Aldi responded that no changes had been made to the recipe of the Sprinters Corn Chips, and noted that customers could return any product they were unsatisfied with for a full refund or replacement.
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Maybe it’s a case of a self-afflicted placebo effect by customers who noticed the difference in packaging. Or maybe there were just a few anomaly bags that certain punters got unlucky with. Either way, if you prefer a saltier corn chip to dip into your guac, Aldi’s Sprinters chips might be the ones for you.
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