Takis are a Mexican brand of rolled corn

tortilla chip A tortilla chip is a snack food made from corn tortillas, which are cut into triangles and then fried or baked (alternatively they may be discs pressed out of corn masa then fried or baked). Corn tortillas are made of nixtamalized corn, veget ...

snack made by Barcel, a subsidiary of

Grupo Bimbo Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. (also known simply as Bimbo) is a Mexican multinational company with a presence in over 33 countries located in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has an annual sales volume of 15 billion dollars and is currentl ...

. Fashioned after the

taquito A taquito (, Spanish for "small taco"), tacos dorados,rolled taco, or flauta (, Spanish for "flute") is a Mexican food dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken.Castro, R ...

, it comes in numerous flavors, the best selling of which is the chili-lime "Fuego" flavor, sold in distinctive purple bags. Besides the rolled corn chips, Takis also produces a number of other snacks with the same flavor lines, including a number of different potato chip varieties, corn stix, popcorn, and peanuts. Takis were invented in Mexico in 1999 and introduced to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2004. Barcel originally intended to aim Takis towards the

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

demographic of the snack market, but its popularity has quickly spread among teens of different cultural backgrounds.

Flavors

Takis are prepared in a variety of flavors, including: * ''Angry Burger'', a spicy

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

and

dill pickle A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or ...

flavor (green packaging) *''Authentic Taco'', a hot taco flavor (green packaging) *''Bad zucchini'', a incredibly spicy Zucchini flavor (similar to Fuego) (brown and green packaging) *''BBQ Picante'', a spicy barbecue flavor (brown packaging) *''Blue Flame'', an extreme barbecue flavor (blue packaging) *''Blue Heat'', a hot chili pepper flavor (blue packaging) *''Cobra'' (red packaging) *''Crunchy Fajitas'', a chicken

fajita A fajita (; ), in Tex-Mex cuisine, is any stripped grilled meat with stripped peppers and onions usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. The term originally referred to skirt steak, the cut of beef first used in the dish. Popular alternati ...

flavor with a yellowish appearance (green packaging) *''Fuego'', a hot chili pepper and lime flavor. It is the spiciest of all varieties, as well as the most popular flavor (purple packaging). *''Fuego azul'', a spicy snack topped with a blue mystery spice powder, with a similar taste to Fuego. This flavor was released in the U.S. in 2019 as ''Blue Heat'' (blue packaging). *''Guacamole'', a spicy snack topped with a style of salsa

guacamole Guacamole (; (informally shortened to ''guac'' in the United States since the 1980s) is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisi ...

(white packaging) *''Lava'', a cheese and chipotle flavor (orange packaging) *''Nitro'', a

habanero The habanero (; ) is a hot variety of chili. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe hab ...

chile flavor (black-red packaging) *''Original'', a slightly spicy snack (green packaging) *''Outlaw'', a spicy barbecue flavor (dark red packaging) *''Party'', a flavor of cheese and chile *''Rock'', a presentation with flavor of chorizo *''Sal De Mar'' (formerly "Classic"), a mild snack topped with sea salt *''Salsa Brava'', a slightly spicier snack than the original (yellow packaging) *''Scorpion BBQ'', a barbecue flavor (brown and purple packaging) *''Titan'', a chipotle and lime flavor (dark red packaging) *''Volcano Queso'', a habanero cheese flavor (yellow-green and orange packaging) *''Wild'', a hot buffalo flavor (sky blue packaging) * ''Xplosion'', a spicy cheese-flavored and chili pepper variety (orange packaging) *''Xtra Hot'', a hot flavor similar to ''Fuego'', but less spicy (black-purple packaging) * ''Zombie'', habanero and cucumber flavor (black-green packaging)

Other products

In July 2020,

Razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since bef ...

released their scooter designed with the Takis brand. Also in that month,

Totino's Totino's and Jeno's are brands of frozen pizza products owned by General Mills. History Rose Totino and her husband, Jim, founded a take-out pizzeria in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1951. They later expanded it to a full-service restaurant, wh ...

released ''Totino's Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites'', consisting of pizza snack rolls covered in ''Takis Fuego'' seasoning. In October 2020, Takis introduced ''Takis Hot Nuts'', featuring peanuts in a crunchy shell coated with Takis seasoning. Its flavors include ''Fuego'', ''Flare'' and ''Smokin' Lime''. In 2021, Grupo Bimbo expanded the Takis snack portfolio to include: * ''Takis Waves'', ridged potato chip * ''Takis Watz'', cheese snack * ''Takis POP!'', ready-to-eat popcorn * ''Takis Stix'', corn snack stick * ''Takis Crisps'', potato chip shaped like Pringles * ''Takis Kettlez'', kettle-cooked potato chip snack * ''Takis Hot Nuts'', peanuts coated in crunchy corn snack * ''Takis Chippz'', thin-cut potato chips

Health concerns

There have been multiple claims on the Internet that Takis and other spicy snacks cause ulcers and cancer. Though the aforementioned claims have been confirmed as false, scientists and doctors have attributed

gastritis Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Other possi ...

and other stomach-related problems to Takis. It has been recommended that Takis should only be consumed in moderation.

References

{{Reflist Brand name snack foods Mexican brands Products introduced in 1999