By Manar Alhinai and Al Anood Al Wahaibi
Chips Oman, a chilli-flavoured potato chip snack, is famous for its red and blue plastic bags with an image of a kitchen knife slicing through a peeled potato. Introduced more than thirty years ago, the snack quickly became an integral staple amongst Khaleejis (people of the Arab Gulf region), especially those from Oman, with many carrying it along with their belongings when they travel for leisure or pursuing studies.
With the spread of social media, it’s not strange to see Arab users snapping photos of the bag of chips against the backdrop of London’s Hyde Park and other notable global landmarks, sharing their love for it across their accounts and pages, and confessing how they cannot live without it even during their travels.
There is nothing eye-catching about the package’s design. If Chips Oman were introduced now and not thirty-eight years ago, it may not have that much appeal. One of the twenty-five food products Oman’s Al Jufair Food Industries sells, the company proudly proclaims the chips as the industry’s premiere product.
According to Mohammed Khan, the sales manager of Al Jufair Food Industries, Chips Oman is considered one of the best selling and popular products in the industry, and is currently present in over one hundred national and international outlets. However, not even the company was able to imagine the appeal and popularity it enjoys today.
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