Auntie Anne’s is getting in on the ‘let’s let the fans pick new flavors’ trend. So don’t mess this up, America.
When you think of brands that are a little too trusting of democracy and or get a little too weird with their flavors, you probably think of Lay’s and Oreos. There are others, of course, that cultivate a wide and illustrious spectrum of flavors, but we’re talking about a chip brand that okayed Cappuccino potato chips and a cookie company that greenlit Habanero Oreos. Now, depending on the notoriously questionable whims of the American voting public, Auntie Anne’s may soon join their ranks.
The soft pretzel staple is debuting a new competition called “Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Nation Creation.” From July 21 to July 30, you can vote on which new flavor you want to see brought to mall life. There are five sweet flavors and five savory flavors and, let us tell you, there are right and wrong decisions here.
Among the sweet flavors, your options are s’mores, maple brown sugar, apple pie, chocolate cherry and pink lemonade. With the exception of pink lemonade, these are all decent-to-excellent choices. (Pink lemonade is a bad choice. Chocolate cherry is fine but not inspiring.) S’mores pretzels sound fantastic, and, as of press time, 335,477 voters agree — placing the flavor in second place. Maple brown sugar and apple pie are close seconds in our esteem.
Things get a little more questionable on the savory side of things. There is the number one vote holder — Sriracha — which is hardly surprising given Sriracha is so popular McDonald’s is shilling it now too. The other savory flavors — buffalo wings, dill pickle, taco and Korean BBQ — are a bit more debatable. Honestly, Korean BBQ deserves more than the penultimate place it currently holds. Taco: Curious, but we’d try it. Ditto buffalo wings. But dill pickle.
America, whatever you do, do not vote dill-pickle-flavored pretzels into creation. Yes, pickles are super popular and a very trendy snack at the moment, you may even love them. Good for you. But think about what you’re doing here. Think about the sanctity of soft pretzels. Vote for anything else.