lentil
The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...
and
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
, owned by
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
. The snack was originated in India and was launched in 1999 in the country. The snack is currently being manufactured and sold in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The snack has limited availability in certain international markets such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
The word ''Kurkure'' means "crunchy" in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
.
In India it is manufactured in
Sangrur
Sangrur is a city in Sangrur district of the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District.
Geography
Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet).
Climate
Health s ...
,
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
,
Howrah
Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...
,
Sonipat
Sonipat is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sonipat district of Haryana state of India. It comes under the National Capital Region and is around from New Delhi. It is also around 214 km (128 miles) southwest o ...
,
Ranga Reddy
Ranga Reddy district ( R. R. district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Lakdikapool, Hyderabad. The district was named after the former deputy chief minister of the United Andhra Pradesh, K ...
, Vaishali and Kamrup. In Pakistan it is manufactured in
Gulberg, Lahore
Gulberg (Urdu, pnb, ) is an administrative town (tehsil) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries ...
and in Bangladesh the snack is manufactured in
Bogra
Bogra ( bn, বগুড়া), officially known as Bogura, is a major city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in Rajshahi Divi ...
.
Ingredients
Kurkure is made from rice meal, edible vegetable oil (
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
), corn meal, gram meal, spices (such as
turmeric
Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...
), condiments, salt, sugar, tartaric, and E631. Kurkure is not completely
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
as the PepsiCo website in a pdf listing the ingredients show milk solids as one of the ingredients.
It contains natural, nature-identical, and artificial flavouring substances.
The ingredients are different in the UK.
Flavours
India
In India Kurkure is available in the following flavours:
* Masala Munch
* Green Chutney
* Chilli Chatka
* Tamatar Hyderabadi Style
* Masala Twists (Solid Masti)
* Desi Beats
* Naughty Tomato
* Puffcorn (Yummy Cheese)
* Monster Paws
* Hyderabadi Hungama
* Lime pickle
* Zig Zag
* Puff Corn
* Corn Cups
* Solid Masti
* Monster Smilies
* Tangy Tamato
* Butter Masti
* Kurkure triangles
* Khatta Meetha
* Multigrain
* Chatpata Cheese
Kurkure is also made in other limited edition flavours for various occasions like Puja or
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
.
Pakistan
*Red Chili Jhatka
*Chutney Chaska
*Salt & Pepper Masti
*Sweet Lime Chatpat
*Dahi Papri Chaat
*Barbecue
*Cream N’ Onion
*Cheese N’ Garlic
*Hot N’ Spicy
*Sour Cream Maska
*Halke Phulke
*Cheese Karara
*Toofani Masala
As in India, Kurkure is also available in other limited edition flavours for various occasions like Eid.
Bangladesh
*Masala Munch
*Cream and Onion
*Chilli Chatka
*Naughty Tomato
*Spicy Chicken
'Masala Munch', 'Chilli Chatka' are as same as their Indian counterparts (India has same named flavours).
Marketing
In 1999, Kurkure was initially launched in India, Indian television actress
Pooja Ghai
'' EastEnders'' is a long-running BBC soap opera from the United Kingdom. This is a list of characters who first appeared on the programme during 2009, listed in order of their first appearance. They were all introduced by the show's executive ...
appeared in the television commercial and served as the first brand ambassador. In 2004, Indian
Hindi film
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actress
Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...
was featured in advertisements for Kurkure. Kurkure was launched in Tamil Media in 2008 with actress
Simran
Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
as its brand ambassador. In 2012,
Parineeti Chopra
Parineeti Chopra (; born 22 October 1988) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Chopra is a recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award. She has appeared in '' Forbes India'' Celebrity 1 ...
,
Kunal Kapoor Kunal Kapoor may refer to:
* Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959), Indian film actor
* Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1977), Indian actor, writer and entrepreneur
* Kunal Kapoor (cricketer) (born 1987), Indian cricketer
* Kunal Karan Kapoor (born 1982), In ...
,
Boman Irani
Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor, photographer and voice artist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema he has also worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. He has acted in more than a 100 films in his career.
Ear ...
,
Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...
, and
Farida Jalal
Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
, started to advertise Kurkure. In 2019
Samantha Ruth Prabhu
Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
acted in Tamil and Telugu commercials of Kurkure.
Following the Pakistani launch in 2007, actresses
Ayesha Omer
Ayesha Omar (born 12 October 1981) is a Pakistani actress and YouTuber. Considered as a style icon in her home country, Omar is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of Pakistan.
In 2012, she released her first singles "Chalte C ...
,
Hania Amir
Hania Aamir (born 12 February 1997) is a Pakistani actress who appears in Urdu television and films. She made her acting debut with a Pakistani comedy film ''Janaan'' (2016) for which received a nomination in Lux Style Award for Best Supporting ...
and
Iqra Aziz
Iqra Aziz Hussain (born 24 November 1997) is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu television. She made her acting debut in 2014 with a supporting role shanzey in ''Kissey Apna Kahein''. Aziz is widely recognized for portraying the r ...
have all been featured in television commercials for Kurkure. In November 2006,
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavor ...
announced plans to release Kurkure to American markets in 2007. This decision was made after analysts showed increasing interest in Indian spices in the region. Kurkure was subsequently introduced in other markets with a significant non-resident Indian population such as the UK. As of 2013, Kurkure is available in Western Canada. As of 2010, Kurkure is available in Eastern Canada.
It was launched in Bangladesh in 2015 by Transcom Consumer Products Ltd.
Free Internet Data
From September 2020,
Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...
had provided its users 1GB free internet data with a packet of ''Kurkure'' costing Rs 10.
Controversy
In July 2018, it was reported that PepsiCo had been granted an order by the
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
, ordering
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
,
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
,
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
to remove or block various "disparaging and defamatory" posts perpetuating a false rumour that Kurkure products contain plastics. The rumour had frequently been spread via videos depicting the snacks being flammable, though this is based primarily on their
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
content. PepsiCo faced criticism over the move, as it also included the
geoblocking
Geo-blocking or geoblocking is technology that restricts access to Internet content based upon the user's geographical location. In a geo-blocking scheme, the user's location is determined using Internet geolocation techniques, such as checking t ...
of Twitter posts that were clearly satirizing the controversy and order.