Red Hot Riplets facts for kids
Red Hot Riplets are super popular spicy potato chips! They are mainly sold in St. Louis, Missouri. These chips are special because they are ridge-cut, meaning they have wavy ridges. They are covered in a yummy, hot seasoning made from chili pepper and sweet barbecue flavors. The company calls this flavor "St. Louis Style Hot Sauce".
The chips are made by the Old Vienna Snack Food Company. You can find them in many places in St. Louis, from small local shops to big stores like Schnucks and 7-Eleven.
What Makes Them Special?
Red Hot Riplets are known for being spicier than most other potato chips you find in stores across the country.
The chips get their bright red color from the powdered peppers used in the seasoning. This color is totally natural! The chips used to be fried in a certain type of oil, but now they are fried in liquid vegetable oils.
Old Vienna has also made other snacks with a similar spicy kick:
- Red Hot Thins: These are thinner potato chips with the same seasoning.
- Cheesy Red Hot Riplets: These have cheese powder added to the spicy flavor.
- Red Hot Pork rinds: These are crispy pork snacks with the Red Hot Riplets seasoning.
In 2003, Esquire magazine even featured Red Hot Riplets in an article called "Best Potato Chips You've Never Tasted."
About the Company
The Old Vienna Snack Food Company started way back in 1936 in St. Louis. A person named Louis Kaufman founded it. Over the years, the company changed owners a few times. In 1996, it almost closed down.
But don't worry! In the same year, a group of former employees decided to bring the brand back to life. Today, the company is still based near St. Louis, in a town called Fenton. As of 2015, about 20 people worked there.
Hot Sauce and Seasoning
Around 2007, Old Vienna made a bottled hot sauce that tasted like the Red Hot Riplets chips. It was called "St. Louis Style" hot sauce. They stopped making it for a while, but it came back in 2018!
In February 2017, Old Vienna launched a special Red Hot Riplet Seasoning spice mix. This was a big hit! More than 1,000 bottles were sold online in just the first 24 hours.
Now, you can find this seasoning all over the St. Louis area. Many local markets and gas stations sell it. It also became available in St. Louis grocery stores in the spring of 2017. Some restaurants in St. Louis even started adding the Red Hot Riplet Seasoning to their own menu items!
Other Products
Besides the famous Red Hot Riplets, Old Vienna Snack Food Company makes other tasty snacks:
- Cheesy Red Hot Riplets Potato Chips
- Hot Corn Chips (These are corn chips with the Red Hot Riplet spice.)
- Sweet & Tangy Corn Chips
- Cheese Popcorn
- White Cheddar Popcorn
- Hot Cheese Popcorn
- Original Pork Rinds
- Red Hot Pork Rinds
- Bar B Que Pork Rinds
- Red Hot Riplets Nuggets
- Movie Theatre Popcorn
