In August 2014, two major snack food brands, Haitai from South Korea and Calbee from Japan, joined forces to create a new snack that quickly went viral and became a top-selling snack, dominating the Korean market that year. What these two companies created is a snack known as honey butter chips. These chips became so popular that they sparked a trend known as the “honey butter craze,” making the chips nearly impossible to purchase, with resale prices online reaching triple the original price.
As Korean Americans, we watched this phenomenon unfold from home on our TV screens, eagerly awaiting the arrival of these chips at our local Korean grocery stores. Ultimately, we just couldn’t wait and asked our Korean relatives to pack some of these snacks in their luggage when they visited us. Since trying these chips, which did not disappoint one bit, my family has been obsessed with any food that combines honey and butter.
